536 
X 1~I hC KUKAL NKVV.VUKKtK 
l'.u:.. 
Temperatures and Baby Chicks 
A Controlling Factor. — Every 
Spring when the hatching and brooding 
season approaches the poultry raiser con¬ 
siders how he may surround the baby 
chicks with conditions that will carry 
them through the first few weeks of their 
lives. Feeding, exercise, and all the other 
factors that enter into this management 
are of great importance, but too often far 
too little significance is attached to the 
temperature under which the baby chicks 
are to be kept. Chicks just hatched from 
the shell are tiny, delicate creatures, com¬ 
ing from a temperature of 10f» degrees. 
Their little bodies are not capable of 
withstanding the harsh effects of uneven 
days. This is not a severe drop from in¬ 
cubator conditions. As they get stronger 
and used to eating they should be coaxed 
out from beneath the hover, even if they 
have to be forced out. Tittle chicks 
should not be allowed to remain under 
the hover the entire day during the first 
week, unless the room temperature is be¬ 
low 05 degrees. Toward the cud of the 
week the temperature should not rise over 
101 degrees. The temperature should be 
measured about one and one-lmlf inches 
from the floor. During the second week 
the heat may be reduced gradually, so 
that by the end of the second week the 
thermometers will read about 99 degrees 
TIIE BROODER IN OPERATION. Fig. 189. 
and low and extremely high temperatures. 
They must be surrounded with uniform, 
even degrees of bent, for only under those 
conditions can they grow and develop nat¬ 
urally. Nature has provided such tem¬ 
peratures under the body of the mother 
hen. It is up to the poultry raiser to imi¬ 
tate' the mother lien as nearly as possi¬ 
ble. 
flow Mitch IIeat Is Needed. —Chicks 
should be allowed to remain in the cham¬ 
ber of the incubator for .‘U> or 48 hours 
after they have hatched. During this 
time the chamber should be darkened, so 
that they will get the sleep that nature 
intended them to have. During these 
or 100 degrees. From then on to the end 
of the sixth week the temperature under 
the hover should be dropped very gradu¬ 
ally to reach about 85 degrees. A system 
of gradually decreasing the hover tem¬ 
perature for brooder chicks is known as 
a hardening-off process, whereby the 
chicks become accustomed to less and less 
artificial heat, thus preparing them for 
range conditions. All drops in tempera¬ 
ture should be made slowly. A great deal 
of the trouble met with each Spring is 
due to the sudden variations in tempera¬ 
tures. 
Bad Temperatures. —Probably more 
baby chicks were lost last Spring be¬ 
IIARDENING OFF THE CHICKS. Fig. 190. 
hours they are surrounded by a temper¬ 
ature of approximately 10.‘! degrees, if the 
machines have been running satisfactor¬ 
ily. This dries the down and invigorates 
the little chick, so that it is ready to come 
from the machine and stand upon its feet 
and be ready for its first meal and drink 
of water. The transrer from the incu¬ 
bator to the brooder is an important step, 
as at this stage many chicks are chilled 
so that they live but a little while after 
being placed in the brooder, or become 
stunted in development. Every chick 
should be handled with the utmost care, 
and never be touched by other than warm 
hands. Open the door of the chamber 
carefully, and quickly, and gently remove 
all chicks, to be taken out to a basket 
which is lined with some thick, warm 
woolen cloth or other material. Transfer 
them quickly to the brooder and again 
handle them only after the hands have 
been warmed. The temperature under 
the hover should be from 101 degrees to 
102 degrees for the first three or four 
cause of unevenness of temperatures than 
were due to any other one thing. Brood¬ 
ers that are heated by kerosene lamps are 
quite easy to keep running evenly, if 
proper care is taken in the tilling and 
caring for the lamp. The wick should be 
changed between each brooding, and it 
sliould always be trimmed squarely each 
morning. A uniform flame that has no 
high corners is the most desirable. After 
the flame has been regulated to the condi¬ 
tions it should be carefully maintained in 
that way. Of course, weather conditions 
will alter these things considerably, and 
thus they must be closely watched. Where 
hot-water pipes are the source of heat the 
stove heating the water must be care¬ 
fully regulated, and kept going. In any 
case be sure that the source of heat does 
not go out. for that means a drop in tem¬ 
perature, and on the other hand watch for 
a crawling up in the flame or stove, as 
that means an equally dangerous rise in 
temperature. The work of brooding 
chicks cannot be done unless the poultry- 
April 
man can give his time carefully to the 
work. 
Uneven Temperatures. —These result 
in leg weakness, a trouble all too preva¬ 
lent among small chicks. The lack of 
uniformity in temperature has weakened 
the little chicks and forced it down on its 
legs, so that it stops growing and often 
dies. Uneven temperatures often cause 
serious diarrhoea among brooder chicks. 
