\ Publication of The College of Agrici 
 
 ISITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL 
 Experiment Station 
 Extension Service 
 
 CIRCULAR 425 
 
THE BROODING AND 
 REARING OF CHICKENS . . . 
 
 is an important agricultural enterprise in the state of 
 California. Success in the poultry business is dependent 
 on a great many things and among them are: 
 
 GOOD EQUIPMENT 
 
 Whatever is used in the way of equipment 
 should be of good quality and kept in good 
 operating condition. The welfare of the 
 birds may be at stake. 
 
 GOOD HOUSING 
 
 Adequate protection against weather is 
 essential. Housing should allow sufficient 
 space per bird to avoid crowding. 
 
 GOOD FEEDS 
 
 The growth and development of the birds 
 will depend in large measure on the choice 
 and distribution of the right kinds of feed. 
 
 GOOD MANAGEMENT 
 
 Keeping accurate records is a necessary 
 step in raising poultry. The operator should 
 know at all times whether or not his busi- 
 ness is making money. 
 
 THE AUTHORS: 
 
 W. E. Newlon is Extension Poultryman, Berkeley. 
 
 V. S. Asmundson is Professor of Poultry Husbandry and Poultry Husbandman 
 in the Experiment Station, Davis. 
 
WHERE TO FIND IT 
 
 Just How Important is Poultry Raising in California? 4 
 
 BROODING ... the Over-all Points to Consider 5 
 
 General Requirements 6 
 
 Floor Brooding 8 
 
 Outdoor Brooding 15 
 
 Battery Brooding 18 
 
 RENEWING THE FLOCK 19 
 
 Feeding 21 
 
 Brooder Vices 22 
 
 Diseases and Parasites of Chicks 24 
 
 REARING CHICKENS for Egg Production or Breeding 25 
 
 Range vs. Confinement 25 
 
 Sizes and Kinds of Yards 26 
 
 Feeding and Management 27 
 
 Diseases and Parasites of Young Birds 29 
 
 Grading and Segregation 29 
 
 Debeaking 31 
 
 Rearing Cockerels for Breeding 33 
 
 REARING MEAT BIRDS 34 
 
 Economic Considerations 35 
 
 Breeds and Crossbreds 35 
 
 Houses, Yards, and Equipment 36 
 
 Management of Meat Birds 36 
 
 Feeding 37 
 
 Vices and Blemishes 37 
 
 Grading and Disposal 38 
 
r - 
 
 A floor brooder with circular guard fence around canopy. (See page 12 for discussion of brooders.) 
 
 JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS POULTRY RAISING 
 in the state of California? 
 
 The average annual farm income from 
 poultry on California farms has increased 
 steadily from about $40,000,000 ten years 
 ago to about $200,000,000 in 1950. The 
 combined income from chicken eggs and 
 chicken meat was about $150,000,000. 
 The income from turkey meat and turkey 
 hatching-eggs accounted for the remain- 
 ing $50,000,000. 
 
 Data from the 1950 Census of Agricul- 
 ture indicate that chickens were kept on 
 73,516 California farms and that 37 mil- 
 lion chicks were raised on these farms 
 during 1949. The 73,516 farms mentioned 
 comprise only about half of the total 
 number of farms in California. Thus the 
 percentage of California farms raising 
 chickens is considerably lower than the 
 national average (78 per cent). Census 
 data also show that 50 per cent of the 
 chickens in this state are found in flocks 
 
 of 1,000 birds or more. These figures 
 prove that the poultry industry is of great 
 economic importance in California and 
 that poultry raising is a major industry 
 on many farms. 
 
 Wherever chickens are raised on a 
 commercial scale, artificial brooding of 
 some kind will be used extensively. Good 
 brooding, rearing, and management can 
 be made to bring out the best qualities 
 inherited by a chick. On the other hand, 
 poor brooding and rearing can, and often 
 do, ruin good chicks. It is most impor- 
 tant, therefore, for poultrymen to use ade- 
 quate brooder equipment and to employ 
 good brooder management. 
 
 The ability to raise chicks of good qual- 
 ity is one of the most important factors 
 in the management of a successful poultry 
 enterprise. Many poultrymen fail in this, 
 and nothing will ever make up for poor 
 
 H 
 
results experienced during the growing 
 period. Best results require adequate 
 equipment, some practical knowledge, 
 plenty of common sense, and much hard 
 work. 
 
 The production of chickens and eggs 
 for human consumption tends to be a 
 specialized industry in California. Prob- 
 ably no farm practice has changed more 
 during recent years than have the meth- 
 ods employed in brooding and rearing 
 chickens. The information in the follow- 
 ing pages is based on experience, reports 
 and literature, observations in the field, 
 and experimental work in the California 
 Agricultural Experiment Station. 
 
 Location with Respect to Avail- 
 able Land. When considering the loca- 
 tion for brooding and rearing chicks 
 many factors need to be considered. The 
 amount of land available, as well as the 
 type of soil, lay of the land, and the pres- 
 ence or absence of good water drainage, 
 should each influence the method or sys- 
 tem of brooding and rearing selected. 
 Very hilly land is always undesirable be- 
 cause of difficulties in house location and 
 construction, as well as in flock manage- 
 ment. 
 
 When dirt yards are to be used, low, 
 flat lands are usually objectionable. Dur- 
 ing the rainy season, heavy clay or adobe 
 soils often present serious problems. But 
 if the chosen system provides for raising 
 the birds without contact with the ground, 
 type of soil is of no consequence and poor 
 drainage is a mere inconvenience. 
 
 All other things being equal, the most 
 
 ideal location for brooding is on a slight 
 slope with a southern exposure. The soil 
 on a south slope, during winter and 
 spring, will be warmer than the same type 
 of soil on any other slope or on the level. 
 Because it is warmer it is also drier. 
 
 Good air drainage is equally impor- 
 tant. Since cold air settles to low places, 
 small, enclosed valleys should be avoided 
 whenever possible. 
 
 Location with Respect to the 
 Whole Poultry Layout. The location 
 of permanent brooder houses should fit 
 well into the general farm plan with re- 
 spect to other buildings and the routine 
 of good poultry management. Chicks 
 should be segregated from adult poultry 
 and all other farm animals. Proximity to 
 water supply and feed storage rooms is 
 important, but excessive shade from other 
 tall farm structures or trees may be ob- 
 jectionable. 
 
 In starting a new poultry enterprise, 
 considerable thought should be given to 
 the mutual relations of the proposed 
 buildings. Their systematic arrangement 
 with reference to their respective pur- 
 poses, convenience, and reduction to a 
 minimum the distances traveled in caring 
 for the birds, is an important means of 
 holding down labor costs. Due regard 
 should also be given to the possibilities 
 of future expansion. 
 
 When dirt yards are used for chicks, 
 they should be so located that drainage 
 from yards used for adult poultry cannot 
 bring contamination which will be a 
 source of danger to the chicks. 
 
 BROODING CHICKENS . . . here are the 
 over-all points poultrymen should know 
 
 The brooding period extends from the 
 time the chicks hatch until they no longer 
 require artificial heat — usually four to 
 eight weeks, according to the weather and 
 the way the birds feather out. When low 
 temperatures prevail it is advisable to 
 continue artificial heat until the birds are 
 
 well feathered and roosting; when the 
 weather is hot, artificial heat may be dis- 
 continued much earlier. 
 
 The objective of brooding is to raise 
 the chicks hatched. Success or failure is 
 best measured by the percentage of well- 
 grown, well-feathered, normal, healthy 
 
 [5 
 
birds that survive to the end of the brood- 
 ing period. Rapid growth of birds raised 
 for meat production is essential; rapid 
 growth of pullets to be kept for egg pro- 
 duction is also desirable, though not nec- 
 essarily essential. On the other hand, a 
 subnormal rate of growth is always un- 
 desirable; it indicates poor stock, poor 
 management, disease, or inferior feed. 
 
 Three general types of brooders have 
 been devised for meeting these objectives. 
 These are the floor brooder, the outdoor 
 brooder, and the battery brooder. They 
 will be discussed more fully in following 
 sections. 
 
 General Requirements 
 
 Chicks require an environment that 
 will enable them to grow and thrive. An 
 environment in which the chicks grow 
 and thrive satisfactorily, as judged by 
 present standards, is not necessarily the 
 optimum environment. There are still so 
 many gaps in our knowledge that the 
 optimum requirements under all condi- 
 tions cannot be stated. No serious diffi- 
 culty is caused by this lack of knowledge 
 with floor- and outdoor-brooding systems 
 because, while temperature must be care- 
 fully regulated, wide fluctuations in some 
 of the environmental factors, such as hu- 
 midity, apparently have little effect. When 
 chicks are battery-brooded, a more pre- 
 cise control of humidity and other en- 
 vironmental factors is usually considered 
 necessary. 
 
