Brooding Chicks
By J. E. HUMPHREY and J. B. KELLEYWhen 150 chicks, or more, are to be hatched at one time, a brooder stove and colony brooder house can be used economically. This number can be brooded under a brooder stove at no greater cost than brooding under hens. If the hens are not used to brood the chicks they should lay eggs equal in value to the fuel needed to operate the brooder stove. The labor involved in operating one brooder stove is no more than that necessary for the proper care of three or four hens with chicks. If early broilers and winter eggs are desired, chicks should be hatched early. This means February-hatched chicks of the meat breeds, March-hatched chicks of the general-purpose breeds, and April-hatched Leghorns.
The colony brooder house should provide: (1) ventilation, (2) sunlight, (8) dryness, (1) freedom from drafts, (5) durability, and (6) sanitary conditions.
The Runners.—The house should be set on 4 by 6” creosoted runners1 so that a team can be hitched to them and the house moved to fresh, clean ground each year. See plans on pages 14 and 15.
The Floor.—The floor should be tight, made of shiplap or tongue-and-groove flooring, with a smooth surface. For electric brooding it is desirable to have a double floor or at least a movable platform to cover the floor area under the hover, to provide a warmer, drier floor. See recommendations on page 15, figure 7. A few days before the chicks are put into the house, the floor should be oiled with crank-case drainings. The floor will then be easy to clean and will not readily absorb moisture and filth. These precautions aid in keeping the house clean and sanitary.
The Walls.—The walls should be tight(to prevent drafts and keep out rain. They should be sheathed vertically with tongue-and-groove flooring, shiplap, rough or dressed boxing with cracks stripped or with plywood or waterproofed fiber board. To keep down maintenance costs the exterior surface of the walls should be painted three coats or covered with corrugated sheet metal galvanized with a two ounce coating of zinc (see wall section, figure 7). If the interior surface of the walls is smooth, the house can be easily kept free from mites and other vermin. Where fiber board sheathing is used for the walls, the surface near the floor where the chicks may come in contact with it should be protected with sheet metal to keep them from pecking holes thru it.
The Roof.—The slope of the roof is so slight it is not advisable to cover it with wood shingles. A prepared roll roofing, asphalt shingles, built-up asphalt roofing or sheet metal should be used. There are a number of grades of roll roofing on the market, but some of them are not sufficiently durable. Use a good grade weighing not less than 65 pounds per 100 square feet, cement it to the sheathing, take extra care in nailing and in lapping and cementing all the points to prevent leaking or injury by wind.
A good grade of sheet metal may be used, provided the roof is sheathed tight and an insulating felt is placed between the metal and sheathing. If the under surface of the metal is exposed to the air in the house condensation takes place. Sheet metal should not be laid over roofing containing tar, as the acid in the tar corrodes the metal. The life of light-coated sheet metal is increased by painting the exposed surface with metallic zinc paint. When sheet metal is used a zinc coating of 2 ounces per square foot is recommended because it is long lived and need not be painted.
The Stovepipe Hole.—This should be cut six inches larger than the pipe to be used. A large piece of sheet metal, with a hole in the center just large enough to admit the pipe, should be fastened firmly on the roof. It serves to hold the pipe securely and keep it far enough away from the wood to prevent fire. Special “roof saddles” to accommodate pipe of standard sizes may be purchased from most brooder manufacturers or poultry supply houses at nominal cost. These saddles are available for any pitch of roof, and usually are equipped with rain caps to prevent rain going down the pipe and rusting the stove. See drawing on page 14.The Windows.—Two 9-light, 9” x 12”, single-sash windows or two 24” x 36” wired glass panes without sash may be used in the front of the house. Figures 1 and 7 show how to install the sash or glass panes. Each type of window opens inward at the top to provide ventilation and prevent a draft on the floor.
The life of wood sash may be greatly prolonged by treating it with a chemical preservative before it is glazed or painted. It is not economical to use glass substitutes in place of window glass, for they are about as expensive as glass and shorter-lived. There is now on the market a flat-drawn window glass which transmits a rather high percentage of ultra-violet rays.
