The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-01-14
practical Farmer.)

1t Will be surprise to many p. T.
readers 10 learn that broiler raising is
such an important industry that large
establishments are erected for the sole
purpose OF Matching and raising broilers
for market, and that these great estab
llshments are *'broiler factories" just
as there arc great shoe factories or cot
ton factories etc. Probably the largest
broiler factory in the world is the
Mary l. Poultry Plant located in
Sidney. Ohio, visit to which we greatly
enjoyed making a few weeks ago. Not
only is it the greatest broiler factory in
the world but it is unique in design, it
having been built by a retired business
nlan and built upon his own plans; after
he mad visited many poultry plants and
found nothing in any of them worth copy
ing he designed and built these great
buildings at an expense Of about $780,
600, and IS Matching, growing and ship
ping broilers in steady stream all the
year around
The central idea Of the system is that
the chicks shall not be touched by hand
from the time they come out Of the in
cubators till they are killed and dressed
for market, The Drooder house is built
in the form Of horseshoe with very
long sides; the chicks go into the
hrooders at one end Of the horse shoe,
move along one pen a day for ninety
days, and pass into the killing picking
shipping room at the other end Of the
horse shoe, not more than thirty feet
across from where they started The
sides of the horse shoe shaped broOler
house are very long, the total length
from end to end being $40 feet. To be ex-
act. this $40 feet of brooder house occu-
lies but tWo-thirds Of the ninety days
Journey, the other third, (the first 80
days., being in a nursery brooder'
room. also horse shoe shaped, which is
in the basement; to have one end Of the
nursery horse shoe connect with the
long breeder house the curve is reversed,
and the two brooder systems combine5
form an irregular letter IS.
The buildings are most substantially
built. Of brick on stone foundation, and
have slate roofs; they should last a
hundred years with only the slightest
repairs. Entering the office we find the
main aoor of this building taken up with
the office rooms for the men and central
hall ana in rear, occupying three fourths
Cf the length, is the nursery brooder. De-
sceHding to the basement we find the
boilers for heating the plant. bath room
etc, and the incubator room oblong
basement room III which are thirty 800
egg size Prairie State incui}at0rs. heated
by natural gas. 1t is the intention TO
Put 50 eggs q day into the incunat0Ts
hut, as one cannot set an incubator and
half each doy. the plan is to set oEe in
cuhator one day and two the next and
Sc on. In the southwest corner OF the
Incubator room is an elevator which lifts
the cage CT newly Matched chicks TO the
floor above and q gate il the siGc Of
the cage being opened the chicks are
driven out into the first pen of the nur-
sery brociers and their ninety-day jour
ney to the picking room is begun. Nat
uraliy the pens in this horse shoe shaped
nursery arc slightly fan-shaped being
broader 1T the outer end than at the in
iser. Such thing as a .hover" is not
seen there. the whole room being warmed
to a temperature of about 90 degrees,
by steam pipes along the walls and four
one-inch steam rires extending alons
over the middle Of the pens. Over the
first half dozen pens the pipes are about
six inches above the floor, over the next
eight or ten pens the pipes are about
two inches higher. ard then step up an
other two inches for the remaining pens
III the nursery; obviously these haDy
chicks cannot get their heads up IN con
tact with the hot steam pipes that
distance above the pen floors. and
as the pipes are about six inches
apart there cannot be an overheated
place lii which TO enervate the chicks
The first six or eight pen floors arc COW
cred with canvas carpets, which are
taken up and carefully washed and
dried after two days use, a gate in the
corner of each pen opens into the next
one the gate is lifted tho attendant
goes into the opposite corner and gently
drives the chicks through into the next
pen. and SO on. At the end of the
nursery horse shoe they pass through
door in the partition wall into the first
pen Of the long brooder house, where
they ere moved along one pen each day,
until they come to the killing-plcklng
room at the further end and are there
killed, dressed and shipped to market.
The pens in the long brooder house arc
1fxlI feet in size. and have the same
row OF four steam pipes over the middle
Of the pens. the pipes hero being some
eighteen inches above the floors. An ad-
ditiGn TO the heating apparatus OF THIS
long brooder house IS circular hover.
about three feet in diameter. and each
has two Jets OF gas burning just beneath
for auxiliary warmth. is this heat
reflector is somc sixteen inches above the
floor. it in no sense corresponds 70 the
usual hover and aa gas fiamc rapidly
consumes the oxygen Of tho air VIC would
question its desrability in location
where fresh air is most Important con-
sideration. Provision for Ncn1iia ton IS
made BY galvanized iron air shafts set
against the walls in alternating pens and
these connect directly with up-draft Ven
tilators above the peak CT tho double
span roof: numerous windows al0lE each
side Of tho house light he pens Well
aud DC opened to admit the air, but
the house was close, was not we'll aired
as VIC would have had II > bright.
sunny day in autumn. Plenty Of fresh
air is import ant aid 10 good grow h