INCUBATORS AND BROODERS 



toward his success. As a rule, home-made brooders 

 are unreliable, and I could not think of recom- 

 mending them. 



A point that I have found to be very impor- 

 tant, and which is often overlooked in brooder con- 

 struction, is that of having a sufficiently large 

 amount of glass in the walls or top to allow an 

 abundance of light and sunshine to enter into the 

 brooder. Chicks will stand around outside in the 

 rain or cold rather than go into a poorly-lighted 

 and ill-ventilated place. See that the brooder is 

 well ventilated; pure, fresh air is very essential to 

 rugged health and strong vitality in chicks. 



While the floor of the brooder should be up off 

 the ground several inches, those that are set up on 

 legs, leaving an open space underneath through 

 which the cold wind may blow at will, are very 

 undesirable. This is especially true if they are to 

 be operated outdoors or in a cold building; for 

 then it becomes an extremely difficult matter to 

 maintain an even temperature in them, and an 

 excessively large amount of heat is required to keep 

 them sufficiently warm. Also, it is a pretty difficult 

 matter to teach chicks to go up and down a step- 

 ladder every time they go in or out of the brooder. 



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