INCUBATORS AND BROODERS 
toward his success. Asa rule, home-made brooders 
are unreliable, and I could not think of recom- 
mending them. 
A point that I have found to be very impor- 
tant, and which is often overlooked in brooder con- 
struction, is that of having a sufficiently large 
amount of glass in the walls or top to allow an 
abundance of light and sunshine to enter into the 
brooder. Chicks will stand around outside in the 
rain or cold rather than go into a poorly-lighted 
and ill-ventilated place. See that the brooder is 
well ventilated; pure, fresh air is very essential to 
rugged health and strong vitality in chicks. 
While the floor of the brooder should be up off 
the ground several inches, those that are set up on 
legs, leaving an open space underneath through 
which the cold wind may blow at will, are very 
undesirable. This is especially true if they are to 
be operated outdoors or in a cold building; for 
then it becomes an extremely difficult matter to 
maintain an even temperature in them, and an 
excessively large amount of heat is required to keep 
them sufficiently warm. Also, it is a pretty difficult 
matter to teach chicks to go up and down a step- 
ladder every time they go in or out of the brooder. 
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