This may be used in the windows if ultra-violet ray transmission is desired. Cover the outside of the window openings with 1-inch-mesh poultry netting.
The Muslin Curtain.—The 4’ x 4 double curtain frame in the front of the house should be covered with light-weight unbleached muslin. See Figures 2 and 7. It should be kept closed at night and during cold, stormy days, especially when the chicks are young, but should be raised whenever the direct sunshine strikes the floor of the house. The opening should be covered on the outside with 17 mesh poultry netting. Glass substitutes should not be used in place of the muslin, for they do not permit the passage of air when the curtain is closed, and ventilation is necessary even in cold and stormy weather.
Rear Ventilators.—The spaces between the rafters, above the plate at the front and rear of the house, should be enclosed. The horizontal ventilator doors 9 ½” x 5' should be placed at the same level across the back of the house, just below the plate (see FIGURE 3). In warm weather these doors may be opened to provide additional ventilation. The inside of the opening should be covered with 1-inch-mesh poultry netting. These doors are necessary for summer comfort.
Roosts.—When chicks are about four weeks old roosts should be provided. Figure 3 shows how to make a roost hinged to the studding at the rear of the house, which can be fastened flat against the wall when it is not needed. At first, the front of the roost should rest on the floor. As the chicks grow, it should be raised gradually to a height of 16 inches.
A sun porch should be used when needed to keep the chicks off disease infested soil. The sun porch illustrated in figure 4 and in the plan, figure 7, is 10’ x 8’, made in two sections, so it can be easily taken apart and stored inside the brooder house out of the weather, when the structure is not occupied. Use ¾”-mesh galvanized hardware cloth for the floor covering. The walls and top may be covered with 1" galvanized poultry netting or hardware cloth. The latter is more expensive and more durable. If hardware cloth is not available, wooden slats may be used.
The shed-roof colony brooder house has proved very satistactory. The house shown in the plans on pages 14 and 15 is simple to build, low in cost and can be moved with horses. For convenience the house may be placed near the residence at first. When the chicks are old enough to do without heat the house may be moved to a woodlot, orchard or cornfield where the growing chicks have ample range. However, chicks should never be put on land where poultry has been kept the past two years. If the house cannot be moved and a range rotation cannot be followed, a sun porch should be constructed as shown in figure 4, and the chicks should be confined to the house and sun porch until they reach broiler age. At this time-move the pullets to a range shelter (see FIGURE 5) or to some building away from the old stock, where there is ample range. As a precaution against carrying infection or parasites to the chicks, do not pass thru the old range during the brooding season.
If the cockerels are sold for broilers or removed from the house there will be room to house the growing pullets during the summer. The colony house may also be used during the winter for surplus stock, such as cockerels, and in the spring, before the brooding season, for a breeding pen. Many poultrymen use the brooder house for laying hens during the winter and, in the spring, put these hens with the rest of the flock. It is readily seen that colony brooder houses need never be idle, but are useful the entire year. When the brooder house is used for other purposes than brooding chicks, care must be taken to use the old run on which the chicks were brooded, otherwise clean ground may not be available for the next year’s chicks. The precaution is especially necessary if a range rotation system is to be followed.
If a brooder house cannot be moved, a three- or four-yard rotation system may be used. In this system it is necessary to have three or four yards, each fenced with poultry fence, arranged so that the chicks can be allowed to pass freely from the house to the yard that they should occupy.
In FIGURE 6 the following system is shown: yard 1, at the left, is plowed ground in which garden will be planted; yard 2, is alfalfa which is 2 years old—chickens are using it for range; yard 3, is alfalfa which was fall seeded and will be used for range the year following the use of yard 2 as range. By following this system chickens use a yard only once in three years, allowing two years when poultry is not on the yard.
If it is not possible to grow alfalfa, rye or wheat may be sown in the fall or oats in the spring. A satisfactory sod may be obtained by sowing a mixture of orchard grass, 10 pounds; redtop, 5 pounds; sweet clover, 5 pounds; Korean lespedeza, 5 pounds; and Italian rye grass, 10 pounds. This amount, 35 pounds, is sufficient to seed one acre. After a good sod is established the schedule below may be followed.
