36 A REVOLUTION IN EGG PRODUCTION 



proved such a success that a few, who were expert in handling 

 them, made a business of contracting to raise chickens by their 

 use up to a time past brooding age. This type of brooders 

 have now been proved practical in all parts of the country. 



Some people are fairly successful in raising young chick- 

 ens in fireless brooders, and if carefully tended they may be 

 raised this way in small flocks. The objection to this kind of 

 contrivances, however, is that the attendant must be con- 

 stantly "on the job" or disaster follows, and, if a number are 

 in use, the labor and time items are serious ones to be' con- 

 sidered. 



For the poultryman desiring to raise one hundred to one 

 hundred and twenty-five chickens, the portable brooders or 

 hovers, which can be set anywhere on the floor of a house or 

 shed, will prove practical. Each make of these brooders will 

 have manufacturers' directions which should be followed. 



For the poultryman in a larger way such units could be 

 multiplied, or a larger brooder could be used to care for from 

 five hundred to fifteen hundred chickens. 



Let us now look at the requirements for successful brood- 

 ing. Under hens, when the chicks feel chilled they huddle 

 under the hen's body, and are warmed by direct contact with 

 the same. Not only so, but the hen's intelligence is used to 

 prevent the chicks getting chilled, because she watches over 

 them and calls them to her to be huddled. 



Under artificial brooding, there are three main requisites ; 

 first, that a warm place be furnished where the chicks can 

 hover, second that the air in or under this hover be kept pure 

 and wholesome, and third, that the chicks have no opportunity 

 or excuse for crowding. 



When outdoor brooders are used, these provisions are 

 fairly cared for if the brooders are run at the right tempera- 

 ture. When run at too low a temperature the chicks will 

 crowd; and, if run at too high a temperature the chicks may 

 not be able to get away from the heat ; and, if overheated the 

 probabilities are they will never entirely regain the stamina 

 lost thereby, and they will always be backward in growth as 

 a result of this overheating. These are some of the reasons 

 in faior of brooding with the movable hovers. 



The portable hovers can be set on the floor of a house or 

 shed, and they should be heated up some hours before the 



