AN IMPROVED FIRELESS CHICKEN-BROODER.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XIII, Issue 3, 20 September 1916, Page 179

AN IMPROVED FIRELESS CHICKEN-BROODER.

F. C. BROWN,

Chief Poultry Instructor.

A number of inquiries have been received lately for particulars in regard to making an inexpensive fireless brooder for indoor use. There are many different styles of fireless brooders, but the writer cannot do better than reproduce the hover described in the Journal for August, . 1912, which was designed by Mr.' A. Carr (formerly Manager of the Department’s Milton Poultry - station), with the addition of an improved brooder-box. The chief modification in the brooder now presented is that it is made on the drawer principle. One of the chief difficulties in the work of fireless brooding is ’ that experienced in getting the chicks, when very young, to go under the hover after being . allowed in the run for feeding and exercising purposes, owing to there being no artificial heat available to induce the little ones to go there. As will be seen by the illustration, the drawer provided practically eliminates the usual practice of pushing the chicks under the hover by hand.

The brooder-box (in which the hover is placed) to accommodate fifty chicks should have an inside measurement of 30 in. by 30 in. Its height is 10 in. over all. The outer compartment, into which the brooder proper slides, is 32 in. by 32 in. outside measurement, the height being 13 in. over all.

The frame of the hover referred to is circular and made of sheet zinc, 11 in. deep, with a | in. flange top and bottom (the rim of a bicycle-wheel with the spokes taken out will serve the purpose). This frame is supported by three flat legs i| in. wide, turned in at the bottom I in. These legs are adjustable, being made of two pieces of zinc, one of which is an extension of the other, and they allow for an expansion from 3 in. to 6 in. A hole is made in the inner piece and a groove in the other, and with the aid of a small screw-bolt and a thumb-screw the hover can be raised as the chickens develop.

The piece of pure-wool blanket which covers the hover may be fastened on with a piece of strong string, fine wire, or a narrow leather strap with a buckle attached. Care must be taken that the blanket is given sufficient sag in the centre to actually rest

on the backs of the chicks. The two curtains of the same material which " suspend from ■ the cover are drawn ■ tightly round the . frame, and the ends fastened with safety-pins. In fixing the curtains it is essential, so as to avoid draught on the chicks, that the cuts in each curtain are not directly opposite each other. The outer flap should always cover the inner cut. It is also important to see that the ends of the curtains are not allowed to lie flat on the floor, otherwise the chicks are apt to huddle on them, with injurious results. The curtains should merely touch the bedding and no more.

All comers in the brooder must be avoided, so as to prevent the chicks crowding. The comers can easily be rounded with pieces of strong cardboard or linoleum tacked in place, thus making the interior circular. When the chicks are first put in ’ the brooder a' piece of cardboard or similar materia! should be placed unattached around the hover and about 2 in. from it. This will greatly assist in making the chicks remain under the hover, ■ and prevent them from becoming chilled.

For bedding dry cabinetmaker’s sawdust is suitable. On no account must sawmill dust be used. Oaten straw , chaff will do, care being taken that there is no grain, in it, as oats are fatal to very young chicks. Thoroughly dried fine grass hay t made in the form of a nest in which the hover stands may also be used.

.- . The floor . of the . brooder proper should be made of . well-sea-soned T. and G. boards closely fitted. It is . essential , that the floor be made absolutely draught-proof, or failure is invited. To lessen expense the . floor of the outer box may be made .with !>- in. lining.: On the bottom of the brooder two" runners, i|in. by I in., are fixed with the narrow edge downwards. This enables the brooder to be easily pushed in and out. A door 2 ft. long and 6 in. high is hinged at the top to admit the chickens to the second compartment. A similar door at the end of the outer box. gives entrance to the next stage of the run. . : :

A movable frame is provided, which fits inside the brooder and prevents the chicks from hopping out and jumping on top of the hover. It is made of i| in., by | in. material, covered with f-in.-mesh netting. Small holes bored 'at each corner of the box, one above the other, | in. apart, in which 2| in. nails are placed, serve as a means of adjusting the height of the frame as the chickens grow' older. ■■ ' ■

POINTS IN ' MANAGEMENT

It is always ""a wise "plan to remove chicks ' from- the incubator to the brooder at night. 'They will settle down much better

under the hover than when moved during the day. The chicks should be kept in the brooder proper for the first three days. On the fourth day they should be allowed in the outer 'compartment, commencing with half an hour at first (at the most favourable time, of course) and gradually extending the time until about a week, when they may be given the next stage of the inside run. . The weather conditions must always be studied before allowing the chicks in the out-of-door runs.

At feeding-time, for the first three days, the hover should be lifted out and the chicks fed on a shallow tray. V After giving the little ones time to have their meal, the tray should be removed and the hover put back in its place. From the first, clean water, grit, and charcoal . should be always before the birds, and fed separately. / ... ,

The fireless brooder is strongly recommended for rearing ducklings, provision being made for an ample supply of fresh air, which is the key to successful duck-rearing.

This system of brooding chickens without any artificial heat can be employed either indoors or outside, but to obtain the best results it should be worked under cover. This is not only best for the comfort of. the chicks but also for the attendant during rough weather. It must also be remembered that to make a brooder for outside work demands a much greater expense than for one worked indoors. In the first place it is essential that the outside brooder be made watertight as well as draught-proof. To use a makeshift apparatus for any outdoor brooder is only inviting trouble.

Intercultivation. — In all districts subject to dry summers the question of putting at least a portion of the arable land under intercultivated crops should receive attention. By shallow surface cultivation a mulch ,is kept upon the surface, and soils thus treated part with their moisture, far less rapidly than where intercultivation is neglected. One repeatedly sees abundant crops of kale, maize, &c., so treated standing alongside crops, of the same kind grown in the same paddock but not intercultivated, and which in consequence had withered and died. ... A few acres so grown will often decide as to whether the stock can be kept going till, the rains come, or must be sold at whatever they fetch. The cost of a little additional cultivation becomes a matter of very small import if it is the means of saving a loss of perhaps over 50 per centin the value of the stock.— G. de S. Baylis.