Evening star., 1919-03-23

the chicks in attempting to get away
crowd each other to the outside.
If the temperature is too low under
the hover more heat must be supplied
OF course. and in the same way IL it
is too warm the heat must be re-
duced. but more care will have to be
exercised In The reduction of the
heat. as allowance must be made for
| a possible drop in the temperature
outside during the night. which would
have an influence upon the tempera-
ture inside the brooder and under the
| hover.
Chicks should not be taken from the
! four to forty eight hours old or until
twenty-four hours after the hatch is
| completed and the transfer should be
! made in a warmly lined basket or
! box, to prevent chilling. which too
| often occurs when chicks are care
less1y handled at this time.
The transfer to the brooder should
be made late in the afternoon and
after a night spent under the hover
! the chicks become more or less IA
miliar with it. and this makes their
! training easier. For several days it
! ~ usually necessary to watch them
from time to time and put them back
under the hover If they seem to be
| uncomfortable. 1t is advisable when
| using the portable hover to place
diouHu Tic mover low renee OF nne
mesh wire or cardboard about eight
inches from the curtain, in order to
| brlng the chicks in closer contact
with the heat, and this contact should
be maintained for a day or two and
then the inclosure should be enlarged
| from day to day until within short
| time the fence may be taken away.
AS the chicks grow they require
| less and less heat. and the tempera-
ture under the hover should be re-
! duced gradually, until none is re-
Quired. One Of the serio-is mistakes
| made in the brooding of chicks often
occur when the heat is being taken
away. The poultryman decides that
| the chicks are all old enough and
| feathered out enough to get along
| without heat. under the hover, then
! he takes it away. and from that
time on no matter what the changes
| IN the weather or temperature, no
more heat is supplied the lamps are
never lighted nor the coal fires
started If the weather comes off
| damp and cold, or If the chicks run
out in the rain, they are in no way
| protected from the effects of these
changes. There is no warmth or
| comfort in the brooder or brooder
house and the chicks. chilled to the
marrow, stand huddled together or
| crowd in corners in a vain attempt
| to keep warm. and good results can
not come from this kind of treat
| ment- After the heat is shut of. it
should be furnished again whenever
! in the judgment of the operator un-
I favorable conditions may warrant it.
If outdoor brooders are used they
should be sheltered from prevailing
! winds and protected from, the hot
suns.
When chicks are first allowed to
| run out on the ground. they should
be confined close to the runway by
| small mesh poultry wire until they
| learn to go back and forth of their
| own accord. and the inclosure should
be covered with the same material,
| in order to prevent the depredations
of stray cats and rats which too
often infest the back lots and alleys
of the towns and villages. From
time to time the inclosure should be
enlarged and eventually entirely re-
| moved, thus giving the chicks free
! range.
Chicks grown on free range are
| usually stronger and more vigorous
| than those grown in confinement.