32 N. H. Agr. Experiment Station [Bulletin 304 



Electric Brooding Practical 



Further indications that electric brooding of chicks is practical and 

 can be carried on under severe climatic conditions without auxiliary 

 heat or excessive mortality are evident in the studies just completed by 

 W. T. Ackerman, T. B. Charles, A. E. Tepper and G. M. Foulkrod. De- 

 tailed results of the recent work have been published in Experiment 

 Station Bulletin 303, "Electric Brooding of Chicks," and include ob- 

 servations on the following subjects: (1) Floor insulation; (2) Labor 

 and fuel costs for coal versus electric brooding; (3) Application of heat 

 under brooder ; (4) Relation of house floor area to brooder size ; (5) Pre- 

 vention of floor drafts; (6) Extended brooding period; (7) Effects of 

 power ventilation; (8) Chick movement, and (9) Physiological needs 

 of chicks. {Purnell Fund) 



Avoid Home-Made Electric Fences 



Home construction of electric fence units and devices should be dis- 

 couraged, states W. T. Ackerman in a preliminary report of a study on 

 this subject. The public should be advised that an electric fence, in its 

 accepted definition, is not the plugging of the fence wires into a light 

 socket without any controlling device. Several fatal accidents of rec- 

 ord have resulted from attempting this method. On the other hand, 

 tests conducted to date indicate that an electric fence having a con- 

 troller device, all of which is manufactured by a competent electrical 

 concern, can be both safe and effective. This kind is the only one that 

 it is safe to recommend, and there is need for testing carefully all com- 

 mercial units. {State Funds) 



Wax Heating Equipment Developed 



During a study of wax plucking of poultry, the demand for a simple 

 automatic wax heater was evident. It was found that the commercial 

 semi-scald heaters with the heating element in the water had quite a 

 large variation of temperature between the lower part and the surface. 

 This led to the assumption that a water-bath type of heater would give 

 better results. 



A small five-gallon water heater was secured, and it was found that a 

 12-quart milk-pail would just fit the cylindrical tank and not touch the 

 bottom, leaving a water bath around the lower three-quarters of the 

 pail, which would allow wax deep enough to dip the bird. 



This heater was not automatic and a thermostat control was added 

 with tlie bulb in the wax ; the mechanism was mounted high enough to 

 allow the removal of the bulb and protect the switch from splashing. 

 The thermostat gave good control, allowing about a two-degree varia- 

 tion. The water-bath was small in volume and heated rapidly from a 

 large heating element. 



Suggestions for assembling such equipment on the farm are as fol- 

 lows: 



1. The water-bath method of keeping the wax hot reaches all parts 

 of the container and eliminates the possibility of the wax hardening 

 around the upper edges and slowing up the work. This would allow 



I 



