NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BROODING 107 



SUGGESTIONS 



1. In an effort to learn all that you possibly can about artificial 

 brooding investigate the various systems of brooding chicks in your 

 community and determine, if possible, in each case the reasons for suc- 

 cess and causes of failure in brooding. 



2. After looking into the matter, which in your opinion is the 

 most popular form of brooding chicks in your community, that is, 

 by natural methods or artificial? 



3. Should you have a flock of fowls, endeavor to put into prac- 

 tice a system of wing banding as described on page 95, keeping a rec- 

 ord of these numbers, including time of hatching and any other in- 

 formation that will be of value to you in the future. 



4. Insofar as you can, make a working drawing of a good practical 

 brood coop for hen and chicks, embodying such features as are out- 

 lined in this chapter. After your plan is completed, construct one 

 coop or several such coops from your plan out of dry goods boxes or 

 other available lumber. 



5. If you are not entirely convinced as to the importance of 

 confining the mother hen until the chicks are weaned, carry on a little 

 experiment to prove this to your own satisfaction. Such a test should 

 be made with two broods of chicks, both of which are hatched about the 

 same time. With one brood of chicks confine the mother hen through- 

 out the weaning period, being sure that the hen and chicks are provided 

 with sufficient feed and water. The hen with the second brood of 

 chicks should not be confined except during the night and should be 

 allowed to run with the chicks at will. At the end of 8 weeks, weigh 

 the chicks in both lots and compare them for size, weight, and develop- 

 ment. Which lot has the greatest number of chicks living at the end 

 of this period? Do you not think it would be advisable to impress 

 upon your poultry friends and other poultrymen and farmers in your 

 community the importance of confining the mother hen until the 

 chicks are weaned? 



6. Do you not think it would be interesting to construct a small 

 fireless brooder such as is shown in Figure 106? Such a brooder might 

 come in handy in case a mother hen should die or in any other emergency 



REFERENCES 



Natural and Artificial Brooding of Chickens, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 624, by Harry M. Lamon. 



