PROFITABLE BROILER RAISING 



the weather the stronger (or slightly higher) the average tern- the hatch, so familia,r does he become with the appearance and 



perature should be. condition of the strong, vigorous embryo chicks. 



RUNNING AN iNCDBATOR When the first chicks begin to pip the shells close the ven- 



'pi,„ J -1 i 1 r - ■ 1 . . - tilator slides almost wholly and keep the doors of the incuba- 



Ihe daily task of runmng an mcubator consists of turn- . , , ^-i ^u u ^ u • u -^ ■ u it * i iu 



■„„ (.1, , . J . , . , , ,,.,„„ tor closed until the hatch is well over; it is better to leave the 



mg the eggs twice a day, morning and night, and daily fill ng , . *• , , f .i . / c <. *u-^ • u 



„„j 4. •™-„- ii, I /-> 1- -1 ., , . machine entirely alone for the twenty-four to thirty-six hours 



and trimming the lamp. Ordinarily the lamp trimming can - . - • - ^l i,- i t, ^ u- * j * v, *- 



K„„(- u„ J u J. ii. -jji I ,-, r. ■ , . , during which the chicks are hatching. A good, strong heat, 



best be done about the middle of the afternoon, in the interval ^ m^ ir,^, • j • ui ^ v, * i,- <-• t-u 



K„f t ]■ 4.V, I,- 1 J , r ,1 , n ,. - , even up to 104 or 104* is desirable at hatching time, as the 



between feeding the chicks and before the last feeding of the i,- , ^ ^ ^ j u it vnu tu i, * v, • ii 



v,„^„ Av,„. V. ii, i.1 J ^1 , , , , , , . chicks come out faster and better. When the hatch is well 



Jiens. About the seventh day the eggs should be tested, wh oh ^, ^., ^. ,.j ■ ^ • *i, u u v,- i 



;=, +v,o ..;,v,v,i *■ I • .1 ■, , , , over open the ventilating shdes again, to give the baby chicks 



n hefZ^ .r ;°'ir T"".' ! rf^'' "'^"^ *^' '"'""f """ ^-^e ah, but do not take them from the incubator till twenty- 



!;„? Th -^ ^^^ wVrii r ^^S /ont^^ns a living j^^^ j^^^;^ ^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ .^ ^^^^_ 



germ, ihe germ is a dark (almost black), spider-hke spot upon 



the side of the yolk, and the stronger and darker the germ ap- brooding and feeding the chicks 



pears the better. An egg which is absolutely clear is infertile, The temperature under the brooder hovers should be about 



and should be saved out (to be eaten in omelettes or scrambled, 95 degrees at first, gradually lowering it to 90 degrees when 



or sold to the bake shop to be used in cooking.) Now and then a the chicks are about a week old, and thus dropping about 



dead germ will be found, evidenced by reddish circles about five degrees each week. An experienced chicken raiser says he 



the yolk or a generally cloudy appearance of the egg. These wants the heat under the hovers to be 90 when the chicks are 



should be thrown in the manure pile, or may be fed to hogs. put in, and that their heat will bring the temperature up to about 



After the test there wih be fewer eggs left in the machine, 95 degrees; lower it to 90 and by end of first week, 85 at end of 



but as each egg contains a hfe and life means animal heat, second week, 80 at end of third week, 75 at end of fourth week, 



we may soon expect to note a shght increase in the tempera- and so on. In such a brooder house as the one I have fuUy 



ture. This should be met by slightly turning down the nut described above, the hover pipes are about three inches from 



on the regulator rod each day, or every other day, as the con- the sand floor in the small pens next the heater, where the ■ 



-ditions seem to require. The directions sent out with each in- baby chicks are put. The space between pipes and floor gradu- 



cubator are the guide to follow, and these directions say 103 ally increases, until it is about eight inches at the end furthest 



degrees is the {)roper temperature to maintain. As we said from the heater, where the oldest chicks are brooded. It is 



