BROODING THE (CHICKS 83 
ment for the chicks to enter. This difficulty is 
overcome by placing a hot water bottle on top of 
the brooder. That provides the warmth needed 
and acts like a magnet. Once the chicks get the 
habit of running into the brooder when cold, they 
will keep it up after the water bag has been re- 
moved and will keep each other warm. When only 
a few chicks are to be raised and after the season 
is well advanced, the fireless brooder is to be recom- 
mended. 
After the chicks are gotten onto the ground, they 
will make rapid progress, but must be protected 
from hawks and cats. There is no better place 
for them to run than a patch of corn, where they 
will be safe from the hawks and will have ade- 
quate shade. Wherever confined, shade of some 
kind must be given or growth will be checked. An 
orchard run is good, but it must be remembered that 
after grass gets old, it is so tough that young chicks 
cannot eat it, and so must be given other green 
stuff. When the young birds are eight or nine 
weeks old, the sexes should be separated for best 
results. The surplus cockerels should be fattened 
and marketed, and by the first of October the pullets 
should be in their winter quarters. 