 In practice, the environment of floor- 
 or outdoor-brooded chicks varies, being 
 different at night from what it is during 
 the day — also varying with climatic con- 
 ditions and according to the brooding 
 system used. In air-conditioned rooms 
 the environmental conditions are more 
 uniform. The environmental conditions 
 provided should be those found to be 
 economical in costs of housing, equip- 
 ment, fuel, and labor, consistent with sat- 
 isfactory growth and low mortality. 
 
 Heat. Heat is the only factor in the 
 physical environment of the chick that is 
 
 controlled with reasonable accuracy and 
 then only under the brooder or in the 
 brooder compartment, except in air-con- 
 ditioned battery rooms. If the brooder 
 temperature cannot be reasonably accu- 
 rately controlled, dependable results are 
 not to be expected. 
 
 The temperature in the space occupied 
 by the chicks when they settle down for 
 the night should be about 95° F for the 
 first few days. It may be lowered as the 
 chicks grow older, but should be main- 
 tained at a point where the chicks are 
 comfortable and can get warm quickly 
 in cold weather. 
 
 Normal, healthy chicks after the first 
 few days will stand a wide range in tem- 
 perature from about 70° to 125° F for 
 short periods without dying. If the tem- 
 perature is too low, the chicks will hud- 
 dle; some may be smothered and die, 
 while others will become stunted; those 
 that seem to grow well may make ineffi- 
 cient gains in terms of pounds of feed per 
 pound of gain. Diarrhea has also been 
 observed as a result of chilling where 
 sudden changes in temperature were pro- 
 duced with the aid of a fan. Chilling also 
 increases mortality from infectious dis- 
 eases such as pullorum disease, paraty- 
 phoid, or coccidiosis, but mortality from 
 these diseases will not occur unless the 
 causative organisms are present. On the 
 other hand, if the room temperature is too 
 high, the chicks are uncomfortable, pant, 
 hold the wings away from their bodies, 
 remain comparatively inactive, and eat 
 less. The rate of growth is slow and in- 
 efficient, and mortality is likely to be high. 
 
 The temperature in the brooding com- 
 partment can usually be lowered 3° to 
 5° F each week as the chicks grow older 
 until heat is discontinued. The heat is best 
 regulated according to the reactions of 
 the chicks. A reliable thermometer should 
 be used, but do not place sole reliance on 
 temperature reading, since the actions of 
 the chicks are the best guide to the tem- 
 perature required. 
 
 Safety from fire must be considered 
 
 [6] 
 
when selecting heating equipment. The 
 brooder should be so constructed that 
 there is a minimum fire hazard. Further- 
 more, any brooding equipment may be- 
 come a fire hazard if not kept in good 
 repair. Unless such equipment is reason- 
 ably fireproof, the entire brooder house 
 with its content of chicks and equipment 
 may be lost. The average fuel cost varies 
 from about one to five cents per chick. 
 The cost of fuel is, therefore, a small item 
 in the cost of raising pullets and is one of 
 the minor factors in the cost of raising 
 fryers. The needs of the chicks for ade- 
 quate ventilation and space should, there- 
 fore, not be sacrificed for unimportant 
 savings in cost of fuel. Nevertheless, the 
 availability, dependability, and cost of 
 fuel all require careful consideration 
 before deciding upon a brooder system. 
 
 Ventilation. One hundred chicks re- 
 quire about two cubic feet of air per 
 minute to support maximum growth for 
 the first few weeks (see table 3). This 
 amount of air flow will not keep the 
 brooder dry after the first three weeks, 
 nor will double this amount (4 cubic feet 
 per minute for 100 chicks) keep an en- 
 closed brooder dry for the first six weeks. 
 
 Fresh air is important to the health of 
 the chicks. Too rapid air movement, how- 
 ever, which causes the chicks to be un- 
 comfortable, should be avoided. When 
 chicks are floor-brooded there is usually 
 so large an air volume that insufficient 
 ventilation is not likely to be a limiting 
 factor. Yet it is undoubtedly true that 
 there is more frequently too little than 
 too much fresh air for older chicks. To 
 avoid difficulty from this cause, neither 
 the house nor the brooding compartment 
 should be closed tight when natural ven- 
 tilation is relied upon. This is particularly 
 important if oil-, coal-, or gas-burning 
 brooders are used, since there is some 
 danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. 
 Furthermore, forced ventilation should 
 be provided for large, curtained electric 
 brooders and for rooms equipped with 
 battery brooders. 
 
 Humidity. It has been demonstrated 
 that relative humidity, ranging from ap- 
 proximately 40 to 73 per cent, has no 
 apparent effect on floor-brooded chicks. 
 High humidity may increase the moisture 
 content of the litter and thereby provide 
 an ideal place for coccidia and other 
 disease-producing organisms to live. Heat 
 and ventilation should, therefore, be used 
 to control humidity. 
 
 Space. The brooder should be large 
 enough to provide a comfortable place for 
 all the chicks without crowding. In elec- 
 tric brooders at least seven square inches 
 of floor space should be allowed under 
 the hover for each chick. More space 
 should be allowed after the first week or 
 two. With stove-type brooders having the 
 canopy suspended at a distance above the 
 floor, it is less important to use a certain 
 size of canopy for a given number of 
 chicks, but the size of the brooder stove 
 and canopy should be approximately in 
 proportion to the number of chicks and 
 the size of the brooder room. With the 
 stove type of brooder, the chicks will set- 
 tle in a circle at the distance from the 
 stove which they find most comfortable. 
 If a large stove or too much heat is used 
 in a small room, the chicks are likely to 
 crowd to the walls and into the corners 
 with disastrous results. 
 
 Labor Efficiency. Three main factors 
 usually affect labor efficiency in use of 
 the brooder. These are (1) the extent to 
 which the temperature is automatically 
 controlled, (2) the ease with which tem- 
 perature can be adjusted, and (3) the 
 ease with which the brooder can be oper- 
 ated. In order to meet these requirements 
 the brooder must be capable of develop- 
 ing as much or as little heat as is required 
 and must have adequate means of control- 
 ling the temperature. These two essentials 
 of a good brooder are often sacrificed to 
 save on first cost or merely because they 
 are overlooked. Many otherwise satisfac- 
 tory brooders require frequent adjust- 
 ment as the weather changes and as the 
 chicks get older. This is true, for exam- 
 
 [7] 
 
pie, of overhead-contact brooders, in 
 which the height of the heated surface 
 (cloth, rubber, or feathers) is regulated 
 to the size of the chicks. Some brooders 
 are so constructed that they collect dirt; 
 others are difficult to clean and keep clean. 
 The brooder and everything pertaining to 
 it should be easy to clean, and thus leave 
 the poultryman with a maximum of time 
 for the routine management of the chicks. 
 Careful management is required to keep 
 the chicks growing, healthy, and free 
 from vices. Anything that unnecessarily 
 increases labor will make the successful 
 brooding of chicks that much more diffi- 
 cult and expensive. 
 
 Floor Brooding 
 
 Floor brooding is the most widely used 
 and adaptable of the various systems for 
 brooding chicks. 
 
 For chicks brooded on the floor a suit- 
 able house, brooders, and other equip- 
 ment are required. Yards may or may 
 not be used. 
 
 Houses. Practically all types of poul- 
 try houses have been used to brood 
 
 chicks, but many of them are not suitable. 
 Any good poultry house can be satisfac- 
 torily used. A good brooder house must 
 be so ventilated that it will provide ade- 
 quate fresh air without excessive drafts; 
 provide ample floor space for the chicks 
 and headroom for the attendant; be well 
 lighted; dry; well planned so as to facil- 
 itate routine work, especially cleaning; 
 durable and reasonably rodent-proof, yet 
 economical to construct. 
 
 A house that is adequate in one area 
 may be entirely unsuitable elsewhere. 
 Thus, wire-walled houses are best adapted 
 to use in some districts where high winds 
 are not experienced and where winter 
 temperatures are moderate. Such brooder 
 houses are unsuitable in some parts of the 
 state since they give little protection 
 against wind, rain, or cold. Such a house 
 is economical to build when durability, 
 ease of operation, and the protection it 
 affords both the chicks and the attendant 
 are considered. 
 
 About 50 square feet of floor space 
 should be allowed for each 100 chicks as 
 indicated in table 1. The recommended 
 
 ▲OHMMMJ 
 
 A double wire porch house suitable for brooding chicks, for rearing pullets 
 and fryers, or for laying hens. 
 
