BROODING
Whether we hatched the eggs by means of an incubator, or bought the
day-old chicks, if we have no mother hen to care for the chicks after
they are hatched, we must take care of them ourselves. This is called
the brooding period. Unless the hatch is quite late, which, by the way,
is not desirable, we will have to arrange to supply some cheap, simple
form of artificial heat, to prevent the young chickens from getting
chilled. This is accomplished in several different ways, but we will
only discuss the more common ways here.
There are several different makes of readymade brooders on the market,
but one can in a few hours spare time, construct a brooder that will
answer the purpose. The chief part of the brooder is the source of
heat. Usually these heaters can be bought for a few dollars, and placed
in a good box supplied with a little litter on the bottom.
A common arrangement with brooder equipments is to have two
compartments, one where a hover is placed, and the rest of the
brooder constituting a run for the chicks. The two compartments are
usually partitioned off from each other, allowing just enough room
at the bottom of the partition to allow the chicks to pass from one
compartment to the other. In the hover compartment is placed the
heater, and a metal canopy, so that the heat will be held down close to
the floor, where the chicks are located. At first, the chicks should be
confined to this hover entirely, because they are liable to get lost if
they wander away from the hover, and consequently die from chilling.
The temperature of the hover compartment during the first week should
be about 96 degrees F., and each succeeding week it should be lowered
by at least two degrees. This can be done by controlling the lamp,
or what ever heater is used, or by gradually raising or lowering the
canopy over the chicks. This method gradually toughens the chicks up,
so that they can soon be let out doors. After the first week or so,
they should be encouraged to get out into the other compartment for
exercise, as this will aid in making them hardy. After the first few
weeks of the life of the chicks are past, they will need less care and
attention. These first few weeks are the critical weeks of the bird’s
life. After the chicks get accustomed to the temperature out in the
run of the brooder, it is advisable to cut a small hole at the run end
of the brooder box, so that on pleasant days they can run outside on
the ground around the brooder. In this case, however, they must not be
allowed to run very far at first, and only for a short while until they
gradually become accustomed to the practice.
Another important consideration in raising the young chick to maturity
is the matter of food. Probably no other thing is responsible for such
a high mortality in young chicks, as is improper feeding. We have
learned in a previous chapter that it is exceedingly dangerous to feed
the chick anything in the line of food for the first two days of its
life. Many people are afraid the chicks will die if not fed immediately
after hatching, and hasten to feed the chick all that it will eat.
Unless the chick is endowed with a wonderful digestive system, it
will succumb to this over-feeding through digestive disorders. It
is permissible to put a little grit before the chick at this time,
because the chick has no teeth, and never will have, so they eat the
grit, and this grit passes down to the gizzard, which grinds the food
in place of grinding with the teeth, as with other animals. Fresh
water is also good for the chick during this period, as the water
quenches their thirst, and makes them livelier. Towards the end of the
second day, it is well to feed the chick a little sour skim milk, or
buttermilk. Sour milk is superior to the sweet milk for two reasons.
First, the sour skim milk has bacteria that aid in digestion, and
secondly, it will be found that it will be hard to keep the milk sweet
all the time, and by feeding sweet milk part of the time, and then
letting it become sour, digestive troubles are liable to develop.
Hence, by having it sour all the time, no danger from this source will
be experienced.
Now, we are ready to consider what kind of grain we shall feed the
chick. On the third day we can start to feed a little grain. What is
known as pinhead oatmeal is very good to start the young chick out on.
Some feed hard boiled eggs and dried bread for the first feeding with
good results. It is important to note that only enough of this first
solid food should be fed that they can clean up in a short time. Keep
them hungry, and remember that it is much safer to under feed than to
over feed.
For the next week, or so, a scratch ration, composed of cracked corn,
pinhead oatmeal, cracked wheat, together with a little grit, and finely
ground oyster shells can be fed. This can be fed in the litter, so that
the chicks have to exercise to get it. In fact, that is just what we
mean by a scratching ration; one composed of whole or cracked grains,
mixed in with the litter, so that the chicks will have to scratch for
their feed, and thereby obtain the exercise necessary to their health.
If a little green feed of any kind can be added, so much the better.
Green grass is excellent to throw into the chicks.
After two weeks or more of this kind of feed, it is well to supplement
this ration with a dry mash. A dry mash is a feed composed of ground
feeds, that require no work on the part of the bird to grind. Feeds
like wheat bran, ground oats, corn meal, etc., are good examples of
such feeds. Wheat bran is especially well liked by these young birds,
and it is recommended that they be allowed to have this as a large
part of their dry mash. This feed should not be fed in the litter, as
the cracked grains, but placed in some such container as a pan, or
better still, in a regular feed hopper. It can readily be seen that
if this finely ground grain was scattered in the litter, it would be
largely lost and wasted. Also, if put in a pan, the pan must be low
enough to be accessible to the birds, and covered over in such a manner
that the chicks will not get in and walk around in it. A homemade
hopper can be easily built, so that the chicks can just get their heads
in, and no more. Do not forget that the sour skim milk or buttermilk
must be fed all this time. In fact, this part of the feed should be fed
right through the bird’s life, as it supplies the animal protein, which
is so necessary to the proper development of the bird’s growth.
Now, then, just a few more words in closing this chapter on brooding.
We should aim to toughen the birds up as quickly as possible, so
that when they are about two months old, no artificial heat will
be necessary, and if the birds are of a late hatch, this can be
accomplished much sooner. Encourage them to get out of doors as
quickly as possible, and to get green feed.
A very serious cause of death among young chickens is from disease.
White diarrhoea is probably one of the most common of these diseases,
and unfortunately, one of the most fatal. If the droppings are of a
white, watery nature, with an offensive odor, you may well believe
that this disease is present, and the thing to do is to get the birds
thus affected out of the way at once, and disinfect with some good
disinfectant. However, if the precautions are taken that are set forth
in this booklet, no danger of this dreaded disease can be anticipated.
Now that we have got the chicks along through the brooding period, let
us next consider just how we shall raise these chicks to maturity, so
as to get them ready to lay eggs, or to make a good meat carcass.