482 APPENDIX O 



have proved practical. The lamp is in the center and the eggs are placed 

 around it in three rows, with the small end down and toward the lamp. 

 The eggs are kept at a temperature varying from 102 degrees Fahrenheit 

 the first week to 103 the last week of incubation. 



The chickens were left in the incubators until the oldest were 36 hours 

 old, when all the healthy dried ones were removed to the brooder, where 

 they were fed a mixture of sand, bread crumbs, and hard-boiled eggs 

 chopped fine. The chickens were kept at a temperature of about 95 

 degrees for the first two days, then the heat was reduced gradually as 

 the chickens grew older. Gradually a little oatmeal was added to the 

 ration. 



The brooder consists of a 3 foot square box, 12 inches high, with sheet 

 iron nailed on top, with a 1 inch space between it and the board floor. 

 In the middle of the floor a hole 6 inches in diameter was cut and a 

 2 quart basin nailed over it, the basin having several holes in it. On the 

 edge of the floor are upright boards to keep the litter and chickens inside. 

 A 2 foot square hover with a slit flannel drapery on the edge was placed 

 over the basin on four 0-inch legs, one at each corner. Now a bracket 

 lamp is put into the box under the hover. The chickens are led from the 

 hovere by means of an inclined board covered with dirt. 



There were eight of these hovers, with a capacity of 60 to 60 chicks 

 each, placed in the 12 by 48 foot coop. The chickens were provided with 

 runs inside and outdoors. These brooders were a constant worry because 

 a kerosene lamp cannot be depended upon. I intend to install a hot- 

 water system next season if possible. 



At the beginning of the season the chickens grew well, but later, as 

 the weather turned bad and rats got into the coop, we moved brooders 

 and chickens outdoors. On account of the sudden change I lost quite a 

 number of them, perhaps more than the rats would have killed. 



When the chickens were eight weeks old, I separated the cockerels 

 from the pullets and fed them a fattening ration. At ten weeks those 

 that were not fit to save for breeding purposes I shipped alive to a com- 

 mission merchant who handles our products. I received an average of 

 twenty-four cents a pound for them. 



We keep two strains of single-combed white leghorns, and so we had 

 to leg-band some of the chickens. As soon as the young stock were old 

 enough, I laid a cement floor in their coop to keep out rats. The coops 

 were already fitted up with dropping boards, roosts, and nests. Of the 

 760 chickens hatched, we now have 320 pullets and 26 cockerels fit for 

 breeding. 



The first pullet commenced laying September 1st. 



The work of taking care of the young stock consisted of cutting hay 