 8 
 
Table 1 . Relation between Floor Space and Mortality of Chicks 
 
 Floor space per 100 chicks 
 
 Chicks 
 
 Deaths 
 
 Mortality 
 
 to 3 months 
 
 of age 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 35 or less 
 
 35 to 50 
 
 number 
 73,077 
 25,371 
 25,044 
 
 number 
 
 19,257 
 
 4,122 
 
 3,484 
 
 per cent 
 26.3 
 16.2 
 
 50 or more 
 
 13.1 
 
 
 
 Table 2. Recommended Space per Chick for Floor-Raised Birds 
 
 
 
 Amount of floor space 
 
 to age in weeks given 
 
 
 Chicks per brood 
 
 With yards 
 
 Without yard 
 
 s 
 
 
 To 6 weeks 
 
 7-11 weeks 
 
 12-16 weeks 
 
 To 6 weeks 
 
 7-11 weeks 
 
 12-16 weeks 
 
 number 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 sq. ft. 
 
 Under 100 
 
 50 
 
 125 
 
 75 
 185 
 
 120 
 285 
 
 60 
 150 
 
 90 
 
 225 
 
 150 
 
 250 
 
 360 
 
 350 
 
 175 
 
 260 
 
 400 
 
 210 
 
 315 
 
 500 
 
 500 
 
 250 
 
 375 
 
 575 
 
 300 
 
 450 
 
 710 
 
 750 
 
 375 
 
 560 
 
 835 
 
 450 
 
 675 
 
 1,060 
 
 1,000 
 
 500 
 
 750 
 
 1,110 
 
 600 
 
 900 
 
 1,410 
 
 
 
 floor areas for different-sized broods of 
 chicks are shown in table 2. The chicks re- 
 quire more floor space as they grow older. 
 When straight-run chicks are brooded the 
 additional space required can be pro- 
 vided, in part at least, by removing the 
 cockerels. When pullet chicks are reared 
 the pens will either have to be large 
 enough to accommodate the birds for the 
 length of time the birds are to be kept in 
 them or the birds will have to be given 
 more room to make sure that they are not 
 crowded. Table 2 is based on the assump- 
 tion that the number of pullets per pen 
 will be adjusted at about 6 and 12 weeks 
 of age. 
 
 Since yards cannot be used in wet, 
 stormy weather, chicks brooded at sea- 
 sons when such weather may be expected 
 should be given the amount of house 
 room recommended for chicks that do 
 not have access to yards. 
 
 Good results are usually obtained with 
 300 to 500 chicks in each brooder. A 
 
 smaller number is likely to require more 
 labor per chick without enough advantage 
 in rate of growth or uniformity of growth, 
 while larger numbers in one brood may 
 result in less uniform growth and in- 
 creased mortality from crowding. 
 
 Yards. Yards provide space for the 
 birds to move around in without the ex- 
 pense of building walls and roofs. They 
 also permit the birds access to direct sun- 
 light. Since good results can be obtained 
 without the use of yards, some poultry- 
 men do not use them. The size of yard 
 tends to vary with the price of land and 
 the type of yard used. Dirt yards are 
 usually larger than paved yards and wire 
 or slat porches. If plenty of comparatively 
 cheap land is available and the chicks are 
 brooded in colony houses, free range may 
 be used. This may help to reduce losses 
 from some diseases if the houses are 
 moved from time to time. The birds 
 range constantly over the ground near 
 the house, but use land at a distance of 50 
 
 [9] 
 
to 100 feet comparatively little unless 
 feed and water are provided in the shade 
 at this or a greater distance from the 
 house. 
 
 When the house is left in the same 
 place, the ground around it becomes 
 fouled with manure. The manure can be 
 swept up, which avoids any serious dan- 
 ger if only one brood a year is raised in 
 the house. If two or more broods of chicks 
 are started in the same house and on the 
 same ground there is danger of contami- 
 nation and of consequent heavy mortality 
 among the later broods from ground- 
 borne parasites. If dirt yards are used 
 more than once during the season, the top 
 two or three inches of soil should be re- 
 moved and replaced with sand or clean 
 soil before another brood is started. 
 
 Dry range contributes little to the nutri- 
 tion of the chick or the growing bird. 
 Birds ranged on green pasture will get 
 considerable food from the range, which 
 will reduce the amount of gain and mash 
 consumed per pound of grain. Since such 
 range must be irrigated in most parts of 
 California, it is advisable to avoid soil 
 contamination by starting only one brood 
 on any particular part of the range in any 
 one year, and by using the range only 
 every other year. 
 
 For permanently located, large brooder 
 houses, restricted dirt yards are not rec- 
 
 ommended. But if only one brood is 
 started each year, dirt yards on both 
 sides, with each yard used in alternate 
 years, may be satisfactory. If more than 
 one brood is started during the year, the 
 yards should be hard-surfaced or wire or 
 slat yards may be built. Such yards re- 
 quire less land and, if properly con- 
 structed and managed, aid materially in 
 controlling intestinal parasites. Further- 
 more, the space provided by the yards 
 helps materially to lessen the danger of 
 feather picking and cannibalism. Such 
 yards are usually made 10 to 20 feet deep. 
 
 Concrete and other types of paved 
 yards should slope away from the house 
 at least 1 inch in 10 feet to ensure drain- 
 age and to aid in cleaning. The pavement 
 should be cleaned regularly and kept 
 reasonably dry; otherwise it will be no 
 better than a dirt yard. 
 
 Wire porches are widely used. Their 
 use is particularly desirable where intes- 
 tinal parasites are a serious problem. 
 When necessary to place them near the 
 ground, they can be made by stretching 
 3 /4-inch square mesh (16-gauge wire) 
 hardware cloth on frames three feet by six 
 feet; the frames are made of one by six 
 inch lumber, on edge. Enough frames are 
 placed side by side to provide the yard 
 space required, usually the length of the 
 house or pen and extending out from it to 
 
 Left: Brooder house with concrete yards, suitable for all parts of the state. Center: Slat yards 
 may be used to control soil-borne intestinal parasites. Right: A concrete yard with artificial shade 
 
 - - ,„ m ,,<to**&MM 
 
a distance of 6 to 12 feet. The chicks can 
 walk on such wire reasonably comfort- 
 ably and the wire is practically self-clean- 
 ing. The sanitary value of wire is nullified 
 if the attendant carries infection onto the 
 wire by walking on it. Droppings should 
 be removed frequently enough from un- 
 der the wire to control flies, since flies are 
 intermediate hosts for tapeworms. 
 
 Slat porches are sometimes used, but 
 they catch and hold more droppings and 
 are therefore less sanitary than wire. 
 Wire and slat porches are especially suit- 
 able for use on sloping ground. For a 
 more complete discussion of yards and 
 their management, see the section on 
 "Rearing Pullets." 
 
 Shade. Unshaded yards are used very 
 little by the birds through most of the 
 day in hot weather; hence, it is desirable 
 to provide natural or artificial shade. 
 Natural shade is best provided by decidu- 
 ous trees planted a sufficient distance 
 from the house to prevent the trees from 
 interfering with the entrance of light in 
 the house during the winter months. 
 Where irrigation is required, the trees 
 should be outside the fences so that the 
 yards may be kept as dry as possible. 
 
 Electric Brooders. The electric 
 brooder is the most convenient of the 
 various fuel types of brooders used for 
 floor brooding. Electricity is convenient 
 
 because the temperature under the can- 
 opy can be maintained within narrow 
 limits in most types; the room is not 
 heated or only slightly — a desirable fea- 
 ture during most of the year. The cost 
 is usually about the same as for other 
 economical fuels. The chief disadvantage 
 is that severe storms may interrupt serv- 
 ice and cause heavy losses among very 
 young chicks unless they can be kept 
 warm until power is restored. This is a 
 problem that should be considered by 
 those who brood chicks in the winter 
 months or throughout the year. Some 
 have met it by having auxiliary brooders 
 or a stand-by generator. Electric brooders 
 should not be used where there are fre- 
 quent interruptions in power supply. 
 Auxiliary heat is desirable in areas hav- 
 ing a very cold climate, but this is not a 
 problem in most parts of California. 
 
 Electric brooders are made in a va- 
 riety of types. The most widely used is a 
 conical, galvanized-iron hover insulated 
 against heat loss on the inside and having 
 a width approximately twice its height. 
 The brooder may be heated by nonglow- 
 ing (black heat) or glowing (radiant) 
 heating elements. The latter include a 
 variety of types. According to work done 
 at the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experi- 
 ment Station, pullets brooded under 
 black-heat electric brooders were 10 to 
 
 over part of it. Note how chicks collect in area which has been shaded and which also includes 
 feed and water. 
 
20 days older when they started laying 
 than pullets brooded under other types 
 (coal, hot water, battery). There was, 
 however, no effect on rate of growth as 
 measured by body weight at different 
 ages. 
 
 Hovers may or may not be equipped 
 with curtains. Curtains tend to retard air 
 movement. Their use may cause poor ven- 
 tilation and dampness under the hover 
 unless fans are used. On the other hand, 
 the fuel consumption of electric hover 
 brooders with curtains is approximately 
 half that of such brooders without cur- 
 tains. 
 
