Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-03-19
ARTIFICIAL BROODING OF
CHICKS.

ment OF Agriculture'S specialist, con-
sists in supplying artificially as near
~ as possible the heat furnished by
the hen under natural conditions.
The temperature of hen is about
LOG degrees fahrenheit, but as hens
seldom sit closely on chickens the
latter do not receive this degree of
heat. Hens adapt their method of
brooding to conditions such as tenn
perature, size of chickens, wet wea-
Their, ETC., and the operator of the
brooder must meet these conditions
.as well as he can. This lack of ad-
Instability to changes is one of the
weak points of our present brooders
and brooder systems. Some of the
most important faults in the man
agement of brooders are overcrowd-
ing and the lack Of ventilation,
while the chickens fail to get suf-
ficient exercise. The brooder should
supply the proper temperature, be
readily adapted to changes in wea-
Their conditions. and be easy to clean
and we'll ventilated.
Chickens are usually left in the in
cubator from "a to SO hours after
Matching, without feeding, before
they are removed to the brooder,
which should have been in operation
for day or two at the proper tenn
perature for receiving the chickens.
A beginner. should try his brooding
system carefully before he uses it.
After placing the chickens in the
brooder they can be given feed and
water. Subsequent loss in chickens
is frequently due to chilling received
while taking them from the incuba-
tor to the brooder. They should be
moved in a covered basket or recep-
tacle in cool or cold weather.
HOvers, Breeders and Brooding
Systems
There are a large number of how
ers, brooders, and brooding systems
used throughout the country, some
with success although many are dis
carded as failures, while each year
brings some modification or change.
One poultryman uses system sue
cessfully. while his neighbor may
make a failure of the same system,
but does well with another. More
difference of opinion exists as to the
value of brooding system than in
any other part of poultry rearing
which shows that no system is ideal
for all conditions or all people, but
that success depends largely on in
dividual handling and care. Many
failures in brooding are due to weak
chickens, which may be traced to
to faulty incubation or weakness in
breeding stock.
Brooding systems may be CLASH
fed as follows, according to their
capacity: Individual breeders OF
hovers holding from 25 to 100 chick
ems; coal, gasoline, and engine OF
distillate oil-stove brooders, with a
capacity varying from 200 to 1900
chicks; and hot-water pipe systems
the capacity of which is unlimited.
The beginner, il possible, should
thoroughly investigate the brooding
equipment used on successful poultry
farms which have been in operation
for some years.
Individual Hovers and BroOders.
The small individual hovers and
brooders are heated with either hot
air or hot water, with kerosene oil
as the source of heat. Hovers are
used entirely inside, either in brooder
houses or in small colony houses,
while breeders are made for both in
door and outdoor use. Outdoor
brooders are used with success and
work very satisfactorily under most
weather conditions. The capacity OF
brooders and hovers is often over
estimated, and one-half to two
thirds of the number of chickens
commonly advised will do much bet
ter than a larger number. The
danger from fire, due frequently to
carelessness and lack of attention is
considerable in cheap brooders and
hovers, while there is some risk in
the best grades, although proper care
will reduce this to minimum. In
dividual hovers in colony houses
or several in one large house are
giving quite general satisfaction on
small poultry farms. while the pipe
system of brooding is commonly used
in large commercial poultry plants
and where extensive winter brooding
is done. When a lamp is used as
the source of heat, care should be
taken to keep the wick and burner
properly cleaned. Brooder lamps
and stoves should be inspected sew