452 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXV, No. IX 
weeks, at the end of which time they were discarded. The method was 
so successful for those investigators that the present writers attempted to 
use it, but, owing to some unknown cause, the chicks discriminated 
against the feed containing the paper and failed to eat an amount suffi¬ 
cient to prevent leg weakness. After many trials, the method about to 
be described of raising chicks in confinement was developed, and, since 
it has been successful with rather large numbers of fowls, it is described 
with the hope that it may be of assistance to other experimenters. The 
writers wish to express their appreciation of the friendly cooperation of 
Dr. J. S. Hughes and Prof. L. F. Payne. 
EQUIPMENT 
The parasitology animal house in which the chicks were raised occupies 
a portion of the first floor of a two-story frame building. Screens on 
windows and door aid in excluding flies and other insects from the house. 
In the interior a hallway separates the sterilizing room, feed room, and 
laboratory on the north from the four rectangular pens on the south. 
Each pen, separated from its fellow by a screened partition, is 8 feet 
wide by 32 feet long, and extends north and south. Ample light and 
ventilation are afforded by large windows on all sides except the west. 
The house is steam-heated and is usually kept just warm enough to pre¬ 
vent freezing during the coldest weather. For small chicks, both kero¬ 
sene and electrically heated hovers have been utilized, but at present a 
high-pressure steam radiator with a conical tin cover is placed in the 
partition between each pair of pens (PI. 2, B, right).* Detachable canvas 
curtains aid in retaining the warm air in these hovers. For the older 
chickens, the roost and dropping board are placed along one side of the 
pen so that the fowls may select places out of the drafts. In the summer 
the screened partitions tend to increase the heat, but by spraying the 
pens with cold water the temperature is so reduced that the chicks suffer 
little from the heat. 
CHICKENS 
In the early experiments three breeds of chickens were used: Barred 
Plymouth Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, and Single Comb White Leghorns. 
The weight and comparative inactivity of the first two breeds seemed to 
make them more susceptible to leg weakness, for they showed abnormal 
symptoms sooner than did the alert Leghorns, though all were kept in 
the same quarters. After the first two years, therefore, only Single Comb 
White Leghorns were used. 
All of Hie chickens were hatched in incubators, and placed at once in 
the pens. Lots of baby chicks have been secured from local poultrymen, 
the College Poultry Farm, and from commercial hatcheries. 
As is well known, excellent care of baby chicks during the first two 
weeks is imperative. A temperature of about ioo° F. is maintained in 
the hover. Sand, oyster shell, and clean water are kept constantly before 
them and a small amount of feed is given about every two hours. Shallow 
drinking fountains which exclude the chicks have the advantages of free¬ 
dom from contamination and of keeping the chickens dry. As the chicks 
grow older, the board floor, 2 feet above the ground, is gradually covered 
with a litter of wheat straw. The fine straw and droppings are removed 
• Photographs by F. E. Colburn. 