 Electric heating elements — and even 
 electric light bulbs — have been used in 
 a wide variety of other types of brooders, 
 including flat, wooden, homemade hovers. 
 These function much the same as the con- 
 ical type of hover by furnishing a heated 
 space for the chick. Contact brooders are 
 also available. One type has a felt, com- 
 position, or rubber sheet heated from 
 above, which is adjusted to come in con- 
 tact with the backs of the chicks. It is 
 claimed that the feathers on chicks 
 brooded in contact brooders are smoother 
 than those on chicks brooded in non- 
 contact brooders. Contact brooders have 
 the disadvantage that their height must 
 be carefully adjusted to the size or height 
 of the chicks. Another type of contact 
 brooder is the feather brooder, with a 
 small- or medium-sized globe so placed 
 in the center of the hover that it will not 
 touch or set fire to the feathers. Feather 
 brooders are difficult to clean and the 
 temperature cannot be maintained at any 
 desired level. 
 
 Infrared Brooding. Infrared heat 
 lamps have been used successfully for 
 some time, but the system at present is 
 still in the experimental stage. The 250 
 watt lamp is most commonly used. Bat- 
 teries of 6 lamps properly attached, socket 
 end up, in a rectangular metal panel 
 measuring 1x6 feet, will accommodate 
 500 chicks. At the start the bulbs should 
 be suspended 19 to 20 inches above the 
 
 floor for about 3 days. As the birds grow 
 older the bulbs should then be raised 
 about 3 inches per week. This increases 
 the area covered by radiation and de- 
 creases the intensity of energy at the floor 
 level. In order to save brooding costs a 
 voltage regulator may be operated man- 
 ually or thermostatically to regulate room 
 temperature according to the comfort of 
 the chicks. 
 
 Initial installation costs compare fa- 
 vorably with other systems of electric 
 brooding but operating costs usually are 
 higher. This type of brooder does not 
 heat the room. There is the same danger 
 of power interruption, and in very cold 
 weather automatic water fountains may 
 freeze. Some advantages are that the birds 
 can be readily seen at all times, low labor 
 costs, uniform heat, and the brooder can 
 be readily raised out of the way at house 
 cleaning time. 
 
 Electric soil cables buried in sand 
 are used to a limited extent for brooding, 
 mostly during warmer weather. A wooden 
 platform hover is placed over the heated 
 area. Underground heat keeps the sand 
 and litter dry and dries the droppings. 
 Thermostats may be used with soil-cable 
 brooders, but temperature control will be 
 less precise than with most other types of 
 electric brooders. Cables have also been 
 used in concrete blocks, but there is little 
 to recommend this permanently fixed type 
 of installation. 
 
 Gas Brooders. Gas lends itself well to 
 brooding. Temperature control is much 
 better than with most types of fuel other 
 than electricity. Gas is economical and, 
 compressed in tanks, can be used where 
 piped gas is not available. Interruption 
 of fuel supply is rarely a problem. Gas 
 brooder stoves are capable of producing 
 adequate heat under varying conditions. 
 
 Gas-, oil-, coal-, and wood-burning 
 brooders all heat the room. Consequently, 
 the size or heat-producing capacity of the 
 brooder should be in proportion to the 
 size of the room. A small gas or other 
 brooder may be placed in a large room 
 
 12 
 
provided not too many chicks are put 
 under it. An excessively large brooder 
 should not be put in a small room, regard- 
 less of the number of chicks put under it, 
 since it may overheat the entire room and 
 may thereby cause heavy losses among 
 the chicks. This should not be a problem 
 if thermostatically controlled gas fur- 
 naces, similar to those used in homes or 
 commercial buildings, are installed. With 
 9 these the entire room may be evenly 
 heated to the temperature required to 
 keep the chicks comfortable. 
 
 Oil Stoves. A variety of oil-burning 
 brooders adapted to the various grades 
 of fuel oil are available. They provide 
 reasonably good temperature control and 
 adequate heat under a wide range of cli- 
 matic conditions. There is little danger 
 of disrupted service when these brooders 
 are properly installed and carefully oper- 
 ated, since the cause of interruption in 
 service is most commonly a stopped feed 
 line or failure of the operator to fill the 
 fuel tank. Oil-burning brooders must be 
 kept clean and properly adjusted, which 
 requires more work than in the case of 
 electric or gas brooders. There is also a 
 greater fire hazard, but sand litter tends 
 to lessen this risk. 
 
 Coal Stoves. Suitable coal has not 
 been available at favorable prices in most 
 parts of California during recent years. 
 Moreover, while coal brooders produce 
 adequate heat, the temperature cannot be 
 readily controlled to meet varying cli- 
 matic conditions. Coal stoves require 
 more labor to fuel, adjust, and clean. For 
 the reasons mentioned, coal stoves are 
 little used for brooding chicks in Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Hot Water and Hot Air. Most hot- 
 water-pipe and hot-air-pipe brooders are 
 expensive to install but relatively inex- 
 pensive to operate if used at their capacity 
 on a year round basis. A popular hot- 
 water-pipe type at present is the so-called 
 radiant heat installation. Hot-water pipe 
 is installed in the concrete floor, and the 
 system is thoroughly tested before the 
 
 top inch of concrete is laid. Buildings 
 with such installations usually cannot eco- 
 nomically be used for other purposes than 
 brooding. The better installations provide 
 heat and reasonably good heat control. 
 Some of the poorer installations, partic- 
 ularly hot-air-pipe systems fueled with 
 wood, are unreliable and give satisfactory 
 results only at the cost of much extra 
 labor. 
 
 Fireless Brooders. Brooders made of 
 feathers or felt, which keep the chicks 
 warm by contact, are economical and will 
 brood small lots of chicks satisfactorily 
 if carefully operated. They should not be 
 used except to brood lots of 100 chicks or 
 less. 
 
 Other Brooder-Room Equipment. 
 Suitable feeders, waterers, and roosts 
 should be provided. A tray four feet long, 
 five inches wide, and one and one-half 
 inches deep — inside measurements — will 
 provide adequate feeding space for 100 
 chicks. Trays of this type should have a 
 grid made of %-inch-mesh hardware 
 cloth, reinforced with a narrow edge of 
 galvanized iron, to prevent wastage of 
 the mash. If narrow feeders are used, it 
 may be necessary to provide hoppers five 
 to six feet in length for each 100 chicks. 
 Reel-type hoppers of suitable size are 
 more sanitary than trays and should be 
 used after the chicks learn to eat. 
 
 A 1 -gallon fountain is recommended 
 for every 75 to 100 chicks. Various types 
 of automatic waterers can be used, partic- 
 ularly after the first few days. The water- 
 ers and feeders should be on wire or other 
 platforms after the first few days. Such 
 platforms tend to keep litter out of the 
 containers. 
 
 Guard fences should be placed around 
 the brooder the first few days. These are 
 made of various materials such as: roof- 
 ing paper cut into strips one foot wide; 
 chicken netting one foot wide and covered 
 with muslin or burlap; or boards. The 
 fences are usually placed 18 inches or 
 more out from the edge of the canopy. 
 With curtained electric brooders it is ad- 
 
 [13] 
 
visable to have the guard fence touch the 
 canopy at one edge of the hover. The 
 space enclosed by the fence should be 
 increased after the first day or two and 
 the guard eliminated completely after the 
 first few days when the chicks are trained 
 to go to the hover for heat. 
 
 Roots are usually provided for replace- 
 ment birds after they reach four or five 
 weeks of age. These can be one by two 
 inch pieces of lumber laid flat with the 
 edges smoothed. These are nailed to a 
 frame over 1-inch-mesh poultry netting at 
 a height of about 12 inches above the 
 floor. A sloping approach similarly con- 
 structed and attached to the front of the 
 roost may be used to teach the chicks to 
 roost. 
 
 Some fryer producers who raise their 
 birds on litter to heavy fryer or light 
 roaster weights (3% to 4% pounds) do 
 not use roosts. Apparently fewer birds 
 have breast blisters if roosts are not used. 
 
 Brooder Management. The brooder 
 should be checked for defects and then 
 operated for a day or two before chicks 
 are put under it to make sure that it is 
 in good working order. The brooder 
 should be regulated to a temperature of 
 about 90° to 100° F at a point about two 
 inches above the floor near the outer edge 
 of the canopy; for gas brooders the tem- 
 perature should be taken two or three 
 inches outside the edge of the canopy. The 
 exact temperature will need to be varied 
 according to the type of brooder, the posi- 
 tion of the thermometer, and weather con- 
 ditions. After the chicks are placed in the 
 brooder they should be watched and the 
 temperature changed to keep them com- 
 fortable. It is very important to maintain 
 the temperature so that the chicks will 
 spread evenly under or around the 
 brooder. If radiant heat or thermostati- 
 cally controlled gas furnaces are used, the 
 temperature should be such that the 
 chicks spread out over the floor. A start- 
 ing temperature of 90° F at the floor is 
 about right where these methods of heat- 
 ing are used. 
 
