506 Californian Poultry Eaising and Marketing. ^Sept., 



veterinarian, is placed at the disposal of all purchasers of day- 

 old chicks who live v^ithin a reasonable distance. If any 

 trouble arises or if any advice is needed his services are invoked. 

 This procedure is of great value to the hatchery both for pur- 

 poses of advertisement, and because it ensures a larger percen- 

 tage of survivals than v^ould otherv^ise be the case. The 

 veterinarian further justifies his existence by superintending a 

 model poultry farm owned by the hatchery. 



Brooding. — A great deal of attention is naturally given to 

 the brooding of young chicks, and numerous types of houses 

 and machines are in use. One of the favourite methods is by 

 the use of what is known as the " Kresky " house. This con- 

 sists of two rooms, one of which is kept heated at 75° F. by 

 means of an oil stove and thermostat, the second being con- 

 siderably cooler. A small entrance is provided from the warm 

 to the cool room, and from the latter to the chicken-run, so 

 that the chicks may accustom themselves to the different tem- 

 peratures. The room floors are usually covered with some 

 form of warm, dry litter, and the corners are rounded off to 

 prevent suffocation of chicks by crowding into corners. 



Trays of grit are placed in both rooms, and frequently a 

 continuous water supply and food supply is provided. 



This form of house appears very useful for large numbers of 

 chicks. The owner of a " ranch " in Petaluma recently raised 

 6,000 chicks in four Kresky houses each room of which could 

 not have been more than 20 ft. by 16 ft. Including the open- 

 air "run," these 6,000 chicks were raised in an area of less 

 than half an acre; and although their owner, having neglected 

 to separate his cockerels at the earliest possible moment, was, 

 in this case, risking loss by overcrowding, there is no doubt that 

 chicks are brooded successfully in very confined areas. One 

 square foot for young chicks and two square feet for hens and 

 pullets is the room considered desirable here. 



Various forms of smaller artificial brooders are in use. The 

 majority of these are heated by oil or coal stoves. This method 

 has the advantage of needing only one house, instead of two, 

 as with" the Kresky method. An electric brooder of orthodox 

 design was also seen, the heat being supplied by wire coils 

 beneath the floor of the brooder. In all cases regulation is 

 provided by a thermostat which, in the case of the electric 

 brooder, showed a small light when current was being used. 



The size of the flocl:s of young chicks placed in the brooders 

 is a feature of Petalumxa. The batches vary from 500 to 6,000, 



