Care of Brooders 237 



The following conclusions in regard to improper 

 feeding and brooder conditions are given by the 

 Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station:* 

 "Post-mortem examination showed that the diseases 

 may be classified under four heads. Disorders 

 ascribable : 



"A. To heredity or to environment during period 

 of incubation. (Recent experiments have 

 demonstrated that successive alternate 

 periods of heat and cold during incubation 

 are responsible for a very large proportion 

 of abnormalities.) Thirty-three per cent 

 of the chicks examined showed more or 

 less trouble under this head. 

 "B. To mechanical causes, e. g., overcrowding 

 in the brooders, resulting in death by 

 suffocation, trampling, etc. 

 "C. To imperfect sanitation, lack of ventilation, 

 sunlight, etc.; e. g., tuberculosis flourishes 

 in dark, poorly ventilated brooders. Fif- 

 teen and one-tenth per cent of the post- 

 mortems showed more or less evidence of 

 tuberculosis. 



"D. To improperly balanced ration, i. e., im- 

 proper feeding. For the continued main- 

 tenance of health there must be a definite 

 proportion between the amount of carbo- 

 hydrates (starch, sugar, etc.), fats, and the 



*Bulletin No. 61, p. 53. 



