COMMON CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE BROODER 363 



Eleventh Week to Maturity. 



15. Equal parts whole wheat, oats, and cracked corn always 

 available in hopper. 



16. Same as No. 12. 17. Same as No. 13. 18. Same as No. 14. 

 Dry-Mash for Chicks. The following dry-mash is well adapted 



for general feeding of growing chicks during any period, such as 

 developing them for laying or breeding purposes or the feeding 

 of cockerels which are later to be finished for roasters : 



Wheat bran 50 Ibs. Alfalfa , ... / 10 Ibs. 



Ground oats 10 Ibs. Meat scrap 5 Ibs. 



Gluten 10 Ibs. Bone , 5 Ibs. 



Corn meal 10 Ibs. 



Total 100 Ibs. 



The above ration should be fed dry in self-feeding hoppers, 

 and some of it kept, before the birds all the time. 



Common Causes of Death in the Brooder. As was previously 

 stated, a high mortality usually accompanies artificial brooding, 

 averaging from 5 to 30 per cent. But under proper brooding 

 methods it should be possible to brood, at least on the average, 

 80 per cent of vigorous chicks. These are good results. Frequently 

 cases of 95 per cent are found. Where a great loss occurs, it is 

 usually due to one or more of the following causes: 



Chilling. If the hover temperature during the first week 

 or two drops considerably and stays low for any length of time, 

 especially during the night when the birds are under the hover, 

 they become chilled, their body heat not sufficing to maintain 

 the right degree of temperature, and this results in digestive dis- 

 orders and a subsequently heavy death rate. The possibility of 

 this occurrence should constantly be guarded against. 



The crowding of young chicks is usually because they are 

 chilled, but it may be caused by their huddling together in rays 

 of sunlight on the brooder floor, or by putting too many chicks 

 in one brooder compartment. The latter is due to inexperience, 

 but it results in some of them being insufficiently fed and get- 

 ting insufficient exercise. The direct result of crowding is suffo- 

 cation, therefore immediate death, while the indirect result 

 may be a lack of vitality, which will either result in a dwarf chick 

 or cause lingering death. 



Overheating. If the brooder temperature is allowed to rise 

 too high, the chicks, by getting accustomed to this high tern- 