1st year .......... Poultry
2nd year ........ Corn or tobacco or garden
3rd year . . . ... Small grain followed by grass
4th year ........ Pasture (cattle, etc.)
5th year .....Repeat the schedule
It may be more desirable to establish a permanent pasture than to follow the partial cultivated rotation. Bluegrass is the best sod for such range, especially if it contains some white clover.
If the brooder house must be located on a hillside so that some yards are lower than others, it is necessary to ditch them so that surface water cannot flow from the higher yards into the lower. If this is not done, contamination may wash from a yard to the one below it.
It is not always necessary to build a special colony house for a brooder of this kind; often a room of the poultry house or some other small house can be used. A house or room used for this purpose should contain 100 to 150 square feet of floor space, to assure the best results with 300 chicks.
Coal-burning Stove.—The coal-burning brooder stove has proved satisfactory wherever used. It is desirable because of low cost per chick capacity, ample supply of heat, ease of regulation and absence of danger from fire. Several kinds are on the market but, altho some may have slight advantages over others, all are constructed on the same general plan. Features to look for are the size of the coal chamber and the type of regulator. The larger the coal cham- ber and the more sensitive and reliable the regulator the more satisfactory the stove will be.
Fuel.—Most of the coal-burning brooder stoves are constructed to burn chestnut-size anthracite (hard coal) which gives very satisfactory results. This coal burns slowly, throwing off an abundance of heat, and makes very little smoke or soot. It holds fire thruout the night and brooders heated with it are easy to regulate. Where anthracite is not carried in stock, poultry raisers may club together and make up a sufficient order to justify the dealer ordering a carload.
Many poultry raisers have used soft coal, but this is not so satisfactory as anthracite. If soft coal is used, the stove requires more care and attention. Do not use fine coal or large lumps. Lumps 2 or 3 inches in diameter, commonly called coarse egg coal, give the best results. 1t will be necessary to remove the pipe every week or ten days to give it a thoro cleaning. All parts of the stove should be watched carefully to see that they do not become clogged with soot. When using soft coal it is advisable to replace the customary 3-inch pipe with a larger one. This may be done by using an expansion joint at the stove, running from 3 ” to 5”. Some manufacturers furnish the larger pipe and the expansion joint. Most of the new stoves have 5” to 6” stovepipes.
Coke may be used and gives excellent heat but does not hold fire well overnight. That makes it advisable to have some hard coal to use at night. A mixture of half coke and half hard coal is fairly satisfactory for holding fire overnight if the supply of hard coal is short.
The fire should be shaken down well, the ashes cleaned out daily, and the stove filled with coal each morning and evening. If a good quality of anthracite is used, there should be no need of any more labor in connection with the operation of the stove, either day or night.
About 900 to 1200 pounds of anthracite are required to run one brooder stove ten weeks. This varies with the weather, but this amount should be ordered for each brood of chicks. It is advisable to order the year’s supply early, to make sure of having it when needed.
Oil-burning Stove.—The Experiment Station has tried several of the wick-type oil-burning stoves and finds that it is impossible to get sufficient heat from them to keep the chicks warm when the weather is very cold. This is especially true with February and March hatches, when the outside temperature often gets considerably below freezing. Good results have been had with April and May hatches. The type of non-wick burner which burns the vaporized oil with a humming sound (air blast) has given satisfactory results at all times. Approximately 150 gallons of kerosene per brood was consumed in the 8 to 10 weeks of brooding, with the oil brooders used at the Station farm. Use only a good grade of kerosene or fuel oil for oil stoves.
The capacity of the hovers varies with the size of the stove. The most common sizes are the 42-inch canopy, usually advertised to accommodate 500 chicks, and the 48- and 52-inch canopies, to accommodate 1,000 chicks.2 The 48- and 52-inch canopies are the most practical but never more than 350 chicks should be brooded under one canopy.
