POULTRY FOR PROFIT 71 



should be often moved to new ground. Clean coops, 

 clean ground and clean water are more important 

 than the kind of feed, but all are very important. 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING 



In England, when brooders were first invented, 

 they were called "foster mothers," a most sugges- 

 tive title and indicative of what the brooder's func- 

 tion should be. 



Three types of brooders are in general use on 

 farms and poultry ranches: 



1. Fireless brooders. 



2. Indoor and outdoor lamp brooders. 



3. Colony-house brooders heated by gasoline, dis- 

 tillate or hot water. 



Fireless Brooders 



The fireless brooder has come to stay ; there is no 

 doubt about it. It is hardly suitable for use in very 

 cold weather unless in a heated room where the 

 temperature does not go below 40 degrees at night 

 or 60 degrees in the daytime, but for ordinary 

 weather, and especially in warm climates, it is more 

 economical for the user and more healthful for the 

 chicks than a lamp heated brooder. 



The fireless brooder in common use is a box from 

 fourteen to eighteen inches square, with a door on 

 one side. A frame made to fit the box loosely, so 

 that air may come in around it, rests on a peg in 

 each corner, and to this is tacked a square of canton 

 flannel which sags in the middle so that it rests on 

 the backs of the chicks. On this is laid a quilt made 

 of cheesecloth and cotton batting. If the night is 

 very cold another quilt is added. Roofing paper 

 covers the bottom, and the box is filled in with straw 

 or chaff, so that the chicks have a warm nest to 

 cuddle in under their quilt. 



