BROODING OF CHICKS 109 



and have been in the nest with the mother hen for at 

 least 12 hr., the hen and the brood, or two or more hens 

 and their broods can be removed to the brood coops. 

 Three or four hens that are remarkably quiet will brood 

 their chicks in one large open coop. If they are quarrel- 

 some, they should be placed with their broods in sepa- 

 rate coops. 



The chief factors of caring for the mother hen and her 

 chicks are cleanliness inside of and about the coop. 

 The coops should be placed where the chicks can run 

 out on the ground, and where they can have a dry spot 

 under foot when the ground is damp. They should 

 always be sheltered from wet and rain until they are 

 2 or 3 wk. old. 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING 



Chicks that are .hatched from eggs put in the incubator 

 on Monday evening do not need to be removed until 

 Wednesday morning of the third week thereafter. This 

 leaves the chicks in the incubator two nights and one day 

 after they should be hatched. If from any cause the 

 hatch is completed 12 or more hours ahead of time, the 

 chicks may be removed an equal number of hours earlier. 

 Chicks that are hatched on Monday need not be fed 

 until Wednesday; they may, however, if removed from 

 the incubator, be fed 12 or 15 hr. earlier than this. 

 When the chicks are removed from the incubator to the 

 hover or brooder, they should be protected from the cool 

 or cold air by being covered with woolen cloths that 

 have been warmed for the purpose. 



Chicks in the Brooder. From 50 to 100 chicks may be 

 placed under each hover, according to the kind of hover 

 cr brooder used. The sizes of the brooders vary from 

 a 50-chick size to a hover that will care for 500 or more. 

 The most satisfactory results will be obtained through 

 the use of hovers that will care for from 50 to 100 chicks. 

 Considerable experience and natural ability are neces- 

 sary to succeed with brooders and hovers of larger size. 



