BROODER HOUSE MANAGEMENT 21 



compartment is sprinkled with coarse sand, 

 and over that is a layer of chaff. As the 

 pipes rise, more sand is put on the floor 

 underneath them to bring the floor level up 

 to within three inches of the pipes. A board 

 is placed over the pipes to reflect the heat 

 down on the chicks, and for the first week 

 a sack is thrown over the board for extra 

 protection. 



About a week before the chicks are due 

 from the incubator, the fire in the brooder 

 house is started and kept going in order to 

 thoroughly dry the sand, which is spread in 

 the pens some months before. When the 

 chicks are well fluffed out in the incubator, 

 they are placed in boxes and taken to the 

 brooder house and put under the pipes. They 

 are allowed to run about near the pipes, the 

 side nearest the windows being blocked with a 

 board for two days, by which time the chicks 

 have usually learned the location of the 

 source of heat. The board is then removed, 

 and they have the run of the whole compart- 

 ment. When first allowed the full run of 

 the pen, some attention must be given to see- 

 ing that all the chicks find their way back to 