Electric Stove.—The interest of Kentucky poultrymen in electricity as a source of heat for brooding chicks is increasing with the extension of rural transmission lines, with the improvements in design of this equipment and with the lowering of electrical rates so that this type of brooder stove may be operated more economically. The electrical brooder stove is automatically controlled by a thermostat, making it easy to maintain a uniform temperature of 90° F. under the hover, during the first week. Decrease the temperature 5 degrees each week until the chicks no longer need artificial heat. The electric brooder requires less labor and time to operate than the other stoves and reduces the fire hazard to a minimum. Several different shapes of hovers, such as hexagonal, square, rectangular and round, are available. The sizes range from about 22 to 72 inches, if the brooders are round or square, and the rectangular ones may have a length of over 100 inches. Approximately seven square inches of floor space underneath the hover is allowed per chick.
Electric brooder stove heating elements may be classified as the black, radiant and under-heat, depending upon the method of heating. Regardless of the type of heating element used, it should be of sufficient heating capacity to provide uniform heat under all weather conditions. A size of not less than 2 watts capacity per chick is recommended for Kentucky conditions. For use in a 10 x 12’ brooder house the current consumption may vary from 1/3 to over 1 kilowatt hour per chick for the brooding season. The average requirement on 64 broods in Kentucky in 1940 was 0.6 kilowatts per chick. The heating capacity required and the energy consumption of the brooder stove depend upon its design, how the canopy is insulated, the house construction, the temperature to be maintained in the brooder house, the number of chicks, weather conditions, whether the heater is automatically or manually controlled and the management of the house and equipment.
The following recommendations are made for those who wish to use electricity for brooding.
1. Where it is too expensive to erect a new electric service line annually and move the brooder house to clean ground, use a yard- rotation system or provide a sun porch (Figure 4) and keep the chicks confined to house and porch until the need for heat is past. Then move the chicks to a range shelter located on soil not previously occupied by poultry.
2. To avoid floor drafts, make the floor and lower walls of the house tight and place a 12” board across the bottom of the door.
3. As aids in providing a warm, dry floor, use a double floor with paper between the layers or a single floor with a supplemental floor made of flooring and insulation board, placed beneath the hover. Also, enclose the space between the runners or supports of the house, to prevent cold air from circulating beneath the floor.
4. Provide plenty of fresh air in the house, above the chicks, by proper management of windows and ventilator openings.
5. Operate the brooder at its rated capacity. Allow 7 square inches of floor space per chick, under the hover, and 2½ to 3 chicks per square foot of house floor space. Crowding the house and hover is apt to increase the mortality of the chicks, whereas operating below capacity increases brooding costs per bird.
6. Have a competent person wire the house and brooder in accordance with the National Wiring Code.
7. Check the thermostat settings with a good thermometer, following the instructions given by the manufacturer.
8. Purchase only electric brooders having insulated canopies.
9. If the electricity goes off during brooding season, cover canopy with a blanket and place beneath it fruit jars filled with hot water.
Low-cost, very satisfactory brooder stoves can be made at home. See your county agricultural agent or write to the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at Lexington for these leaflets telling how to make the brooder stoves: Leaflet 17, “How to Make a Lantern Brooder;” Leaflet 44, “Homemade Brick Brooder Stove;” and Leaflet 46, “Metal-Drum Brooder Stove.”
If the brooder house has been used before it should be cleaned thoroly. Steps in preparation for the chicks include: (1) Sweep the ceiling and walls, (2) scrape the floor, (3) scrub the walls and floor with boiling water to which is added one ounce of lye to each gallon of water, and (4) spray the house and equipment with a solution of good disinfectant (a 5-percent solution of a cresol compound is satisfactory).
Set up the stove 1 foot back from the center of the house, with the pipe extending 8 feet above the roof.3 This gives more floor space in front of the stove, which can be used to advantage for feeders and for bringing the chicks into contact with sunlight. A thin layer of about one-half to one inch of sand may be put on the floor around the stove and should extend out at least 12 inches beyond the outer edge of the canopy. This should be covered with a thin layer of fine-cut litter. Straw, alfalfa leaves, crushed corn cobs, shavings, oat hulls, shredded corn stover or any litter that is clean and not musty is suitable for this purpose. Shavings are fairly satisfactory if they do mot contain sawdust. A circular enclosure 8 to 10 inches high, extending about 12 inches beyond the outer edge of the canopy, should be made of hardware cloth or 1-inch-mesh poultry netting, to keep the chicks near the stove the first two nights or until they are accustomed to the brooder. It is also advisable to round out the corners of the house with wire netting or roofing paper to prevent the chicks from crowding in the corners. Start firing two or three days before the chicks are to go into the house to dry the house and give the operator experience in firing.