 Feed and water should be provided be- 
 fore the chicks are placed in the brooder. 
 It is desirable to have the chicks eat up 
 all the feed in the hoppers once a day. 
 The trays should then be cleaned before 
 they are refilled. Care should be taken to 
 see that the chicks are not left without 
 feed for any length of time. For the first 
 day or two, feed should be spread on egg 
 flats, paper, or boards, in addition to the 
 regular trays, to ensure that the chicks | 
 learn to eat. 
 
 The waterers should be cleaned and 
 refilled at least once daily. Automatic 
 waterers should also be inspected at least 
 once daily and cleaned or adjusted if 
 necessary. Avoid excessive spillage which 
 may cause wet litter. 
 
 Litter should be placed on the floor to 
 facilitate cleaning. The litter used may be 
 rice, cottonseed or other hulls, cut straw, 
 peat moss, processed sugar-cane stalks, 
 wood shavings, or sand. (Cottonseed 
 hulls should not be used as litter in houses 
 for laying hens because of its effect on 
 egg quality. The eggs from such hens, if 
 placed in cold storage, may develop dis- 
 colored yolks.) Sand may be used on 
 the floor under the other types of litter. 
 Sand is particularly desirable around oil- 
 burning brooders for protection against 
 fire. Where sand is used a common prac- 
 tice is to cover the floor enclosed by the 
 guard with burlap for the first two or 
 three days. This is usually not necessary 
 when feed is kept before the chicks, since 
 there is little danger that the chicks will 
 eat harmful amounts of sand or other 
 litter unless they are starved. 
 
 The use of built-up litter in brooder 
 houses continues to increase in popular- 
 ity. When proper management practices 
 are followed, such litter can be used over 
 and over again with successive broods of 
 chicks. In this manner, substantial sav- 
 ings can be made in labor and litter costs. 
 It is essential to keep built-up litter dry 
 by avoiding spillage around water con- 
 tainers and by immediately stirring the 
 litter when damp spots appear near feed- 
 
 14 
 
ers, waterers, or brooders. Slaked lime, 
 gypsum, or ground limestone scattered 
 over damp spots before stirring will aid 
 in keeping the litter dry. The usual recom- 
 mendation is one pound of powder to 10 
 square feet of damp litter area. Remove 
 all wet litter before stirring the re- 
 mainder. 
 
 Prompt action to control coccidiosis 
 when an outbreak occurs is, of course, 
 important regardless of the type of litter 
 management used. Medicated mash to 
 prevent coccidiosis is common when 
 built-up litter is used, although not usu- 
 ally essential if litter is dry and is fre- 
 quently stirred to prevent matting or 
 caking caused by fresh droppings. 
 
 Increasing floor space per bird by de- 
 creasing the number of birds per unit 
 during the winter rainy season will mate- 
 rially aid in maintaining dry litter con- 
 ditions. 
 
 In cold weather the chicks should be 
 moved in chick boxes or other suitable 
 covered boxes to guard against chilling 
 and placed under the brooder. They may 
 be put under the brooders at 24 hours of 
 age, at which time they are ready for feed 
 and water. 
 
 Chicks fed a well-balanced ration con- 
 
 taining an adequate amount of vitamin 
 D do not need to get outside. On the other 
 hand, chicks that are outside in the sun- 
 light daily do not need vitamin D in their 
 ration. There is usually less trouble with 
 cannibalism and other vices, however, if 
 the chicks have access to an outside yard 
 or porch after the first few days. There- 
 fore, allowing floor-brooded chicks ac- 
 cess to clean, outside yards in favorable 
 weather promotes health and simplifies 
 management. 
 
 The chicks may be encouraged to roost 
 after they are four or five weeks old. If 
 roosted too early on narrow roosts many 
 will develop crooked keels. Leghorn 
 chicks take to roosts much more readily 
 than chicks of the heavier breeds, but 
 the latter will usually learn in two or three 
 days if placed on, or driven onto, the 
 roosts at dusk. If chicks crowd into cor- 
 ners on the floor some of them may be 
 smothered. Others may be partly asphyxi- 
 ated and fail to grow properly. Such birds 
 frequently develop into runts and worth- 
 less culls. 
 
 Outdoor Brooding 
 
 Outdoor brooders are widely used in 
 the southern part of the state and, to a 
 
 A gas heated outdoor brooder. The enclosed droppings pit (front panel removed) 
 eliminates need for droppings pan. 
 
 [15 
 
limited extent, in other parts of Califor- 
 nia. Usually no brooder house is used and 
 no protection is afforded the attendant. 
 To make the system more suitable for use 
 in some of the wetter parts of the state, 
 a roof may be used (see photograph on 
 page 17). The chief advantage of this 
 system is the comparatively low initial 
 investment. Another advantage is that the 
 birds do not come in contact with con- 
 taminated soil and the attendant remains 
 outside the runway. 
 
 Brooders. The brooders consist essen- 
 tially of a heated, ventilated box with a 
 wire runway or porch. The box is usually 
 well insulated to reduce fuel consumption. 
 Proper insulation effects a worth-while 
 saving in fuel consumption, which more 
 than offsets the increased cost of construc- 
 tion. The use of a galvanized-iron sheet 
 for the ceiling of the box, it is claimed, 
 helps to spread the heat and distribute 
 the chicks evenly at night. 
 
 The depth of the box is usually 12 
 inches or more, with seven inches or more 
 above the %-inch-mesh wire screen that 
 the chicks walk on. Underneath this wire 
 screen is placed a galvanized-iron drop- 
 pings pan or a floor; or the droppings 
 may be allowed to fall on the ground or 
 onto a concrete slab. If not provided with 
 a floor, the brooder box should be set 
 near the ground and the space underneath 
 enclosed in cold weather to conserve heat. 
 Two sets of screens may be provided for 
 each box, although this is not essential. 
 If a larger mesh screen is to be used after 
 the first week or two, provision may be 
 made for placing it lower in the box, or 
 it can replace the initially used smaller 
 mesh screen when it is removed and thus 
 leave the wire floor at the same level in 
 the box. 
 
 The box may be ventilated by suitable 
 openings or by means of the curtain- 
 covered opening onto the wire run plus 
 a fan. The opening provided to permit 
 the chicks to go onto the wire porch 
 should extend the entire width of the box 
 and be about 10 inches high. 
 
 The wire run or porch should be at the 
 same level as the floor screen of the box, 
 but the roof or top screen may be twice 
 the height of the brooder box to help 
 prevent the chicks from flying out when 
 the top is opened. The runs vary in length 
 from 6 to 14 feet; 8 or 10 feet are the 
 commonest lengths, with a four by four 
 foot brooder box. Some operators prefer 
 a narrower, 3-foot wide brooder and run 
 to facilitate handling the chicks. When 
 used for year-round brooding the run 
 should also have a roof for protection 
 from the elements. 
 
 Feeders and Waterers. Feeders and 
 waterers may be placed in the brooder 
 box if sufficient light is available, or on 
 the wire run, according to the age of the 
 chicks and weather conditions. They may 
 also be placed on brackets at the sides 
 and end of the wire run to facilitate filling 
 and cleaning and to prevent the chicks 
 from contaminating the feed and water. 
 
 Roosts need not be used in these 
 brooders, but if desired, two by three 
 inch or four inch roosts may be laid flat 
 in the wire runs. 
 
 Management. The chicks may be 
 placed directly in the brooders and left 
 there until they can do without heat. 
 Many of the outdoor brooders in use are 
 not suitable for holding the chicks more 
 than six weeks. While 200 chicks can be 
 started in a brooder with a four by four 
 foot brooder box, it is not advisable to 
 start more than 125 if the chicks are to 
 be kept in the brooder to five or six weeks 
 of age and not more than 100 if kept to 
 seven weeks of age. The temperatures in 
 the brooder box and methods of feeding 
 and watering are the same as with floor 
 brooding. 
 
 When pans are used, the droppings 
 should be removed daily or at least every 
 other day. The droppings under the wire 
 run may, however, be left much longer if 
 the droppings dry rapidly and therefore 
 do not serve as a breeding place for flies. 
 
 The brooder should be thoroughly 
 cleaned and disinfected at the end of each 
 
 [16 
 
x 1 
 
 Above: Paired electric outdoor brooders with connected growing pens. The roof protects the 
 birds and the attendant from the weather, either hot sun or rain. Below: Another view of the 
 same setup. Note baffle boards for shading birds, and also drip waterer. 
 
 :,.;-:.;./— ■../;-,>,., ■■■■•■ ,>-.■ .;* 
 
 i 171 
 
brood before chicks are again started. A 
 soaking platform is useful for cleaning 
 the screens. 
 
