The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-04

air, care should be exercised not to cause a draft on the chicks. This ap- plies while the little fellows are in the incubator and after they have been removed to the brooder Fresh air should be supplied freely. but drafts and dampness must be avoided The ventilation should be arranged to car ry off carbon dioxide and. other pois onous gases.
 Preparing the Brooder
 Before the commencement of the hatch Ing season every part of the brooder should be thoroughly cleaned and ex an,ined The careful poultry keeper will not place baby chicks in brooder with out first having tested it's heating de- vice for at least A hours. This applies to both old and new broders.
 If the heating device is new to the oper- ator it should be studied and tried be- fore the brooder is used. Then if the correct temperature can be maintained the new brooder may be regarded as safe for the chicks. In providing for the proper degree of warmth, the directions of the brooder manufacturer should be followed.
 If an old brooder is to be used, don't assume that it will work this season be- cause it did last year. Some part may have become rusty. broken or lost. 1 have known whole brood to be lost in this way < lTlyl
 The matter of proper brooder warmth Is also important. If the season is so early that severe changes of outside tenn perature are likely to occur, care should be taken that the brooder has a sufficient amount of reserve heat to meet this con dition. The chicks are often chilled and lost as result of rapid changes in the weather.
 The correct temperature for baby chicks Is from 90 to 100 degrees. The brooder should be started at the higher tempera- ture and reduced a degree or so daily until the chicks are two or three weeks old A brooder that will register 100 de- grees, an inch above the floor line, un- der adverse weather conditions will usually prove satisfactory.
 Baby chicks must be broken to the hover. They have no mother hen to call them. But they soon become creatures of habit if properly handled at the be- ginning The poultry raiser must train them, and here Is where patience Is re- quired The new brood should be trained to take to the hover as it would seek warmth and protection at the call of mother hen
 Training Chicks to Brood
 Chicks should be removed from the in cubator to the brooder at night. Not only are they easier handled when it is dark, but they are more likely to remain where they are put under the hover. For the first night or two they should be con- fined rather closely to the hover for this req son.
 If not carefully watched for the first two or three days, chicks may huddle to- gether in a corner of the brooder, where they are likely to get chilled, or tram pie one another to death in their effort to keep warm. It only takes a couple of days to train them to take to the hover. The poultry raiser cannot afford to dis continue his care and watchfulness, how ever, if he expects to succeed with his young brood.
 For the first few days chicks need rest more than anything else. If sunlight en- ters the brooder, they will spend hours at time huddled together enjoying the natural warmth. This is good for them as it helps to strengthen them. When ever possible the brooder should be moved so as to allow the sunshine to fall near the hover or in the warmest