Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-04-03
Hovers' Superiority


ority of hovers and brooders over the
hen may be found in the fact that be-
fore these were developed there were
practically no large farms devoted en-
tirely to poultry raising. To-day they
dot every State and are especially nu-
merous in the East. where eggs bring
the best prices. Also, there are to-
day no large farms that do not rely
on artificial brooding for raising their
chicks. one farm in New Jersey the
past year brooded over forty thousand
chicks. all by artificial methods. in
flocks of from one hundred to seven
hundred. One farm on Long Island
brooded over fifty thousand duck
lings, all by artificial methods of
brooding.
Artificial brooding devices do not
harbor lice and mites to inflict on
their chicks. Should other fowls get
among the chicks and scatter lice and
mites, the brooding device can quickly
be disinfected and cleansed, as they
are inanimate, and will stand strong
remedies, while a hen will not. But
lice and mites are practically unknown
where artificial Matching and brood
ing are practiced. This means a saw
ing of chicks as we'll as time.
Naturally, in developing any appli-
ance or method so revolutionary as
artificial brooding the first attempts
Many impractical devices We're used.
Even to-day new devices are appear
ing every year. Some of these will
stand the test of practical use while
others will fall by the wayside. Be-
fore purchasing very heavily of any
new device the rule of common sense
should be brought to bear on the prin-
ciples involved in the new idea.
The successful brooding devices
most widely used to-day cover a few
well-defined principles. those that
should be followed to raise not only
the largest numbers of chicks but the
most rugged and healthy ones A warm
even temperature radiated down on
the backs of the chicks in a uniform
manner all the time is perhaps the
first and foremost positive rule in
brooding chicks. Too much heat is
harmful and so is too little. The same
may be said of an uneven heat. now
warm enough and then too little or too
much heat. From 50 degrees to even
as much as 95 degrees in young chicks
is generally considered as ideal.
Pure Air Essential
Fresh pure air to breathe is of vital
importance and must be obtainable at
all times both day and night. The
fresh air is generally allowed to reach
the chicks through strips or curtains
Oh uluSlln, InuS evenly IL
and preventing drafts. Drafts are to
be avoided with chicks just the same
as with people and for the same rea-
son, as they bring on colds and sim
| liar complaints. This air to breathe
should be slightly warm but not over
heated. Fumes or gases from the
heating device should not escape un-
der the hover where the chicks must
stay when they want warmth.
AS hovers and brooders must be
cleaned out and kept sweet and clean,
they should be easily moved and easy
of access every way. They should not
be complicated or of expensive me-
chanical construction. The simpler
their construction the better they will
usually operate. and the less time 1t
will take to care for them. At the
same time they will create a warm
even glow of heat downward on the
chicks backs. and furnish plenty of
fresh air circulating under the cur
tain. AS uneven heat, insufficient heat,
hot or cold spots or corners will cause
the chicks to crowd and pile upon
each other with fatal effect. it is i'm
portant that the heat is evenly dis
tributed and there are no extremely
hot or cool places under the hover or
brooder.