 Battery Brooding 
 
 Battery brooders are used by hatch- 
 eries to hold surplus chicks until they 
 can be sold, and by some fryer producers 
 to brood chicks. They are little used by 
 egg producers because of the large in- 
 vestment in brooding equipment for each 
 chick brooded where only two or three 
 broods are started each year. 
 
 Housing Requirements. For year- 
 round brooding the temperature, ventila- 
 tion, and humidity of the battery brooder 
 room should be controlled. In large rooms 
 plenty of air space and positive, fan- 
 controlled ventilation are necessary. 
 
 The battery room should have a con- 
 crete floor with a slope of at least one 
 inch in 10 feet to permit water to flow 
 freely into a drain. The walls and ceil- 
 ing should be well insulated. The ceiling 
 should be not less than two feet above 
 the top of the battery, preferably more. 
 Windows, if used, are best placed fairly 
 high in the wall and so spaced that they 
 furnish an even distribution of light. 
 
 One type of battery suitable for 
 starting baby chicks. 
 
 When windows are used to ventilate the 
 room they should open at the top and be 
 constructed to prevent direct drafts. 
 
 Fans to control ventilation can be 
 placed either in the ceiling or the walls. 
 The fans should not blow air directly on 
 the chicks. One 19-inch, 1,750-r.p.m. fan 
 driven with % hp. motor or two smaller 
 fans will ordinarily be adequate for a 
 room about 40 by 20 feet. During hot 
 weather the air brought into the room by 
 the fans may be drawn through wet ex- 
 celsior pads to maintain the relative 
 humidity at not less than 65 per cent and 
 to hold the room temperature down to 
 80° F or less. Outlets should be so placed 
 that they will aid the fans to insure ade- 
 quate distribution of the air. A heater 
 may be needed in cold weather to main- 
 tain the temperature of the room at 60° 
 to 80° F. 
 
 The size of the room will depend on 
 the number of chicks to be brooded and 
 the number and size of the batteries to 
 be used. Since batteries vary in size and 
 shape, it is advisable to select the bat- 
 teries before the room is built. It is also 
 advisable to allow at least 15 inches be- 
 tween batteries and to have the aisles at 
 least three feet wide. The relation between 
 the number and age of the chicks and the 
 floor space required is shown in table 3, 
 page 22. 
 
 Battery Brooders. Battery brooders 
 are usually three to six tiers high; the 
 height depends to some extent on the 
 height of each tier. The amount of head- 
 room needed for the chicks will, in turn, 
 depend on how long they are to remain in 
 the battery. A lower ceiling for each com- 
 partment is adequate if the chicks are to 
 be kept in the battery for not more than 
 two weeks; if they are to be kept in the 
 battery for more than four weeks, or until 
 they can do without heat, a higher ceil- 
 ing is necessary. Two types of batteries 
 may also be used and the chicks moved 
 at two or three weeks of age. 
 
 Batteries are generally heated with 
 electricity, but gas and oil are also used. 
 
 [18 
 
There is much variation in the construc- 
 tion of batteries. A separate heated 
 compartment is provided at one end in 
 some batteries, while in others the heated 
 compartment is in the center. Contact 
 heat batteries are also available. 
 
 When purchasing a battery, ease of 
 operation and accessibility of all parts 
 should be taken into consideration. The 
 floor grids, feed and water troughs, as 
 well as the droppings pan, should be 
 easily removed for cleaning. It is desir- 
 able to have the battery mounted on 
 casters with the lowest tier 15 to 18 inches 
 above the floor. The battery should be 
 sturdily built of galvanized iron or other 
 nonrusting metal. 
 
 Management of Battery Brooders. 
 The temperature in the heated compart- 
 ment of the battery is approximately the 
 same as under other brooders — namely, 
 about 95° F at first, gradually reduced 
 to 85° or 80° F at the time heat is dis- 
 continued. A room temperature of 60° 
 F gives good results with contact-type 
 brooders. Most operators, however, pre- 
 fer a room temperature of 70° or even 
 80° F. 
 
 The relative humidity of the room is 
 regulated to keep it at not less than 65 
 per cent. This is done by means of a wet 
 excelsior pad through which the air is 
 
 drawn by a fan during warm weather, by 
 means of a humidifier on the heater dur- 
 ing cool weather, by sprinkling water on 
 the floor or by a combination of these 
 methods. 
 
 The available information regarding 
 requirements for brooder-room space and 
 air supply is summarized in table 3. At 
 the minimum air rates given therein, the 
 number of air changes per hour will be 
 from 0.7 to 1.7. More ventilation than 
 this is likely to be required for the com- 
 fort of the attendant. Up to eight changes 
 of air per hour will be found adequate 
 for a room loaded to its full capacity 
 with chicks. This can be supplied with- 
 out objectionable drafts by a properly 
 designed duct system. 
 
 Daily removal of droppings is recom- 
 mended. The battery should be thor- 
 oughly cleaned after each brood and the 
 floor grids, feeders, waterers, and drop- 
 ping pans thoroughly scrubbed before 
 more chicks are started. It is desirable to 
 have the battery room of such a size and 
 number and the brooding schedule so 
 arranged that the rooms can be depopu- 
 lated and disinfected after each brood of 
 chicks. In case of an outbreak of disease, 
 depopulation, thorough cleaning, and dis- 
 infection are recommended before start- 
 ing another brood. 
 
 RENEWING THE FLOCK ... is best 
 done by purchasing day-old chicks 
 
 The flock can be renewed by the pur- 
 chase of hatching-eggs, the purchase of 
 day-old checks, or of partly raised pul- 
 lets. Commercial poultrymen can best 
 renew their flocks by the purchase of day- 
 old chicks — the most commonly used 
 method — because it has been found to be 
 the most economical and least hazardous 
 of the methods available to the poultry- 
 man. All the chicks required to renew 
 the flock can be purchased at one time if 
 that seems advisable. Two or three broods 
 a year, however, will permit more effi- 
 
 cient use of brooder equipment and labor, 
 and ensure a more even distribution of 
 egg production. 
 
 Started pullets may carry a variety 
 of diseases onto the place. Day-old chicks, 
 on the other hand, are relatively less 
 likely to carry diseases other than those 
 transmitted through hatching-eggs or ac- 
 quired in incubators, such as pullorum 
 disease or paratyphoid. From the stand- 
 point of disease control it is therefore 
 safer to purchase chicks than started 
 pullets. This is particularly important 
 
 [19] 
 
when starting a poultry flock on a new 
 place or on one that has been vacant for 
 some time. 
 
 Season for Brooding. Most poultry- 
 men get somewhat better results in 
 growth and egg production from pullets 
 hatched from December 15 to March 15 
 than at other times of the year. This 
 favorable period may extend somewhat 
 later in coastal and certain other areas 
 of the state. The results obtained will vary 
 from year to year according to weather 
 conditions. For this reason, results ob- 
 tained in one area should not be used to 
 predict results in another area and in a 
 different year. Nevertheless, some general 
 trends emerge from studies of birds 
 hatched in different seasons. 
 
 Most of the disadvantages of year 
 round hatching have been overcome by 
 careful management, including proper 
 nutrition and the judicious use of lights. 
 Pullets hatched outside the "regular" sea- 
 son may be used to replace birds that die 
 or are culled and thus keep the houses 
 more nearly filled to capacity throughout 
 the year. The use of such pullets should 
 help to distribute egg production more 
 evenly throughout the year. 
 
 How Many Chicks to Brood. The 
 results of enterprise-efficiency studies and 
 other surveys indicate that best returns 
 are usually obtained from flocks compris- 
 ing mostly pullets, the remainder of the 
 flock being made up of hens in their sec- 
 ond laying year. Many factors including 
 per cent culled and per cent mortality in- 
 fluence replacements; therefore, the num- 
 ber needed may be much lower on some 
 farms than on others. During the past 5 
 years (1946-1951) , according to our en- 
 terprise-efficiency studies, the number of 
 6 months old pullets actually added to lay- 
 ing flocks each year has averaged 103.4 
 per cent. This figures out to be 2,060 pul- 
 lets added to each 2,000-hen flock. 
 
 The mortality from time of hatch to 
 laying age varies and thus affects the per- 
 centage of pullets that are available for 
 the laying flock. The average brooder 
 
 mortality is low, but the number lost be- 
 tween the brooder house and the laying 
 house is fairly high. Thus, records show 
 that the number of pullets housed ranges 
 all the way from 25 to more than 45 per 
 cent of straight-run chicks started, or 50 
 to 95 per cent of the pullet chicks started. 
 Thirty-five (70 per cent of the pullets) 
 out of every 100 straight-run chicks 
 started is not far from the average num- 
 ber of pullets housed. 
 
