358 ARTIFICIAL BROODING 
will try to keep warm by crowding, and much loss results,—chiefly 
from suffocation and a general condition of weakness due to low- 
ered vitality. 
The question of sunlight is important. It is not well to allow 
direct sun rays to strike the brooder floor, because all the chicks 
will attempt to get into this one spot, and will thus be drawn 
away from the hover heat and will injure one another by crowding 
or be suffocated. Floods of sunlight produce no such conditions, 
so that it should be a point to have either an abundance of sun- 
shine or no direct rays at all. The direct rays of the sun should 
never shine upon the hover, as this causes great variations. 
Feeding Brooder Chicks.t*—The feeding of the artificially 
brooded chicks is one of the most important factors in poultry 
keeping, and successful nutrition should begin with hatching and 
extend throughout the growing period. The first four weeks are 
the most trying, for this period covers the delicate stage of the 
chick’s growth, and is the time when the death rate is greatest and 
when mistaken methods will be shown by poor broods. The fol- 
lowing principles apply to baby-chick feeding, a discussion of 
which will better fix them in the mind of the feeder. 
1. Feeding Too Soon.—Just prior to hatching, the yolk is 
drawn into the bird’s body, and supplies the growing chick with 
nourishment for a number of hours after hatching. It is unde- 
sirable to tempt or force the chick to eat within a period of from 
forty-eight to sixty hours after hatching. The best practice is 
to supply fresh water and plenty of fine grit when putting 
chicks in the brooder, withholding all solid feed for at least the 
first twelve hours in the brooder. A good plan is to give the chicks 
their first feed the morning after they are placed in the brooder. 
2. First Feed Easily Seen and Nutritious—The young chick 
artificially hatched has to be taught many things which under 
natural conditions it learns from the mother hen; such as search- 
ing for feed, and the elementary process of eating. The natural 
instinct of the chick is to pick up bright things; for this reason, 
feed which is easily seen is desirable. A good practice is to throw 
a limited amount of rolled oats on the floor of the brooder,—only 
what the chicks will eat in an hour or two. Rolled oats are very 
nutritious, are relished by the chicks, and make an excellent 
first feed; but their continued use is not advisable. Hard-boiled 
*The following outline of requirements is largely based on results of experi- 
ments conducted at Cornell University under the direction of James E. Rice. 
