THE DOLLAR HEN FARM 
Individual lamp brooders in colony houses are perhaps the 
most generally successful means of rearing chicks on northern 
poultry farms. They are troublesome and somewhat expen- 
sive, but with properly hatched chickens are more successful 
than hen rearing. In buying such a brooder the chief points 
to be observed are: A good lamp, a heating device giving off 
the heat from a central drum, and an arrangement which 
facilitates easy cleaning. The brooder should be large, having 
not less than nine square feet of floor space. The work de- 
manded of a brooder is not as exacting as with an incubator. 
The heat and circulation of air may vary a little without harm, 
but they must not fail altogether. The greatest trouble with 
brooders in operation is the uncertainty of the lamp. The 
brooder-lamp should have sufficient oil capacity and a large 
wick. Brooder-lamps are often exposed to the wind, and, if 
cheaply constructed or poorly enclosed, the result will be a 
chilled brood of chicks, or perhaps a fire. 
The chief thing sought in the internal arrangements of a 
brooder is a provision to keep tne chicks from piling up and 
smothering each other as they crowd toward the source of 
heat. This can be accomplished by having the warmest part 
of the brooder in the center rather than at the side or corner. 
If the heat comes from above and a considerable portion of 
the brooder be heated to the same temperature, no crowding 
will take place. 
The temperature given for running brooders vary with the 
machine and the position of the thermometer. The one relia- 
{ble guide for temperature is the action of the chicks. If they 
are cold they will crowd toward the source of heat; if too 
warm they will wander uneasily about; but if the temperature 
is right, each chick will sleep stretched out on the floor. The 
cold chicken does not sleep at all, but puts in its time fighting 
its way toward the source of heat. In an improperly construct- 
ed or improperly run brooder the chicks go through a varying 
process of chilling, sweating and struggling when they should 
be sleeping, and the result is puny chicks that dwindle and die. 
The arrangement of the brooder for the sleeping accommo- 
dations of the chicks is important, but this is not the only 
thing to be considered in a brooder. The brooder used in the 
early season, and especially the outdoor brooder, must have 
ample space provided for the daytime accommodation of the 
chick. In the colony house brooder such space will, of course, 
be the floor of the house. 
When operating on a large scale it will not pay to buy 
complete brooders. The lamps and hovers can be purchased 
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