The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-04-29
SUGGESTIONS ON THE FEEDING
AND MANAGEMENTOF CHICKENS
Personal Interest in Flock $
Welfare of Greatest
Importance.
nv J. RAYMOND kESSlER,
Practical 0ola1frvooanl

Success In brooding is chiefly a
matter of knowledge and close per-
sonal interest and not a matter OF
luck, as some would like to believe.
OF these two factors. the matter Of
important, as even wide knowledge
of poultry will accomplish little If the
personal element is lacking. Personal
interest enables the poultryman to ac-
complish the endless necessary details
of each day without thought of the la
Dor involved, and 1t Is the lack Of
this more than anything else that fire.
quently brings failure.
To be successful in rearing the
young stock we must begin at the in
cubator with the removal of the chicks
1t is of the utmost Importance that
this seemingly insignificant part of
the work be done with great care for
chilling the chicks at this time is very
often the cause of bowel troubles Of
the first two weeks of brooding. Boxes
four inches deep, Is inches wide and
three feet long, lined with heavy cot
ton flannel will be found best for this
purpose. Such box will hold 100
chicks without crowding.
Before the chicks reach the brooder
everything should be in readiness. The
equipment should have been run long
enough to have the quarters thorough
~ warm and all regulations made.
During the first few, days a heat Of
from IS to 100 degrees is not too high.
After that temperature of IS de-
grees should be high enough. and this
may be reduced each week as the flock
grows older. However, no set temper
allure can be given as the correct
amount for flock of certain age, as
this will necessarily vary with the
health of the flock and the season of
the year.
Heat Of the Brooder.
The very best plan to follow in the
matter OF heat regulation, and the
one followed by all poultrymen Of ex-
pertence, is to make the chicks COM
Portable. With the hover types of
breeders the heat can be considered
right when the chicks lay under the
hovers uncrowded, some OF them with
their heads out. If the chicks leave
the hover the heat is too great. and
when they crowd around the center,
the heat is too low. OF the two evils
the latter will cause the most trouble.
With colony brooder stoves built on
the plan of a large hover the same
plan of regulating the heat can be fol-
lowed but in stoves of the deflector
type, both oil and coal burning, some
difference in methods is necessary BY
the deflector type Is meant colony
stoves that are built to defect a warm
circle Of heat about the stove and
having no hover to retain the warm
air. The big oil burners are all built
IN this manner and about so per cent
OF the coal burning colony brooder
stoves are constructed on this plan,
With these the idea should be to keep
the chicks from crowding about the
stove by keeping the heat so that the
1lock will find sufficient warmth
about IS inches from the stove.
Protection From Drafts.
Some breeders raise objection to the
prooder stoves on the premises that
the chicks have no protection from
drafts on the floor. This is easily
overcome by surrounding the flock at
night with a low circle of wire fenC-
ing covered with muslin. Cellar win
dow wire is best for this purpose. as
when used in the form OF a circle
ABOUT the stove ii will stand without
support. The muslin can be fastened
70 the wire with clips or clothes pins.
This protection is only necessary dur
Ing the first week or SO.
In addition TO protecting the flock
from drafts across the floor this fence
keeps the chicks from wandering
away from the stove at night, and
tends to keep the flock from crowding
In corners. The main thing to look
70 in following this plan is not to con
fine the flock too close to the stove
and overhead them. OF course, all this
applies to the large colony brooder
stoves with hundreds of chicks in one
flock. the method of brooding that is
being adopted by a large majority of
poultrymen who require greater flock
capacity than the small hovers furnish.
The lamp hovers OF 50 or 60 chick
capacity have by no means lost their
place through the introduction of
stoves. They are best for the man
who matches small nocks.
In the matter Of general care the
chicks can be cared for in the same
manner in large flocks as was the
practice with small flocks. For the
nrst day or two it Is best to confine
the chicks to the hover or closely
about the stove II the colony brooder,
are used. After that the chicks ma,