There should be sufficient fire at all times to maintain a uniform temperature. The temperature one inch off the floor at the edge of the canopy of a coal or oil stove, should be about 90° F. at the start and should be decreased about five degrees per week until the chicks are large enough to do without artificial heat. The temperature should be such that the chicks will not chill in any part of the room, and be warm enough only at the edge of the canopy or close to the brick brooder for them to settle down. The behavior of the chicks is the best guide as to the heat requirement, and must be depended upon almost entirely when using brick or metal-barrel brooders. If the chicks crowd away from the stove the temperature is too high. During the day the chicks should occupy any part of the brooder house and at night remain in a circle near the stove. It is advisable to look at the brooder before retiring and spread the chicks out if they have crowded. Usually chicks crowd because of floor drafts or insufficient heat.
Do not put the chicks into the brooder house unless feed is ready. If they must be taken from the incubator before the brooder and feed are ready they should be kept in chick boxes. If baby chicks are purchased they should be left in the shipping boxes until they are to be fed. The chicks should be well dried off and strong before they are put into the brooder house and fed. It is more satisfactory to put the chicks into the brooder house in the morning so that they may be watched carefully during the first day.
To assure normal growth the chick rations should contain protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins and water, in sufficient amounts and in proper proportions. Baby chicks eat very little during the first few weeks; consequently, it is necessary that their ration be well balanced with the essential ingredients required for proper growth. The most satisfactory sources of protein are milk, meat scrap and fish scrap. There are also vegetable sources but these have proved satisfactory for poultry feeding only when supplemented by certain minerals. The fats and carbohydrates are furnished largely by the grains. Usually all rations contain a sufficient quantity of grain products, which are essential to supply heat and energy. Minerals are necessary for the proper development of bone. The chief mineral elements needed are calcium and phosphorus. Both are found in meat scrap, fish scrap, bone meal and milk. Oystershell and ground limestone carry only calcium. They should not be added to the ration until the pullets start laying.
Manganese in the ration in sufficient quantity is necessary for good growth and for the prevention of perosis or slipped tendon. This condition is characterized by a bowing of the leg, with an enlargement and flattening of the joint and finally slipping of the tendon from its normal position. Chicks which are not allowed range from the beginning should have approximately 25 percent of wheat middlings or 4 ounces of manganese sulfate per ton in the mash in order to supply ample manganese for the prevention of slipped tendons.
Vitamins are essential to proper growth. Investigations have shown that when the necessary vitamins are not present in the ration, certain nutritional disorders develop. In chick feeding only vitamins A, B, G (riboflavin), and D need to be considered. When vitamin A is not present in the ration, nutritional roup develops. This is very similar in appearance to common roup. The chief practical sources of this vitamin are yellow corn and green feeds. It is found 1n liberal amounts in fish oils such as cod liver oil and sardine oil. Cod liver oil, on exposure to air, loses its vitamin A potency. When vitamin B is not present a trouble known as polyneuritis (nerve disorder) develops, characterized by loss of muscular control. Vitamin B is found in all whole grains and in ample amounts in middlings. Most all chick rations contain sufficient vitamin B because cereal grains and their by-products are always used in these rations.
Riboflavin, formerly called vitamin G, is a very important vitamin in the rations of poultry. It is necessary to promote growth of chicks and hatchability of eggs. Lack of it is supposedly the cause of “curled toe” paralysis, a deformity in the legs and feet of chickens which occurs from the age of 2 weeks to 10 weeks, and is variously called “curled toes,” “nutritional paralysis,” “vitamin G deficiency,” “riboflavin deficiency,", and “vitamin B2 deficiency.” Because “curled toe" paralysis is of nutritional origin it should not be considered a contagious or infectious disease. When it is noted in chicks immediate steps should be taken to provide additional riboflavin either in the form of liquid skimmilk (all they will drink with no water available), dried skimmilk, dried buttermilk, or dried whey, and choice green alfalfa leaf meal or other leafy green materials or green grass. Ordinarily a ration containing from 5 to 10 percent dried skimmilk or other milk-products and 5 percent of alfalfa leaf meal will provide sufficient riboflavin to promote normal growth in chicks and to prevent “curled toe” paralysis. Riboflavin is also contained in liver meal and yeast products. EVERY GOOD CHICK STARTING RATION MUST CONTAIN SUFFICIENT RIBOFLAVIN TO PROMOTE A NORMAL RATE OF GROWTH AND TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OF “CURLED TOE” PARALYSIS.
