220 Farm Poultry 



should be sufficient bottom heat or enough heat near 

 the floor to keep it dry. Too much bottom heat 

 is objected to by many poultry men. A somewhat 

 popular belief is held that bottom heat, if consider- 

 able, is likely to produce what is known as "leg 

 weakness." 



(6) It is of some importance to have a brooder 

 that is economical of heat, or, in other words, one 

 that makes good use of the fuel consumed. The 

 provision of fuel is an item of expense. 



(7) It is of considerable importance that the 

 brooder be simply constructed. Machines that are 

 more or less difficult to build are necessarily more 

 expensive than those that are easy of construction. 

 Then, too, some parts of the appliance may require 

 renewal, and if the brooder is easy of construction 

 the farmer or poultryman may readily perform the 

 labor which otherwise would require an additional 

 expense in sending the machine to the factory for 

 repairs. 



The amateur should bear in mind that it is 

 necessary for each person to learn the business for 

 himself by study and experience, that there are no 

 hard and fast rules for the selection and operation 

 of the various kinds of brooders. One person may 

 succeed well with a brooder that would prove 

 unsatisfactory in the hands of another. One per- 

 son may learn how best to operate a particular 

 machine, and, from his study of the condition of 



