A (.'IIK.M'LY CONSTRUCTED 



FIRKLKSS BROODER. 



There is no question but what tin- tireless brooder has come to 

 slay and is a satisfactory way of starting young chicks. There are 

 no heater pipes to bother with, no lamps to fill or to smoke, no hens 

 to fuss with, and no head or body lice to injure the young chicks, and 

 they can be raised by this method when these brooders are kept in 

 a colony house, brooder house, or in an ordinary shed or out-building, 

 so that the chicks will be protected from severe cold rains. They can 

 also be used for midwinter brooding 1 , if you have a house so arranged 

 that the temperature will not l>e below freezing, the theory being on 

 the same principle that you are kept warm while in bed, on a cold 

 night. These brooders can be built out of ordinary lumber, and 

 should not be made larger than two by three feet, perhaps eighteen 

 inches or two feet square being the best size. The box should be made 



about eight or ten inches deep. AVe 

 make a light frame just the proper 

 size to fit the inside of this box, and 

 tack a piece of heavy cotton flannel 

 so that it will hang loosely on the 

 underneath side of this frame. When 

 the chicks are small, this frame is 

 lowered on the inside of the box 

 until the cloth touches the back of 

 the young chicks, and this frame 

 can be held at the proper height by 

 tacking small nails on the inside of 

 the box. Tack the cloth to the frame 

 in such manner that it will sag in the center. Over this frame, which 

 is covered with cloth, we place two little comforts, made as follows: 

 Take an ordinary piece of cheese cloth and cut it the proper size to 

 fit the box. \Ve take two pieces of this cheese cloth and fill it with 

 cotton batting and then tack it as we would an ordinary comfort. 

 Make at least two of these little comforts for each fireless brooder, 

 and on very cold nights it may be necessary to use as many as three 

 of these comforts. In ordinary cold weather use two. In mild 

 weather use one and in warm weather you will need nothing .except 

 the frame, which is covered with, the cotton flannel. Less than 

 twenty-five chicks kept in one of these brooders will not keep com- 

 fortable, should the weather be very cold. They w 7 ill brood twenty- 

 five to fifty chicks very successfully. Cut an opening in one side of 

 the brooder large enough to allow the little chicks to run in and out, 

 and at night, or when the weather or the chicks seem uncomfortable. 

 they should he shoved into the brooder and this opening closed. Make 

 a board floor just to fit the inside of the brooder, but do not nail it 

 or attach it to the brooder. Should this floor have a tendency to be- 

 come damp, it may be covered with rubberoid roofing or some other 

 material of that description. Keep a lot of chaff or litter over the 

 floor of this brooder and one or more of these can be placed in any 

 shed or building, and I am sure they will give reasonably good results. 

 AVe prefer the ordinary comfort or cloth top to a top made of boards, 

 and the comforts used over the clucks at night have proven more 



Indoor fireless brooder 



