The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-15
ARTIFICIAL BROODING SYSTEMS
 NECESSARY ON LARGE POULTRY FARMS
Types of Breeders and
 Details of Operation

Copyright. 1914. by Mates Menz Adv.
 Co.,, IDc.)
 Few poultry establishments of large capacity would be operated if 1t were nee essary to depend entirely upon natural methods of. matching and rearing the chicks. The perfection of the incubator and brooder has made possible the profit able operation of the great farms now found in all sections of the country, since these ingenious and effective appliances enable the poultryman 10 hatch and rear his chicks in large numbers at any sea- son of the year
 There are many types of breeders de- signed to meet the varying needs of poul- try growers. The important points of these are discussed below by Professor Stoneburn.
 By PROF. FREDERICK STONEBURN
 The poultry industry owes debt of gratitude to the man who invented the brooder. Without this piece of 'chick machinery the work of the poultryman would be much more difficult and the re- suits less sure than at present. It is true that the early breeding sustems were crude and wasteful. that they sacrificed millions of chicks and caused many an
 
 ure. But this is the history of all inven- tions, and as a result of the experience of former days. we now have reached a decidedly advanced stage in brooder con struetion.
 It would be idle to say that the brooder is absolutely perfect, that no further, inn provement can be made, but 1t is true that 1t is no longer difficult to rear in biooders larger proportion of the chicks irtrusted to them
 However, greater success in rearing clicks artificially is not due entirely to the improvement of the brooders Other factors have bearing on the matter As poultrymen, we have learned how to breed and how to hatch better chicks Obviously it is easier to grow strong. healthy chicks than weddings Unobservant people are prone to blame the breeding system for all mortality of chicks during the breeding period. This is not just. The brooder can scarcely be held accountable for errors in breeding or in incubation, even though the results ot such errors are made apparent only through heavy mortality to the ''artifieial mothers."
 Many Kinds of Breeders There are a great many distinct types Of breeders. These differ in principle. in size and cost so all classes of poultrv men can find something suited to their peculiar needs. Of course, there are a l lew individuals who still refuse to adopt these time saving appliances, but the humber is very small In this latter cla ss r1a grower who announces that he will never Use such machines "until they can cluck and scratch.'' Brooder manufe ctlrers please note. The ideal brooder is one which keeps the chicks continuously comfortable pro- | Vldes at all times the proper conditions 1 ol temperature and ventilation. It makes but little difference to the chicks what means are used to secure these condi- l tons. From the standpoint of the poul- | ffyman, it is desirable that the machines be reasonable in price, convenient and in ; expensive to operate Labor and fuel | cost money and the more these items can be reduced the lower the avera ge cost of the chicks reared
 Brooders may, for conyenience he | broadly divided into two classes-freless and heated. The latter class max be fur ther divided according to the heating sys- tenn used, as lamp breeders, pipe system l
 
 Let us briefly consider these in order
 Priceless breeders are merely an adapta- ton of the principles underlying the fire less cooker. They are tight boxes of yari- ous shapes and sizes, provided with cur tains and pads, the duty of these being to retain the animal heat generated byl the chicks themselves. No artificial heat Is ever supplied.
 The freless brooder is not new. It has been used in Asia for long period of | time, and in this country the principle has often been applied when necessity de- handed It is true, however, that this system of breeding was not generally in troduced here until a very few years ago..
 Chicks of highest quality may be reared | fn breeders of this kind. The first cost Of these breeders is low, and there is no expense for fuel. These are big ad- Vantages Against this. we have labor charge that is exeremely high, since they require almost constant attention until the chicks make considerable growth Further, it Is necessary to divide the chicks into very small foclls from 25 | to 30 in each, as in larger broods there Is usually much mortality from crowding or ''piling up.''
 Fireless Breeders Useful In general way it may be said that fireless breeders are of greatest use to those who rear but small number of chicks each season and who are in posi- ton to devote considerable time to the work. They are seldom adopted exclu- sively on plants of large capacity, though tfere they are frequently used to care for the overflow when the regular brood ing equipment is overtaxed. Lamp-heated breeders are the main- stay of small and medium sized plants l Probably no other poultry appliance is so generally used There are so many kinds that 1t would be tiresome to record them | All are alike in that the life giving heat