 Sources of Stock. Chicks may be 
 obtained from various sources such as: 
 a breeder who is doing trap-nesting, pedi- 
 gree breeding, and progeny testing, and 
 who selects for livability, egg production, 
 egg size, and body weight; a hatchery 
 that sets only large eggs (23 ounces or 
 over per dozen) obtained from carefully 
 selected, well-matured hens mated to 
 males out of high-producing hens with 
 known individual and family records; 
 one's own breeding flock, provided care 
 is taken to use only eggs selected for size, 
 shape, and shell texture laid by hens 
 selected for size, apparent vigor, and 
 egg production by eliminating the slow- 
 maturing birds and those that winter 
 pause, go broody, or molt early. 
 
 Definite evidence should be secured 
 that all flocks from which hatching-eggs 
 or chicks are obtained have been system- 
 atically tested for pullorum disease until 
 none or a very small percentage of the 
 breeding birds give a positive reaction. 
 It is advisable to obtain a statement 
 from the breeder or hatcheryman show- 
 ing when the last test was made, the 
 number of reactors that were found, and 
 whether all reactors were removed. 
 
 Because of the variations in quality, 
 too much attention cannot be given to 
 selecting a good source of stock. In gen- 
 eral, it is desirable to buy the best chicks 
 available. If chicks from good stock are 
 not available locally, then they should be 
 obtained from the best source available 
 elsewhere. It is desirable to visit the 
 breeder or hatchery from which chicks 
 are to be obtained in order to verify as 
 
 [20] 
 
far as possible all claims made. At any 
 rate, there is little excuse for the practice 
 of buying chicks from remote sources 
 that subject chicks to the hazard of sev- 
 eral days en route and effectively prevent 
 the buyer from obtaining any reliable in- 
 formation about the quality of the breed- 
 ing stock. 
 
 In case of doubt about the quality of 
 the stock, the practice of trying two or 
 more strains is desirable. The chicks 
 from each strain should be brooded 
 separately, the pullets housed separately, 
 and careful records kept of the amount 
 and causes of all mortality, egg produc- 
 tion, egg size, and other matters that 
 would aid in deciding which strain is 
 most profitable to use. 
 
 Straight-Run vs. Sexed Chicks. 
 Pullet chicks can be distinguished from 
 cockerels by cloacal examination on re- 
 moval from the incubator. 
 
 It is now a common practice to pur- 
 chase pullets rather than straight-run 
 chicks and thereby reduce the number of 
 chicks brooded. 
 
 The cost of the mature pullet is, on the 
 average, greater when pullet chicks rather 
 than straight-run chicks are purchased. 
 The purchaser usually pays for both the 
 cockerels and pullets, plus the cost of sex- 
 ing (segregating the chicks according to 
 sex) but may arrange to receive only the 
 pullets. Since the cockerels, when raised 
 to broiler size, usually return the cost of 
 brooding (feed, labor, fuel, litter, de- 
 preciation on equipment, and other minor 
 items) and, except late in the spring, part 
 or all of the purchase price with a pos- 
 sible profit besides, failure to take the 
 cockerels naturally increases the cost of 
 the pullets. This increased cost may be 
 justified where the pullets receive added 
 room and care and thus grow faster, more 
 evenly, and suffer less mortality. 
 
 Cloacal examination and segregation 
 of the chicks according to sex by properly 
 qualified persons has no effect on subse- 
 quent growth of the chicks or the per- 
 formance of the pullets. 
 
 Feeding 
 
 The food requirements of chicks are 
 now sufficiently well known so that it is 
 possible to formulate rations which 
 supply adequate amounts of proteins, 
 vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and 
 fats in proper proportion. This does not 
 imply that all the nutritional require- 
 ments are known, but merely that suffi- 
 cient information is available for most 
 practical needs. 
 
 When to Feed. Chicks can be fed 
 when they are sufficiently dried off so 
 that they are fluffed out and active. This 
 means that they are ready to feed when 
 24 to 36 hours old. Chicks suffer little 
 harm when left without food up to 60 
 hours, although they lose about one 
 pound per 100 chicks the first 24 hours 
 and slightly less each 24 hours thereafter 
 that they are left without food. Chicks 
 can usually go without food for another 
 12 to 24 hours (that is up to 72 to 34 
 hours), but if left longer than 90 hours 
 without food mortality among chicks will 
 usually be increased. These time intervals 
 indicate the dangers of delayed feeding. 
 When chicks are purchased they should 
 have access to feed and water on arrival. 
 
 What to Feed. Chicks are usually 
 started on an all-mash ration. Grain feed- 
 ing may begin at any time, the exact age 
 and the proportion of grain depending on 
 the protein level of the mash and the rate 
 of growth desired. 
 
 Clean water should always be avail- 
 able. Limestone grit or oystershell should 
 not be fed separately to chicks that have 
 access to a properly formulated commer- 
 cial or other mash, since such mashes 
 contain adequate amounts of calcium for 
 growth. Additional calcium may, there- 
 fore, be injurious. Hard (granite) grit 
 should be fed. 
 
 Fresh, tender greens may be fed at any 
 time, but usually are omitted the first few 
 weeks and need not be fed with properly 
 formulated rations. After the first few 
 weeks it is desirable to feed fresh greens 
 
 [21 
 
in amounts corresponding to about 10 to 
 25 per cent of the mash and grain fed. 
 
 Formulas for starting mashes are pre- 
 sented in tables 3 and 4. These mashes 
 may also be fed to developing pullets. 
 
 How to Feed. For the first day or 
 two in the brooder, until the chicks have 
 learned to eat, it is advisable to put 
 mash on egg-case flats, boards, building 
 paper or other paper. The mash is also 
 placed immediately in the feed hoppers, 
 which are used exclusively once the chicks 
 have learned to eat. Later, when grain is 
 fed, it should likewise be hopper-fed. 
 
 It is advisable to feed only the amount 
 cleaned up in a day. The chicks should 
 not, however, be left without feed for any 
 appreciable length of time. 
 
 Brooder Vices 
 
 Cannibalism. Cannibalism in one 
 form or another is fairly common among 
 young chicks, growing pullets, and laying 
 birds. In young chicks, toe picking is the 
 
 commonest form of cannibalism encoun- 
 tered, but picking of other parts may also 
 follow if the toe picking is not checked. 
 In slightly older birds feather picking is 
 common. A limited amount of apparently 
 harmless feather picking sometimes oc- 
 curs, but it may develop to the point 
 where the birds are completely naked and 
 may lead to cannibalism. 
 
 Some outbreaks of cannibalism are per- 
 haps to be regarded as purely accidental. 
 Chicks pick at each other's toes and, if 
 blood is drawn, the picking may develop 
 into a vice unless it is promptly checked. 
 Such accidental cases are not likely to 
 cause serious difficulties if the birds re- 
 ceive regular and reasonably frequent 
 attention. 
 
 Other outbreaks of cannibalism are 
 caused by overcrowding, hunger, usually 
 a result of irregular care, chilling, over- 
 heating, or general discomfort, and in- 
 activity. Regular care of the birds and 
 keen observation will do much to prevent 
 outbreaks of cannibalism. 
 
 Table 3. Formulas for Representative Chick-Starting Mashes 
 
 Ingredients 
 
 No. 1 
 
 No. 2 
 
 No. 3 
 
 No. 4 
 
 No. 5 
 
 Fish meal, 65% crude protein . . . 
 
 Soybean oil meal 
 
 Alfalfa meal 1 
 
 Dried skim milk 
 
 Dried whey 
 
 Salt 
 
 Wheat bran or mill run 
 
 Ground grains 
 
 Manganese sulfate, 85% pure. . . 
 
 Ground limestone or shell 
 
 Bone meal, special steamed (or 
 
 equivalent phosphorus source) 
 Vitamin D 3 source (400 units per 
 
 gram, or 181,000 units per lb.) 
 Riboflavin' 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 
 200 
 
 150 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 320 
 
 1178 
 
 M 
 40 
 
 2 
 0.8 gram 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 
 150 
 
 250 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 10 
 
 240 
 
 1153 
 
 H 
 
 45 
 
 2 
 0.4 gram 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 
 100 
 
 350 
 
 100 
 
 50 
 
 50 
 
 10 
 
 160 
 
 1128 
 
 40 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 0.2 gram 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 
 60 
 
 500 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 2 
 
 160 
 
 1103 
 
 H 
 
 40 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 1.0 gram 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 
 40 
 
 500 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 15 2 
 
 160 
 
 1023 
 
 H 
 
 40 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 1 Should contain carotene equivalent to at least 67,000 International Units of vitamin A per pound. 
 
 2 Iodized salt, containing 0.007 per cent iodine, is advised when high levels of soybean oil meal or limited 
 amounts of fish meal are used. 
 
