PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



arise when the chicks are not able to turn in the shell or when 

 held in one cramped position for a considerable time. Uneven 

 temperature during the period of incubation is the cause usual- 

 ly assigned for these deformities. 



Brooding 



Brooding, as well as incubation, may be natural or artifi- 

 cial. Natural brooding, with the hen, solves the problem of 

 heat in an inexpensive way. It is a common thing on the farm 

 to set a number of hens at the same time that the incubator 

 is set. When the incubator comes off the chicks are given to 

 the hens, until each hen has about twenty, and then they are 

 put out in coops. It has been found that incubator chicks do 

 not do as \\jell under hens as chicks hatched by the natural 

 method. They do not do as well as under an artificial system 

 of brooding. When large numbers of chicks are to be raised, 

 the incubator and artificial brooder are a necessity. For the 

 average farmer, better results will be obtained by the natural 

 method, for there is no question but that the hen-hatched and 

 the hen-brooded chick is superior. 



Artificial Brooding 



There are several types of brooders on the market. The 

 fireless brooder depends upon the heat generated by the 

 chicks. When the chicks are a month old or older this brooder 

 can be used to advantage. It can also be used for smaller 

 chicks in a room provided with artificial heat. The feather 

 brooder is one type of this kind that is quite popular. The 

 ordinary box in which the brood chamber is heated by a lamp 

 is used when small numbers of chicks are handled. Some of 

 these give good results. The small c9lony house provided 

 with universal hover, the heat being furnished by a lamp on 

 the outside of building, is not always satisfactory as the lamp, 

 though enclosed, is exposed to more or less draft. The stove 

 brooder seems to have solved the brooding problem better than 

 any other device. The stove is heated by hard or soft coal 

 or kerosene, according to the type. It is provided with a 

 regulator so that an even temperature can be maintained. The 

 hover throws the heat down upon the backs of the chicks and, 

 as there are dififerent zones of heat from the stove outward! 

 the chicks, are able to find the zone of heat adapted to their 



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