The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-04
Modern Appliances Have Made Possible the Nam moth Chicken Farms
Chickens Thrive Better Than When Raised By Mother Hens
Bs REBsE '. HICKS
Manager International Poultry Farms, Browns Mills. N. ].
 Copyright, 1915)

Mans invention of hovers and de- vices for breeding chicks has large ly displaced the hen as the raiser of poultry. No substitute has been found for her as an egg layer. but man seems to have really improved upon her in mothering the young flock.
 Modern breeders not/ only. possess the advantages of caring for hun dreds of chicks at a time. but they save the hons time and leave her free for more profitable employment Brooders. too. protect the chicks bet ter. are more dependable and are free from vermin. They mark one of mans greatest achievements in poultry rais- ing.
 The following article briefly con trasts the advantages of such devices over the natural method
 Before the development of modern hovers and devices for breeding. the hen was the sole dependence of the poultry raiser for mothering the young chicks. As a hen becomes broodv only when she wishes, and that wish us- ually strikes her after she has laid out her batch of eggs in the late spring it would mean that chicks could be brooded only late in the spring if We depended solely on her. Hence, because he could not select the time when he would brood his chicks, the poultry raiser in other days had to allow the hen to control his business. It meant in some unfavorable seasons his hens brooded his chicks so late that tho young bullets did not finish in timo to give any fall and winter eggs; tho times of the year when eggs are high est and most profits are made in the poultry business As. each hen could care for only limited number of chicks, the poultry man who depended upon hens to do his breeding wns of necessity limited in the number of hens he carried. He was put to a heavy ex- pense feeding these hens while they brooded the future flock, when these same hens should have been laying eggs and making a profit for him. It meant a loss in feed for the hens as Well as eggs that they should lay on which the owner could make a profit It meant, too, loss on the money he had invested in the hens that we're earning no profit and not laying eggs to even pay for their keep. Hens often take a dislike to some of their own chicks, and fight them off, either kill ing them driving them away until these unfortunate chicks dwindle and die grow into poorly developed fowls hardly worth their feed if kept in the flock The hens often trample their chicks to death. Heavy losses always followed for these reasons rl..~x Ia. 1 lf ing.
 Hens More Care Than Breeders
 Hens demand more care than modern sanitary hovers and brooders. as they broke eggs while hatching. befouled their own nests, thus damaging the hatch and requiring careful watching and attention by their owner. They had to be watched after their chicks were off or else they would wander and drag their frail offspring to death through dewy weeds. When storm hen usually selected some uncovered spot to espread her wings and hover her brood resulting in drowned chicks. At least they were badly bedraggled and chilled, and many of them gave up the unequal struggle. All these losses of the hens feed, eggs, chicks and the owners val uaDle tllue ulSCpuId6tu tlt IdlstI WilO depended on the undependable hen to raise and brood his chicks.
 But his greatest Encouragement came through the loss of chicks from hen raiNpg, because of lice and mites. The hen almost without fail gave her babies lice. Then they must be greased or dusted. If not noticed early the loss was so heavy as to often kill off those not taken by earlier trou- 1tpa at required more valuable time that the owner should be using to produce and raise more chicks and get more profits.
 The first great advantage of hovers and breeders Is that they will work any time. The winter is the same as the nice, warm spring to them. Thus the poultry raiser can select his own season and con- trol his breeding so as to get his flock out in time to produce eggs when he wants them Development of modern breeding devices so that they care for from 100 to 800 chicks means that the modern poultry man can raise poultry in thousands in- stead of flocks of a few dozens at the most. as he formerly had to do when hens were his dependence. The hovers and breeders built by reliable concerns run uniformly and, being machines, do their work in a mechanical manner, just as their owner wants them to do. They stay where they are put, and are not missing when a rain comes up. or engaged in the dewy mornings in dragging their tender occupants to death through the wet grass. When they are not in use they can be stored away, and do not cost for useless maintenance. They are clean and sanitary, and those of the best makers are simple, easily cared for and very de- pendable under all conditions.
 HOvers' Superiority
 Perhaps the best proof of the superior ity of hovers and breeders over the hen may be found in the fact that before these were developed there were practically no large farms devoted entirely to poultry raising. Today they dot every state and are especially numerous fin the east, where eggs bring the best prices. Also, there are today no large farms that do not rely on artificial breeding for raising their chicks. One farm in New Jersey the past year brooded over 10000 chicks, all by arti- ficial methods, i'll fiocks of from 100 to 700. One farm on Long Island brocded over 50,OO0 ducklings, all by artificial methods of brooding
 Artificial breeding devices do not harbor
 
 The Tendency to Exaggerate From the Columbus Dispatch. Tho fisherman is not the only fellow who Is inclined to exaggerate. It seems 10 be inherent in the race, and whether one is reporting the length of a snake or he amount of money that he made in a l bank deal, the chances are the story would have to be toned down and a por- | ion of 1t eliminated before 1t would tally with the truth.