POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 249, 18 July 1942, Page 9

POULTRY NOTES

An Expert’s Hints On

Brooding Maximum success in the brooding of chickens cannot be attained unless the chicks have a background of vigorous, healthy parentage and are hatched under the best possible " conditions. No hover in the world, no amount of attention by the rearer, and no combination of feedingstuff's will rear weakly chicks," says G. G. Spinney, in setting out in -‘Poultry World” for the benefit of newcomers to the industry some points learned from his personal experience in the rearing of chicks. I find,, he says, the ideal unit for £i hover is 100, and no doubt in smaller units even better results might be obtained, but the labour aspect must also be considered. These 100 day-old chicks should be placed under a 150 size hover eo as to avoid any danger of overcrowding at least during the first ten days. After trying every kind of litter under the hover, adds Mr. Spinney, I am convinced that the wire floor with a galvanized tray beneath it is unrivalled. Il or the first two or three days, a piece of sacking laid on top of the wire will avoid damaged legs and will make the chicks more comfortable in very cold weather. Curtains should be washed between each hatch. , , ~ Before placing the chickens under the hover the thermometer should register 99 degrees F. with the bulb two inches above floor level—that is, on a level with the chicks’ backs. Thermometers which record the temperature somewhere in the region of the roof are useless, for naturally the air there is much hotter than at floor level. But it is as well to rear as far as possible by watching the condition of the chicks riither than the temperature. If they are too hot they will gasp, and their wings will be open, while if they are cold they will press against the lamp guard. On the last night leave the chicks spread out so that should a sharp frost occur during the early morning hours the hover will have a good reserve of heat. More chicks die from congestion of the lungs than from any other cause. Yet a very large number of these casualties could be avoided with a little care and greater attention. Overheating is as bad or even worse than too low a temperature. Chicks, after a night in an overheated hover, rush out to drink water at the first sign of daybreak. Then, when they have drunk until they can drink no more, they slowly stagger back to the heat, there in a little while to die of internal chill. Floor draughts may mso have tatai results, if such a state of affairs is allowed to continue for any length ot time. The attendant may not feel it round his legs with heavy boots on, but if he puts his face at floor level for a moment he will quickly realize what is giving the chicks such a ragged and listless appearance. Another sure sign of draught is when the chicks cluster to one side of the hover. . , Cleanliness is of the utmost importance both under the hover and in the run. Damp and dirty litter is the forerunner of coccidiosis and. unthrittmess. Dampness under the hover is often due to faulty ventilation or overcrowding, or both. No matter how cold the brooder house, so long as it is free from draught there should be no cause for worry as long as there is sufficient heat under tne hover • If dry mash is fed plenty of hopper space should be given, or else some of the smaller chicks, often the pullets, will be in a state of starvation through not enough feeding accommodation. Uhieks for the first three weeks should have at least Bft. of hopper space per unit of 199. A Hfitching Time Setback. . It is not unusual for a beginner to find at hatching time that there are chicks in the incubator or nest that are unable to pierce the shell membranes because the latter are dry, tough and leathery, or alternatively that chicks pierce the membranes and shell but make no further progress, due to the same cause. The following reasons for the conditions stated are given in “Poultry Farmer” (Eng.), by H. Temperton, B.V.Se., N.D.P.(I) Stale hatching eggs. (2) Excessive ventilation of the machine throughout the hatcli, inducing abnormal evaporation of water from the egg. (3) Lack of moisture in the air, causing the eggs to part with too much water to the environment, specially if accompanied by high incubator or incubator room temperatures. This is very noticeable in natural hatching. Toward the end of the hatching period, the embryos generate a good deal of heat. If the base of the nest is not kept moist, the shell membranes dry out and become leathery. (4) Curiosity at the time of the hatch, with the frequent opening and shutting of the machine, admits draughts.