Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1895-02-12
POULTRY NOTES.

The principle Of the brooder (Which
must not be confOuaded with an ineuhat-
or, as Is so often done by persons who
have only hsZy knowledge Of the mat
ter i 10 furnish something that takes
the place OF the mother-hen after the
chirks have left the she'll. Its purpose
i 10 furnish. aS nearly as lies in our
power, warmth and security from dan
ger, whether the latter be from cold,
rain or enemies either winged or four
legged. No one has as Yet succeeded In
making il clGck. or walk about from
place 10 place, with its brood of forty or
iiuy chicks running along behind-nor
viii il fight hawks by day or weasels or
rats by uight-bUt almost every other
duty Il i ready 10 perform with con-
siderable degree Of efficiency.
No brooder has been invented that
viii ever do just as The mother-hen
does. Ia giving the chicks exactly the
requisite degree of heat that they re-
qulre, adapted to their age, and il is
doubtful il We will ever be able 10 sup
PLY that need, in just that way.
The difficulty lies in this, thst We DO
not know ourselves exactly what COndl-
tions prevail between the hen and her
chick-we have no way Of finding out
last how warm the little chick Is made,
As IL snUggles up closely beside its
mother or under her wing.
Ii is upon this point Of temperature
that the great difficulty with artificial
broodiug hinges. Too high aud too low
a temperature, alike, are fatal, and of
the two the former has caused by far
the ~, ater number of deaths. IL Is in
this direction that the novice would
most naturally err. In his anxiety To
keep the little orphans warm enough, he
loses the sense Of their proper inquire
ments. his sense of proportion il faulty
and his Intended kindness i sadly
misplaced. because wiki the application
OF an amount of heat. even, that would
seem 20 6e but comfortably warm TO the
hand. the chicks are literally murdered.
No one who hiss ever raised chicks
upon auy scale at sll. In this way, bat
will have PASSED through all these
stage, Of experience, erring between the
TWO extremes Of warmth and cold, until
time and experience have matured judg-
ment aud at last he j. able 10 tell whether
placing the hand under the hover, with
Out any reference 20 any thcrmometer)
aud by observing how the ltIlc waits
act-f"r the experienced operator gets
TO know az a glance whether the chicks
are happy aud comfortable in their
brooders or uot-sll these things are
told bv their hayiOur, hy ,undry little
,uoises and chirps o! content, or OF dis
comfort.
There i one thing in which the brood
er. IL kept clean and entirely removed
from vermin infested places, wholly
distances the hen, and that i in the mat
ter Of freedom from lice.
The average hen that brings oil
clutch Of chicks, o,quea,hs 10 every one
Of them some lice. both in the egg and
in the matured state. We mean that
the heu's lice will, in all probability,
have also deposited nits upon the chicks,
20 thar although the chicks may be- at
once taken away from the hen that
hSt,hel them. they will nevertheless be
lifted our with plentiful supply OF yer-
min. But IL chicks are put into clean
hrpoder. directly cut Of an incubator,
and not allowed 20 mix with any that
mav have been in charge Of a heu, they
will arrive az maturity without ever
having seen or felJ Que OF the pests.
This. 10 be sure, l. 4 great fac;or In
favor Of the chicks growth Likewise,
il i true. that a. the result OF many
careful experiments. it has been proven
that chicks mothered by brooder, and
4 careful person attending upon them.l
will attain more weight aud ,iIe by any
Nhere from - 20 - per cent than those
that take their chances with hen.
OF course we are not now referring 20
small tlocks of two or three dozen chicks
that are reared annually IN countless
, ards, farms or small enclosures. But
\ hen the number appJo che> tifty 70 one
hundred, then the brooder plays an im-
portaut role Much more might here be
aid upon the merits OF this me;hod OF
raising the Young Of the hen ant tn
duck 10 maturity, but perhaps these
points will be brought out a. We 20 on.
Instead Of minutely describiag the con-
,trpction OF "A broOder, a. We had ST
first intended, We will give the general
principles upon which they are operated,
and then tell the reader where To write
for farther particulars.
The principle involved Is simply to
furnish the chicks warmed chamber
With suitable ven,isiionl, ia which
they NAV find varying degrees of ten
perature, ranging from 20 TO ~ 10 differ
ent parts of the brooding climber. The
brooding chamber. or apartment Ia
Nhich the chicks ale 10 live, Is usually
about three feet square, and = best
m lde with ftt. or il intended also for
outside use in the spring, sloping roof.
Ventilation into thi. chamber - proVid-
ed by 4 row of inch aUger holes ranged
dong the top aud rear sides made with
f, slide 70 close them wholly or partly al
Nill.
The floor Of this chamber just deserio-
I'd. i. Of matched ioOring or sheal hug
we'll seasoned, and i perforated by
three or four one inch gas pipes : IL
inches long. screwed into the floor by
thread. AMI ranged equidlstaDt, about
ak IL. hes from the exact centre OF the
door. over these gas-pipes is placed -
mover. consisting of matched htlf-inch
stun. made two feet squire. aud mount
ed on legs al each corner, capable OF
raising the hover from tao and one-htU