568 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



poorly enclosed, the result will be a chilled brood of chicks, or per- 

 haps a fire. 



The chief thing sought in the internal arrangements of a 

 brooder is a provision to keep the chicks from piling up and smother- 

 ing each other as they crowd toward the source of heat. This can be 

 accomplished by having the warmest part of the brooder in the cen- 

 ter rather than at the side or corner. If the heat come from above 

 and a considerable portion of the brooder be heated to the same 

 temperature, no crowding will take place. 



The temperatures given for running brooders vary with the 

 machine and the position of the thermometer. The one reliable 

 guide for temperature is the action of the chicks. If they are cold 

 they will crowd toward the source of heat; if too warm they will 

 wander uneasily about; but if the temperature is right, each chick 

 will sleep stretched out on the floor. The cold chicken does not 

 sleep at all, but puts in its time fighting its way toward the source 

 of heat. In an improperly constructed or improperly run brooder 

 the chicks go through a varying process of chilling, sweating and 

 struggling when they should be sleeping, and the result is puny 

 chicks that dwindle and die. 



The arrangement of the brooder for the sleeping accommoda- 

 tions of the chicks is important, but this is not the only thing to be 

 considered in a brooder. The brooder used in the early season, and 

 especially the outdoor brooder, must have ample space provided for 

 the daytime accommodation of the chick. This part of the brooder 

 must be well lighted and somewhat cooler than the hover. (Kan. 

 B. 150.) 



Temperature. In brooding chicks either in individual brood- 

 ers or in brooder houses the main thing which must be watched is the 

 temperature, for if the temperature is either too high or too low, the 

 results will be totally unsatisfactory even though all of the other con- 

 ditions governing the health of the chicks are ideal. Chicks three or 

 four days old are fairly hardy little creatures and can endure a con- 

 siderable degree of cold provided that as soon as they become too 

 cold they can quickly get warm again. But if they are forced to re- 

 main where the temperature is too low they catch cold very quickly, 

 the lungs soon become inflamed, little nodules of light colored cheesy 

 matter form in them and death results. 



The temperature of the brooder or brooder house when the 

 chicks are first transferred from the incubator should be practically 

 as high as the temperature of the incubator from which the chicks 

 have just been removed, or from 95 degrees to 100 degrees F. This 

 temperature should be maintained for the first week, never allowing 

 it to fall below 95 degrees. The second week the temperature should 

 not be allowed to drop lower than 90 degrees. These temperatures 

 refer to the air temperature taken on a level with the chicks. After 

 the second week the temperature should be reduced gradually until 

 the chicks are old enough to do without artificial heat. (West Va. 

 B. 98.) 



