IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REARING CHICKEN
Year: 1886

page_text: I ELLSWORTH RYDER, of Grove House, Mobberley, in the County of Chester,
Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR REARING CHICKEN to be as follows:-
My invention consists in certain improvements in the construction and arrange-
ment of apparatus for rearing chicken, said apparatus being commonly known as
A Chicken Foster Mother."
In constructing my improved apparatus I fit in a suitable casing or stand a
sliding drawer in which the chicken roost. The top of this stand is open and it
supports the boiler or other hot water receptacle and its casing or jacket which is
filled with sawdust or other suitable non-conductor of heat and in place of filling
the boiler by a pipe and emptying it by a tap as now customary I propose to fit
the boiler and casing with a movable or loose lid by opening which the water can
be readily baled out and hot water poured in from a can or bucket. By this
arrangement the boiler can be readily cleaned and also dried when not in use.
The sliding drawer in the stand below the boiler and its casing has a false or
movable front and behind this front there is or may be a curtain of flannel or
other suitable material so hung that the chicken can run in and out beneath it
when the false front of the drawer is removed. For the sake of greater con-
venience I propose to fit one or more drawers as required inside the first named
sliding drawer so as to vary the roosting space according to the size and number
of the chicken to be reared. There are suitable apertures in the stand to ventilate
the drawer which opens into an enclosure which is also ventilated and preferably
glazed, and this glazed enclosure is or may be in communication with another.
enclosure or enclosures.
The whole apparatus when used out of doors is covered in by a suitable roof to
protect it from rain.

page_text: I ELLSWORTH RYDER, of Grove House, Mobberley, in the County of Chester,
Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR REARING CHICKEN, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention consists in certain improvements in the construction and arrange-
ment of apparatus for rearing chicken, said apparatus being commonly known as
"A Chicken Foster-Mother."
In constructing my improved apparatus I fit in a suitable casing or stand a
sliding drawer in which the chicken roost. The top of this stand is open and it
Bupports the boiler or other hot water receptacle and its casing or jacket which is
filled with sawdust or other suitable non-conductor of heat and in place of filling
the boiler by a pipe and emptying it by a tap as Dow customary I propose to fit
the boiler and casing with a movable or loose lid by opening which the water can
be readily baled out and hot water poured in from a can or bucket. By this
arrangement the boiler can be readily cleaned and also dried when not in use.
The sliding drawer in the stand below the boiler and its casing has a false or
movable front and behind this front there is or may be a curtain of flannel or
other suitable material so hung that the chicken can run in and out beneath it
when the false front of the drawer is removed. For the sake of greater con-
venience I propose to fit one or more drawers as required inside the first named
sliding drawer so as to vary the roosting space according to the size and number
of the chicken to be reared. There are suitable apertures in the stand to ventilate
the drawer which opens into an enclosure which is also ventilated and preferably
glazed and this glazed enclosure is or may be in communication with another
enclosure or enclosures.
The whole apparatus when used out of doors is covered in by a suitable roof to
protect it from rain.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference being
had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus embodying my improvements, the
apparatus being represented with part of the outer casing removed in order to
show the arrangement of the interior. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the boiler
or heater end of the apparatus. Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections on the planes
respectively of the lines A A and B B, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view of the front of the
roosting drawer and Fig. 6 is a similar view after the false front has been removed.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
The apparatus as represented in the Drawings resembles a portable double
coop a provided with handles b and divided at or near the centre into two
compartments by a partition a¹ extending from front to back, but leaving a space
near the floor for the chicken in the roosting drawer to have a means of free
communication between the two compartments and also that the drawer may be
drawn in and out as required. The left hand compartment, Fig. 1, is the heated
one or foster mother proper and is fitted with a ventilated front, not shown in

