71 



* Light IO'xl2'&lass Hinged at Bottom to Suing '" > 



FIG. 134 FRONT ELEVATION OF PERMANENT BROODER HOUSE 



tions, bearing in mind, however, that he can better afford 

 to employ inadequate facilities and makeshift equipment 

 at any other point than in the brooding of his chicks. 



BROODER HOUSE FOR LAMP-HEATED HOVERS 



May Be Built With or Without Auxiliary Heat. 



Brooding With Lamp-Heated Hovers is 



Practical With the Right Kind 



of House. 



The floor dimensions of the brooder house shown in 

 Figs. 133 to 141 inclusive, are 16x30 feet. It can, of 

 course, be built any length, but under ordinary conditions 



FIO. 135 END ELEVATION OF PERMANENT 

 BROODER HOUSE 



width of 16 feet is most satisfactory and should be 



aintained, regardless of length. 



There are few poultry plants where such a house as 

 this will not be found a profitable 

 part of the equipment, making it pos- 

 sible to brood chicks successfully at 

 almost any season and under the 

 most favorable conditions. Even 

 where colony hovers are depended 

 on for brooding the bulk of the 

 young chicks, a small, well-equipped 

 brooder house of this sort, for use 

 in brooding small flocks and special- 

 quality stock, will soon pay for itself. 



The foundation should be six-inch 

 concrete walls and these should ex- 

 tend six inches above the ground 

 level. The foundation should be car- 

 ried down to the frost line or to 

 solid ground 18 to 24 inches as a 

 rule. 



Earth floors are not practical for 

 brooding houses where rats are com- 

 mon, as these pests like nothing bet- 

 ter than young chicks, and can be 



depended upon to get them eventual- 

 ly, even though the entire floor is 

 carefully screened with netting. 

 Board floors are open to the objec- 

 tion that they are colder and also 

 harbor rats unless raised well off the 

 ground, which necessitates long in- 

 clines for the chicks. 



Generally speaking, therefore, con- 

 crete floors are most suitable, though 

 they must be thoroughly insulated 

 and kept covered with coarse sand 

 or deep litter to avoid injury to the 

 chicks confined in them. For brooder 

 house floors of concrete, cinders are 



recommended, as this material makes a warmer floor than 

 either stone or gravel. By cinders is meant the coarse 

 ashes fiom large furnaces and boilers. Ordinary fine ashes 

 from stoves and furnaces will not do, and if there is 

 much of this material in the cinders it should be sifted 

 or washed out. 



If a board floor is preferred, it should be laid double, 

 with sheathing paper between, also one-inch poultry net- 

 ting which will make it impossible for rats to gnaw 

 through. Bear in mind, however, that if rats succeed in 

 establishing themselves underneath the house, it will be 

 only a matter of time until they will succeed in getting 

 at the chicks, no matter how carefully they are protected. 

 Houses that are to be used in cold weather should al- 

 ways be ceiled. The additional cost of doing this will be 

 amply repaid by the smaller amount of fuel required. Lath 

 and plaster may be used if preferred, but, under ordinary 

 conditions, ceiling is much better suited to poultry-house 

 construction. Building paper should always be tacked to 

 the studs before siding or ceiling is put in place. A layer 

 of sheathing paper should also be nailed to the lower side 

 of the ceiling joists or rafter ties before the ceiling is 

 nailed on. Ventilation openings should be provided in 

 the ceiling, as shown in Fig. 141, page 73. In small 

 houses it is sufficient to have louvered ventilators in each 

 gable, but in houses 50 feet or more in length it is neces- 

 sary to provide roof ventilators also. 



The ground should be graded up to the front sill so 

 that the chicks will have easy access to the yards. The 

 siding should be carried up close to the roof boards, 

 notching the top board carefully for Jhe rafters. For cold 

 climates, storm doors for all outside doors are advisable. 



FIG. 136 CROSS SECTION OF PERMANENT BROODER HOUSE 