When vitamin D is not present, leg weakness develops. This is called rickets. It is caused by the failure of the chick to properly use the minerals for the development of bone. Sunlight, shining directly on the chicks, not filtered thru common glass, supplies this vitamin and aids in proper bone development. Let the chicks out in the sunshine. If this is impossible, vitamin D should be supplied by adding fish oil to the mash at the rate of 1 pound or pint to each 100 pounds of mash. In order to mix the oil thoroly in the mash one pint should be mixed with about 10 pounds of corn meal and then this with the remaining 90 pounds of feed.
Most of the chick feeding practices may be grouped as follows:
(1) grain and milk the first week, supplemented with mash after
the chicks are a week old; (2) mash and milk the first week with the
addition of grain, beginning the second week; (3) both grain and
mash from the beginning, and (4) the all-mash method. Regardless of the method used the ration should provide the essential requirements already discussed.
If it is desired to feed an all-mash ration, use either Mash No. 3 or No. 4. Mashes Nos. 4 and 5 are higher in protein and preferable for chicks raised in confinement. Mash No. 3 is recommended when the chicks have a good yard range during the brooding period. When producing broilers and a more rapid growth is desired than when chicks are being grown for layers, add 5 pounds more of meat scrap or 5 pounds of dried milk to Mash No. 3. During the last few years All Mash No. 2 and No. 3 were among the most popular home-made mixtures used in Kentucky.
If after the chicks are ten weeks old it is desired to retard too rapid development, feed crushed or cracked corn in addition to the all-mash. The amount of feed varies with the age and development of the chicks.
| Vitamins | Deficiency causes | Function | Principal sources |
|---|---|---|---|
A | Stunted growth Nutritional roup (xerophthalmia) Low egg production Low hatchability High mortality | Promotes growth Essential for normal reproduction | Fish liver oil Legume hay or meal Pasture Yellow corn |
B | Poor growth Loss of appetite Spastic head retractions High mortality | Promotes growth Prevents (polyneuritis) nervous disorder | Liquid or dried milk Wheat germ Wheat bran Pasture |
D | Rickets (soft or weak bones) Slower growth | Proper bone growth Essential for normal embryonic development | Fish liver oil Direct sunshine (not thru window glass) |
E | Sterility in males Failure in hatchability | Normal fertility Normal hatchability | Wheat germ oil Whole grains (grain germ) Pasture |
G Riboflavin [now known as B-2] | Stunted growth Decreased egg production Decreased hatchability | Promotes growth Necessary for normal embryonic development | Yeast Liquid or dried milk Legume hay meal Pasture |
G Antipellagric [now called niacin or B-3] | Growth failure Pellagra (sores at corners of mouth, eye and bottoms of feet) | Promotes growth Necessary for hatchability | Liver meal Liquid or dried milk Yeast Cane molasses Pasture |
The all-mash may be fed thruout the growing period with good results. However, many poultrymen feed all-mash up to broiler age, usually about the 12th week, and then change to mash and grain. If the all-mash method is used thruout the growing period, start putting a little grain on top of the mash about 3 weeks before the change to laying mash is made so that the chickens will be accustomed to eating grain before they are put on grain and mash. It is not necessary to crack the corn after the birds reach broiler age. Make changes in the ration before the pullets start laying, rather than afterwards. The fewer changes made after the pullets are laying the better will be the results, as changes in the ration tend to disturb production.
Mash No. 1 is popular with those who like to use the grain and mash method, and wish to use a greater number of ingredients than are found in the simple, all-mash formulas.
