FROM INCUBATOR TO BROODER 77 



After a few clays I pull out the slides and remove the 

 droppings, then re-cover with hayseed and replace 

 them. They should afterward be cleaned every day. 

 Have a coarse sand floor or ground for them to run on 

 and pick to grind their food. The first week, if cold, I 

 use outside of the brooder a small seventy-five degree 

 oil stove or heater to warm the house for them, espe- 

 cially while they are out feeding. 



"For the first two weeks they require a great deal 

 of warmth, and I am convinced that the cause of death 

 among so many small chicks is due to lack of warmth. 

 I speak from experience. The same is true with 

 chicks brooded by the hen. We have often found an 

 apparently dead chicken, chilled outside, and brought 

 it to life by warming it; in nine cases out of ten it will 

 revive and thrive. When the small chicks are out 

 feeding in the brooder house during the first week, 

 watch them more or less and see that none get chilled. 

 After the first week they will generally go in and under 

 the brooder at their own option, and when the sun is 

 out and shining through the glass they will crowd 

 together in the sunshine, and during a very cold day 

 they will get chilled even in the sun's rays (unless the 

 house is very warm) rather than go under the brooder 

 where it is warmer. They like the sun. During the 

 first week I have a fine wire shutter with which to 

 close them in the brooder when they have been out 

 long enough, and always at night for a week, and 

 perhaps two, if cold. If not so restrained, they would 

 get out too early in the morning, become chilled and 

 die. After the first week or two I do not use it; let 

 them go out and in at will. One other point should 

 be mentioned and that is, I should advise one not to 

 touch an incubator until he has raised chicks success- 

 fully by the hen. It is one thing to hatch chicks and 

 quite another to raise them successfully. 



