A SUCCESSFUL BROODER HOUSE 



A SIX PEN BROODER HOUSE THAT WAS THOROUGHLY TESTED AT THE CONNECTICUT 

 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION— A DEPRESSED ALLEYWAY MAKES IT POSSI- 

 BLE FOR OPERATOR TO ATTEND TO BROODERS AND LAMPS WITHOUT STOOPING 



F. H. STONEBURN 



This article is partly taken from a bulletin published by the Starrs 

 Agricultural College of Connecticut. The author, Mr. F. H. Stone- 

 bum, ivas Jor three years in charge of the practical poultry 'work car- 

 ried on by the College, hut later resigned his position to become director 

 oj the Columbia School of Poultry Culture. — Editor. 



I HE arrangements for artificial brooding are of as 

 great importance as the equipment of any other 

 branch of the poultry farm. Adult fowls, vigor- 

 ous and well protected by nature, may survive 

 and even thrive under adverse conditions, but 

 the tiny chicks must have careful treatment. 

 ! The importance of the brooder house is em- 



phasized when we consider that everyone engaged 

 in commercial poultry keeping desires to produce a large pro- 

 portion of his annual crop of chickens at some time of 

 the year other than the natural breeding season of his 

 fowls.' This is true whether the main object be the pro- 

 duction of meat or of eggs. Fall-hatched chicks are 

 carried through the winter to be sold in the spring as roasters; 

 winter-hatched chicks are marketed as early broilers; while the 

 early spring-hatched stock is either marketed at the broiler age 

 or carried to maturity to be used as breeders or egg producers. 

 The production of any large amoimt of this out-of-season stock 

 by natural methods of rearing is, of course, out of the question, 

 and the incubator and the brooder must be relied upon largely. 

 The facilities for brooding the chicks vary according to the needs 

 and resources of the different owners, ranging from a jug of hot 

 water in a tight box to the huge pipe-system brooder houses 

 found upon the leading poultry plants. But, unfortunately, in 

 too many cases these brooding systems are inadequate, being 

 poorly designed or improperly constructed. As a result the 

 mortality among chicks entrusted to them is so excessive that 

 it cuts down the profits materially. In fact, observation leads 

 one to believe that the greatest source of loss on the average 

 poultry plant is to be found in the heavy mortality among chicks 

 under two months of age. 



A brooder building designed for the rearing of chicks during 

 the cold months should embody several distinct features. For 

 the health and well-being of the chicks it should be so constructed 

 that the temperature and ventilation can be absolutely controll- 

 ed, plenty of sunshine admitted, and enemies of all kinds kept 

 out. For the comfort of the attendant and the economical con- 

 duct of the business it should be convenient in every way. Under 

 this latter head are grouped many factors, because convenience 

 in this case must include caring for the lamps and hovers, feed- 



ing and watering the chicks, managing the doors and windows, 

 and keeping the house in a thoroughly sanitary condition. -It 

 is the object of this article to describe briefly a building which 

 seems to embody most of the requirements enumerated above. 



It was decided best to use small lamp brooders in each pen, 

 as this enables the attendant to manage each pen of chicks in- 

 dependently of the rest. For the above reason the plan should 

 commend itself to those who are in the business on a, compara- 

 tively small scale, as well as to the large operator who feels the 

 need of a nursery brooder where the hover temperature can be 

 regulated according to the needs of each pen of chicks. 



The house is built 15 by 30 feet in size, with a 4 by 5 feet 

 extension on the east side. This latter is used as an entry or 

 "ante-room," permitting the poultryman to pass in and out of 

 the house at will during bad weather without exposing the 



21— A SUCCESSFUL BROODER HOUSE 



g'lrlU^OMJaUj.fe.t^^j-J-IJ^j.J.t^^ 



J — CRIJSS SECTION l)F BROODER HOUSE 



chicks to draughts. An alley- way 4 feet in width extends along 

 the entire north side, and the rest of the floor space is divided 

 into pens. They are six in number and are 5 by 11 feet in size. 

 An examination of the accompanying cuts will show that 

 the vital feature of the building is the elevated chick floor, the 

 latter being 3 feet 6 inches above the former. This arrangement 

 secures several advantages. It enables the attendant to care 

 for the brooders and feed the chicks without the constant stoop- 

 ing required where the brooders are operated upon the floor in 

 the usual manner. Further, it reduces the enclosed air space 

 by fully one third, effecting a corresponding saving in the amount 

 of heat required to maintain a given temperature. It' also 

 places the chicks nearer the ceiling — the warmest part of the 

 room — thus giving them the benefit of all the available warmth. 

 Repeated tests in the house under discussion demonstrated 

 that in cold weather the temperature at the 

 level of the alley floor is 14 degrees lower than 

 at the chick floor but 3 feet 6 inches above. 

 And finally, the amoimt of side wall exposed 

 to the weather is reduced one-half, quite a con- 

 sideration in wind-swept positions. The disad- 

 vantage of the plan becomes evident only when 

 it is found necessary to enter the pens for any 

 purpose. It is inconvenient because of the 

 necessary climb to enter the pen and the con- 

 fined space in which to do the work. It has, 

 however, been found unnecessary to get into 



32 