-above, we would err on the side of a bit more than the desig- the custom to move the chicks along as they increase in size, 



nated temperature, rather than fall below it. One of the most they being driven from pen to pen through a sliding gate in the 



.successful incubator operators of our acquaintance does not partition between the pens. 



pretend to keep his machines at exactly 103. He says that ' One of the most successful broiler raisers of my acquain- 



. atmospheric conditions vary, causing variations in tempera- tance has smaller brooder houses (ten of them), each about 



ture, and if he keeps between 101 and 105, with an average sixty feet long, and the chicks are never moved from the pens 



close to 103, he gets good hatches of strong, vigorous chicks. ;„ which they are first put until they are taken out to dress for 



An article written by Col. Roessell, formerly poultry edi- market. 

 tor of the "Country Gentleman," gives the following: "The Qn another very successful broiler (and roaster) farm, in 



.guide which is most reliable in determining the progress of the Massachusetts, they have entirely removed the hovers from 



hatch is the development of the air cell. This is a little space the- brooder pens, built up the sand floor an inch higher, and 



in the large end of the egg which is visible at testing time, the chicks put their backs up against the warm pipes,— just 



and should continue to grow larger and larger until about the as they do against the hen's body when brooded by a hen. It 



nineteenth day, when it occupies about one-fifth of the entire looks comical to see the chicks under and between the hover 



•egg. Unless this air cell is developed correctly by the nine- pipes, their tiny heads sticking above the pipes quite frequently, 



teenth day the chick cannot turn itself in the shell, hence sticks The people at the farm say they get better results since they 



fast and dies, although it may be fully developed. The de- removed the hovers, that the chicks grow better and faster, 

 velopment of this air cell is the vital point to be considered 



:in obtaining a first class hatch. It is controlled in two ways. feeding the chicks 



If it develops slowly, which is usually the case, give the ma- Feeding has been the stumbling block over which many 



■chine and eggs all the air you can. This can be done by open- a would-be broiler raiser has fallen. The dismal wail of "bowel 



jng the slides over the ventilators full width and cooling the trouble," usually caused by Improper feeding (although too 



eggs as long as possible each day. The cooling is best accom- much or too little heat, or a "chill" may contribute) has marked 



plished by placing the trays of eggs on top of the machine the beginning of failure. Here is where the great gain in feed- 



(closing the doors meanwhile), and leaving them there until ing methods has come in, of which we spoke at the outset and 



the thermometer drops to 80 degrees, not lower. As the hatch which has brought about what appears now to be a revolution, 



progresses the eggs will stand more and more cooling." Instead of the mixed messes of meals, etc., the ready mixed 



This is excellent advice, and the novice will need especially chick foods, consisting of a large variety of seeds and grains, 



to observe the last sentence; the novice usually errs upon the are fed; with the gratifying result of comparatively little infant 



.side of too little airing and cooling. It is sometimes better, in mortality and a much more rapid growth. 



cold weather, to cool and air the eggs within the machine, We show here a table of the results obtained with 



leaving the doors open until the thermometer drops to about White Wyandotte chicks of different ages, and the article des- 



■eighty degrees; and sometimes, in quite warm weather, it will cribing them gave the following weights of the chicks: 



be necessary to leave the eggs out several hours to get them Newly hatched chicks, per pair 4 ounces 



•cooled to about eighty degrees. No matter, not only is the Four days old chicks, per pair A ounces 



■exposure, not harmful, but the fresh air strengthens the embryo Ten days old chicks, per pair 8 ounces 



■chicks. Three weeks old chicks, per pair _ 16 ounces 



Most operators test the eggs a second time about the fif- Four weeks old chicks, per pair IJ pounds 



teenth day, testing out the dead germs and leaving in only the Eight weeks old chicks, per pair __._4 pounds 



strong and vigorous germs. An expert operator can tell on the Ten weeks old chicks, per pair 6 pounds 



fifteenth day pretty nearly how many chicks he will get from Experienced broiler raisers expect to bring broiler chicks 



7') 