page_text: Fig. 1, which can be taken off when required. The other or right hand com-
partment in addition to being ventilated is glazed at a and is provided with a
trap door a³ as an outlet for the chicken to the enclosure a which is open to the
air. At the bottom of the left hand compartment is fitted the roosting drawer c
provided with a movable or false front c¹, see Fig. 5 and a lid or frame c³ covered
with woven wire or other suitable material. This drawer is preferably fitted in
guides so that it may be drawn as already mentioned from the heated compartment
into the other one or vice versâ as required. The chicken roost in the drawer o
which is or may be provided with a curtain c³ of flannel or other material bung
behind the false front c¹, see Fig. 6, in such manner that the chicken can run in
and out beneath it when the false front is removed. The roosting space in the
drawer c is regulated according to the size and number of the chicken by simply
placing as required one or more drawers or trays, such as d, inside the drawer c.
The boiler or heater which is placed in the left hand compartment just above the
drawer c consists of a zinc or other metal can e with a lip e¹ and a lid e² and is
enclosed except at the bottom in a wooden or other suitable casing f which has a
lid' and is filled with sawdust or other suitable non-conducting material, see
sectional view Fig. 2. The whole heater has a handle g across the top and another
handle g¹ at the front. At each side of the heater is fixed a pivot h and at the
back a bar or stop piece ; the two pivots h rest in sockets formed in slides / which
are fitted in slideways k¹ fixed to the casing or frame a and the ends of the bar i
rest on the upper slideways k¹. By this arrangement in order to change the
water, the heater, when in the position shown in full lines Fig. 2 has only to be
drawn out from the compartment on the slides k by means of the handle g¹, the
outer lid fand the inner lid e² removed, and the heater then turned on the
pivots has indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 2, to empty the can e.. When this has
been accomplished the can e can be turned back on the pivots and refilled from a
bucket, the lids e² and f¹ replaced and the heater pushed back again into the
compartment on the slides k.
This arrangement of heater as shown and described is most suitable for a
medium sized "Foster-Mother" adapted to rear, say from thirty to sixty chicken,
but for larger "Foster-Mothers" where a larger hot water receptacle is necessary
or for smaller "Foster-Mothers" if preferred the metal can or heater instead of
being movable and enclosed in a separate casing or jacket may be fitted above the
roosting drawer in the centre of the left hand compartment, Fig. 1, with the can
or heater supported on boards or a casing fixed round it, the sides of the com-
partment serving as a jacket or casing to receive the sawdust or other packing
which is cased in at the top round the lid of the can or heater. In this case the
whole or part of the top of the apparatus would be made to lift up so as to enable
the can or boiler to be baled out and refilled from a bucket or the can might be
emptied by means of a tap. The heater being thus made a fixed part of the
apparatus a circulating boiler with a lamp may be connected to it.
It will be observed that I have dispensed with the use of blankets, cotton wool
and feathers usually employed in this class of apparatus being of the opinion that.
they impede circulation of air and cause sweating and infection. By my improve-
ments however I obtain a gentle heat equally felt by all the chicken in conjunction
with perfect ventilation and protection from cold air or draught while by adjusting
the size of the drawer c by means of an additional drawer or tray as previously
described the roosting space may be varied as required and overcrowding, or the
other evil of too much space avoided.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is-
1. The construction, combination, and general arrangement of parts constituting
my improvements in apparatus for rearing chicken, substantially as and for the
purposes herein described and as illustrated by the Drawings annexed.

page_text: 2. In a chicken "Foster-Mother, the use and application, for the purposes
specified, of a drawer, such as c, in combination with a suitable heater or water
receptacle, substantially as herein set forth.
3. The combination with a roosting drawer, such as c, of an additional drawer
or tray, either one or more, for.. the purpose of varying the roosting space for the
chicken.
4. In a chicken "Foster-Mother," the arrangement of pivoting or mounting the
heater or water receptacle on slides whereby the said receptacle may be drawn
forward and pushed back and turned on its pivots or lifted bodily away, all sub-
stantially as and for the purposes described and as illustrated by the accompanying
Drawings.
5. In a chicken "Foster-Mother," the use and application of movable lids for
the heater or water receptacle and its wooden or other casing whereby greater
convenience in filling and emptying the said receptacle is obtained.