Mash No. 7 is a good growing mash and should be used for maturing the pullets from about the twelfth week. Some even start the baby chicks on this mash and continue it thruout the life of the chickens.
Cafeteria system No. 6 compared with All-Mash No. 3 gave equally good results in feeding trials at the Western Kentucky Sub-station, where green range was always available. The corn, wheat and meat scrap were fed in separate hoppers and kept before the birds continuously. Milk was available at all times during the first 12 weeks. After this time no milk was given but clean fresh water was always available. By the time the chickens were 12 weeks of age they were eating whole corn. The chickens balanced their own ration by eating what they wanted of the available feeds.
| Mash No. 1 | All-Mash No. 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pounds | Pounds | |||
| Bran | 25 | Ground yellow corn | ||
| Shorts | 25 | Wheat middlings*** | ||
| Ground yellow corn | 25 | Steamed bonemeal | ||
| Meat scrap or fish scrap | 12 | Salt | ||
| Dried buttermilk | 10 | [Total] | 100 | |
| Bonemeal | 2 | Fish liver oil, 1 pint* | ||
| Salt | 1 | Milk at all times—No water | ||
| [Total] | 100 | |||
| Fish liver oil, 1 pint* | ||||
| All-Mash No. 3 | All-Mash No. 4 | |||
| Ground yellow corn | 66 | Ground yellow corn | 58 | |
| Wheat middlings | 23 | Shorts or middlings | 21 | |
| Meat scrap | 10 | Dried skimmilk | 8 | |
| Salt | 1 | Meat scrap | 6 | |
| [Total] | 100 | Soybean oilmeal (47% protein) | 4 | |
| Fish liver oil, 1 pint* | Alfalfa leaf meal | 2 | ||
| Salt | 1 | |||
| [Total] | 100 | |||
| Fish liver oil, 1 pint* | ||||
| Grain No. 1 | Grain No. 2 | |||
| Cracked yellow corn | 50 | Cracked yellow corn | 35 | |
| Wheat | 50 | Wheat | 35 | |
| [Total] | 100 | Plump oats | 30 | |
| All-Mash No. 5 | Cafeteria System No. 6 | |||
| Ground yellow corn | 54 | Cracked yellow corn | hopper-fed | |
| Wheat middlings | 20 | Whole wheat | hopper-fed | |
| Meat scrap | 7.5 | Meat scrap | hopper-fed | |
| Soybean oilmeal | 7.5 | Salt—2% mixed with meat scrap | ||
| Dried skimmilk | 5 | *Cod liver oil 1½% on corn | ||
| Alfalfa leaf meal | 5 | Liquid skimmilk at all times | ||
| Salt | 1 | |||
| [Total] | 100 | |||
| Fish liver oil, 1 pint* | ||||
| Growing Mash No. 7 | Wartime Cafeteria Growing Ration No. 8 | |||
| Bran | 30 | Cracked yellow corn | hopper-fed | |
| Shorts | 30 | Whole wheat | hopper-fed | |
| Ground yellow corn | 20 | Soybean oilmeal | hopper-fed | |
| Meat scrap or fish scrap** | 20 | 2% salt added | ||
| Salt | 1 | Steamed bonemeal | hopper-fed | |
| [Total] | 101 | Green pasture | ||
Regardless of the method used, place the feed before the chicks when they are put into the brooder house and leave it before them all the time. Provide at least one inch of hopper space for each chick. If the grain-and-mash method is followed, hopper-feed both grain and mash.
Commercial Chick Feeds.—If it is not practical to make a home mixture, feed one of the well-recognized commercial chick starters the first few weeks. If a commercial starter is used, do not feed milk but use water instead, since the commercial feeds usually contain sufficient protein.
The cockerels should be separated from the pullets not later than broiler age and those that are not wanted for breeders should be sold as broilers; then feed the pullets Mash No. 2. If milk is available, give one gallon per day to each forty pullets and reduce the meat scrap in the mash to 5 pounds. Grain and mash should be kept before them all the time in the self-feeder. Use grain mixtures No. 1 and No. 2.