It is due to the stopping of the normal 
activities of the small digestive organs of 
the chicks. This is often confused with 
white diarrhoea. Uneven temperatures 
cause many runts to appear in the flock, 
as it arrests the natural development of 
the bird. Fluctuation in surrounding 
temperatures throws the growing bird 
from the balance which it is necessary for 
it to preserve in order to continue to grow 
and develop. It is better to have a uni¬ 
formly low temperature than an uneven 
temperature, but avoid both. Study the 
room temperature and weather conditions 
and govern your fires accordingly. 
Too Much Heat Destroys Vitality. 
—Many chicks are kept under too high 
temperatures until they are some five or 
six weeks of age. As a result they are 
delicate when they should have been ac¬ 
customed to getting along without any ar¬ 
tificial heat. Their bodies are not hard¬ 
ened. so that they can be comfortable 
even in the brooder runs outside the hov¬ 
ers. High degrees of heat often cause 
chicks to stay under the hovers too long, 
until their vitality and strength is gone, 
for high temperatures do tend to draw 
upon the natural strength and vitality of 
the chick. They make the chicks tender 
and incapable of withstanding slightly un¬ 
favorable environmental conditions, such 
as chicks will ordinarily have to come up 
against. Diarrluea and constipation both 
result from prolonged high temperature. 
Too Low Temperature Is Danger¬ 
ous. —We find that neither extreme is 
correct, but that some happy medium 
must be struck. Low temperatures do 
not tend to have immediate detrimental 
effects, unless they are very extreme and 
long continued. When the latter condi¬ 
tions prevail the low temperatures- are 
very serious in their effects upon the 
brood. In the first place a lack of proper 
heat Avill start a flock of chicks to piling 
on top of each other in an effort to keep 
warm and get the desired warmth. This 
is especially prevalent in cases where .*>(X) 
to 500 chicks are kept in one brood, as is 
being so often done nowadays as the coal 
burning brooders are coming into use. 
These types of brooders are good, and 
can supply enough heat when properly 
managed, but if they do run low the dan¬ 
ger from death due to crowding is in¬ 
creased as the flocks are larger. The only 
(Concluded on page 544.) 
When you write advertisers mention Tux 
It. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
"square deal.’ - See guarantee editorial page. 
SAVE-The-HORSE 
(Trade-Mark. Reeiatered) 
Put Horse to Work and Cure Him 
EVERY BOTTLE of Save-thc-Horsc is sold with signed Contract- 
Bond to Return Money if Remedy fails on Ringrbone, Thoropln. 
—SPAVIN - or ANY Shoulder, Knee, Ankle, Hoof or Tendon 
dioease. No blistering or loss of hair. 19 Years a Success. 
Write to-day. BOOK, Sample Contract and ADVICE- 
ALL FREE (to Horse Owners and Managers). Address 
TROY CHEMICAL CO., 24 Commerce Ave., Binghamton, N. Y. 
Drnguist* everywhere »ell Save-The-IIorso WITH CON¬ 
TRACT, or we send by Parcel Pont or Express paid. 
^Mlllllllllllllllllillllllllllllilllllllllllllill//^ 
I Williams Quality' i 
| Harness | 
Made From Genuine No. 1 
“ Bark Tanned Harness ~ 
~ Leather. 
E npHE harness you should 
5 1 order to insure the ut- — 
= most service and satis- • 
E faction. Sold under the — 
famous guarantee of Sears, 
Roebuck and Co. Your 
jjj money cannot buy greater 
harness value nor higher qual- 
E ity. Turn to the harness 
pages of your big General » 
Catalog, or write “Harness” 
on a postal and mail today. 
| Sears.Roebuck and Co. | 
Chicago | 
iiiiiiiiiiiniiim^ 
Handy 
Binder 
J UST the thing for 
preserving files of 
The Rural New-Yorker. 
Durable and cheap. Sent 
postpaid for 25 cents. 
The Rural New-Yorker 
333 W. 30th St., New York City 
You carry fire insurance 
so that in case of fire you 
will be protected. Your 
house and barn may never 
turn. Your live-stock is 
sure to die. 
No farmer or stockman can afford 
to carry his own risk when horses 
and cattle bring such prices in 
the market. The prudent man 
insures that he may not have a 
total loss. He pays for protection. 
LIVE STOCK INSURANCE 
Chautauqua Co-Operative Live 
Stock Insurance Co. 
OF 
Westfield, New York 
Insures Against Death From Any Cause 
Our Policies are Good as Gold 
Get in Touch With Local Agent 
We insure family and fancy 
drivers, track animals, mati¬ 
nee horses, farm horses, 
mares bred and not bred, 
stallions, draft, high bred 
and general purpose, mules, 
cows, bulls, etc. 
We insure horses, mules, and 
cattle against loss by death from 
any cause, fire, lightning, 
cyclone, disease, or accident. 
If the animal gets a leg broken 
or otherwise injured and has to 
be killed. WE PAY THE LOSS. 