Feed and water containers should allow free access to feed and water but prevent the chicks from getting into or roosting on them. A lack of feeder space often causes uneven growth in the flock, because the stronger birds crowd the weaker ones away from the feed. Provide one inch of feeder space for each chick, or three hoppers four feet long, feeding from both sides, for each 10 x 12 brooder house. The water utensils should be set upon wire platforms. The wire prevents the litter from being thrown into the water or the utensils being overturned. Feed and water may be the means of spreading disease in the brooder house.
Outdoor Self Feeder.—During summer or the growing period, an outdoor self feeder may be used in connection with the range shelter or brooder house. A good kind is shown in Figure 13. Note the overhanging top which protects the feed from rain.
| Age, weeks | Light breeds | General purpose breeds | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average weight per chick | Average feed consumption per chick (lbs.) | Average weight per chick | Average feed consumption per chick (lbs.) | ||||||
| lbs. | ozs. | Weekly | to date | lbs. | ozs. | Weekly | to date | ||
| When hatched | 0 | 1.3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0 | 1.3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0 | 2.0 | 0.09 | 0.09 | |
| 2 | 0 | 2.9 | 0.16 | 0.24 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.18 | 0.27 | |
| 3 | 0 | 4.2 | 0.26 | 0.50 | 0 | 4.2 | 0.25 | 0.52 | |
| 4 | 0 | 6.1 | 0.35 | 0.85 | 0 | 5.8 | 0.33 | 0.85 | |
| 5 | 0 | 7.7 | 0.44 | 1.29 | 0 | 8.5 | 0.47 | 1.32 | |
| 6 | 0 | 10.4 | 0.52 | 1.81 | 0 | 11.5 | 0.64 | 1.96 | |
| 7 | 0 | 13.3 | 0.69 | 2.50 | 0 | 15.4 | 0.72 | 2.68 | |
| 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.78 | 3.28 | 1 | 3.5 | 0.90 | 3.58 | |
| 9 | 1 | 1.9 | 0.85 | 4.13 | 1 | 8.0 | 0.97 | 4.55 | |
| 10 | 1 | 4.6 | 0.95 | 5.08 | 1 | 12.5 | 1.07 | 5.62 | |
| 11 | 1 | 6.9 | 0.99 | 6.07 | 1 | 15.8 | 1.04 | 6.66 | |
| 12 | 1 | 9.6 | 1.00 | 7.07 | 2 | 4.5 | 1.19 | 7.85 | |
| 13* | 1 | 11.2 | 1.05 | 8.12 | 2 | 6.1 | 1.19 | 9.04 | |
| 14 | 1 | 13.6 | 1.10 | 9.22 | 2 | 12.3 | 1.17 | 10.21 | |
| 15 | 1 | 15.7 | 1.17 | 10.39 | 2 | 12.2 | 1.26 | 11.47 | |
| 16 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.20 | 11.59 | 2 | 14.6 | 1.40 | 12.87 | |
| 17 | 2 | 3.8 | 1.36 | 12.95 | 3 | 2.2 | 1.57 | 14.44 | |
| 18 | 2 | 6.4 | 1.37 | 14.32 | 3 | 4.0 | 1.61 | 16.05 | |
| 19 | 2 | 7.8 | 1.50 | 15.82 | 3 | 7.0 | 1.53 | 17.58 | |
| 20 | 2 | 10.9 | 1.61 | 17.43 | 3 | 10.9 | 1.70 | 19.28 | |
| 21 | 2 | 13.3 | 1.46 | 18.89 | 3 | 13.6 | 1.72 | 21.00 | |
| 22 | 2 | 15.0 | 1.45 | 20.34 | 4 | 0.5 | 1.75 | 22.75 | |
| 23 | 2 | 0.8 | 1.47 | 21.81 | 4 | 2.6 | 1.70 | 24.45 | |
| 24 | 2 | 2.4 | 1.56 | 23.37 | 4 | 4.8 | 1.78 | 26.23 | |
Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics: College of Agriculture and Home Economics, University of Kentucky, and the United States Department of Agriculture, cooperating. Thomas P. Cooper, Director. Issued in furtherance of the Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914.
To 3-42, 32M
20M—6-43
5½M—12-46