 ' Other potency products may be used to supply the same amount of vitamin Da. For example, only 0.4 
 pound is required if the product contains 2000 A.O.A.C. units per gram, or 908,000 A.O.A.C. units per lb. 
 
 4 Any riboflavin supplement may be used if it supplies the specified amount of riboflavin per ton (1 gram = 
 1000 milligrams [mg.]). Amounts of riboflavin or other supplements, which are added in very small amounts, 
 should be premixed with ground grains or soybean oil meal before mixing. 
 
 Source of data: Extension Circular 159, Feed for Chickens; C. R. Grau, F. H. Kratzer, and W. E. Newlon. 
 
 [22] 
 
Table 4. Suggested Formulas for Broiler-Fryer Mashes 
 
 Ingredients 
 
 Fish meal, 65% crude protein 
 
 Meat scraps, 55% crude protein 
 
 Soybean oil meal 
 
 Sesame seed oil meal 
 
 Alfalfa meal 
 
 Wheat bran or mill run 
 
 Corn, yellow, ground 
 
 Milo, ground 
 
 Barley, ground 
 
 Wheat, ground 
 
 Bone meal, special steamed (or equivalent phos- 
 phorus source) 
 
 Limestone or shell flour 
 
 Salt 
 
 Manganese sulfate, 85% pure 
 
 Fermentation product containing at least 100 
 milligrams riboflavin per pound 
 
 Riboflavin 
 
 Vitamin A source (3000 International Units per 
 gram, or 1,362,000 Int. Units per pound) 
 
 Vitamin D 3 source (400 A.O.A.C. units per gram 
 or 181,000 A.O.A.C. units per pound) 3 
 
 No. 6 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 
 100 
 
 75 
 
 300 
 
 
 
 50 1 
 
 200 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 400 
 
 
 40 
 10 
 
 l A 
 
 20 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 No. 7 
 
 lbs 
 
 per ton 
 
 
 
 240 
 
 200 
 
 200 
 
 80 1 
 
 
 800 
 240 
 
 
 200 
 
 
 20 
 20 2 
 
 V2 
 
 
 gram 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 No. 8 
 
 lbs. per ton 
 190 
 
 
 250 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 900 
 
 
 100 
 310 
 
 15 
 40 
 10 
 
 Vi 
 o 
 
 2 grams 
 2 
 2 
 
 1 Should contain carotene equivalent to at least 67,000 I.U. of vitamin A per pound. 
 
 2 Iodized salt, containing 0.007 per cent iodine, is advised when high levels of soybean oil meal or limited 
 amounts of fish meal are used. 
 
 3 Products of other potencies can be used (see footnote 3, table 3). 
 
 Source of data: Extension Circular 159, Feed for Chickens; C. R. Grau, F. H. Kratzer, and W. E. Newlon. 
 
 Debeaking is usually the most effective 
 method of controlling cannibalism. It 
 may be done at any time from "day old" 
 to maturity, but is usually not done until 
 the chicks are three days to six weeks old. 
 Where experience indicates that canni- 
 balism, including toe picking and feather 
 picking, is to be expected, routine de- 
 beaking is indicated. Where cannibalism 
 is sporadic, debeaking may be used as an 
 emergency measure and only about one 
 fourth of the upper beak removed. De- 
 beaking is usually done by removing a 
 portion of the upper beak with a heated 
 knife, which cauterizes the tissue and pre- 
 vents bleeding. If it is desired to have the 
 beak grow in again, only the tip or up to 
 one third of the upper beak should be re- 
 moved. When one half or more of the 
 
 upper beak is removed, the beak does not 
 usually grow back to normal. 
 
 Picked birds should be promptly re- 
 moved and the offenders also removed if 
 possible. Young chicks that have been 
 picked should have pine tar or other ad- 
 hesive antipick ointments applied to the 
 affected parts. It is usually advisable to 
 isolate them for a few days. The cause 
 should be looked for and, if found, cor- 
 rected. 
 
 To check the vice, common salt may 
 be added to the mash. The salt content 
 of the ration should be increased to two 
 or three per cent for a few days only. 
 Mash usually contains about one per cent 
 of salt; hence one or two per cent should 
 be added. If this is not effective, the salt 
 may be increased to four per cent. When 
 
 [23] 
 
grain and mash are fed, the amount of 
 salt added should be correspondingly in- 
 creased. For instance, if the birds are 
 eating equal parts of mash and grain and 
 the mash contains one pound of salt in 
 each 100, then an additional three pounds 
 of salt should be added to each 100 
 pounds of mash. In any case, the high salt 
 mash should not be fed for more than 
 four days. 
 
 Crowding. Crowding or piling into 
 corners of the brooder house is another 
 dangerous vice. This is not solely a matter 
 of the land or house space, but involves 
 also the distribution of the feeders and 
 the waterers and their accessibility. 
 
 Chilling is the most prevalent cause 
 of crowding, but an overheated brooder 
 often forces chicks to seek comfort in the 
 far corners. Bright moonlight shining 
 through low windows may draw the 
 chicks toward the light. Rats or mice may 
 stampede the chicks into a corner, or a 
 wagging flashlight in the hands of a care- 
 less attendant may frighten the chicks and 
 cause crowding or piling. This is par- 
 ticularly true if they are disturbed soon 
 after dusk. 
 
 The remedy consists of eliminating the 
 cause first. An hour or so after dark, the 
 chicks should be gently herded back into 
 position around the brooder stove. With 
 the aid of a dim light and a broom the 
 chicks may be spread out very easily. A 
 dim light under the hover tends to elimi- 
 nate crowding into the corners, and dim 
 lights over the roosts seem to aid in teach- 
 ing the chicks to roost early. 
 
 Sections of sloping roosts placed in 
 the corners will minimize danger from 
 crowding and teach the chicks to roost. 
 Inch-mesh chick wire tacked to the bot- 
 tom side of the roosts will keep chicks off 
 the floor in the corners. 
 
 Diseases and Parasites 
 of Chicks 
 
 The present practice of maintaining 
 large numbers of birds in small areas, 
 and of concentrating poultry farms in 
 
 certain districts without a proportionate 
 concentration of effort to control trans- 
 missible diseases and parasites are impor- 
 tant reasons for much poultry mortality 
 in California. In fact, unpublished sum- 
 maries from California enterprise-effi- 
 ciency records show that mortality on 
 poultry farms tends to be directly pro- 
 portionate to the size of the flock. 
 
 Efforts to control poultry mortality by 
 curative treatment are in most instances 
 impractical. Successful treatment of sick 
 birds requires individual care, often sev- 
 eral times a day, and also may require 
 considerable skill. Preventive measures 
 are, therefore, the most practical means 
 of controlling the disease problem. 
 
 The most essential factors concerned 
 in the prevention of poultry mortality 
 are: (1) well-bred stock; (2) adequate 
 houses, management, and feeding; (3) 
 proper sanitation; and (4) specific meas- 
 ures for the prevention and control of 
 transmissible diseases. 
 
 Each obviously sick bird should be 
 removed from the flock at once. If the 
 symptoms are not recognized, all such 
 birds should be killed and destroyed by 
 burning, or submitted for diagnosis. 
 
 Isolation quarters in which birds can 
 be held for observations are recom- 
 mended, but they should be sufficiently 
 removed from regularly used pens and 
 yards so that birds in isolation will not 
 
 DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE 
 
 Specimens of diseased chicks can 
 be taken or sent to the State Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture Laboratories at 
 714 South Santa Anita Street, San 
 Gabriel; 10th and L Streets, Sacra- 
 mento; 627 F Street, Petaluma; Rt. 5, 
 Box 210-X, Fresno; District Fair 
 Grounds, Turlock; 4005 Rosecrans 
 Ave., San Diego; or to the University 
 of California, School of Veterinary 
 Medicine, Davis. 
 
 [24 
 
be a source of danger to the main flock. 
 In contrast, hospital pens are of ques- 
 tionable utility, because individual treat- 
 ment of sick chickens is seldom justified. 
 The time and effort required for such 
 treatment and care can be more profit- 
 ably employed in the proper management 
 of the healthy birds. 
 
 Serious loss from pullorum disease, 
 coccidiosis, roundworms, and other com- 
 mon chick ailments can usually be 
 avoided by proper attention to preven- 
 tive measures. Thus, all chicks should be 
 from flocks that have been tested for pul- 
 lorum disease and all reactors promptly 
 removed. Moreover, no eggs from un- 
 tested or reactor hens should be hatched 
 in the same incubator. 
 
 All chicks purchased should come from 
 clean hatcheries, be delivered in clean 
 boxes, and be placed in thoroughly 
 cleaned and disinfected houses with no 
 contact between them and any older birds 
 or any other birds that may be carriers 
 of disease. Similarly, all visitors should 
 be excluded from the pens, since they 
 might introduce diseases or parasites. 
 
 Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis apparently 
 cannot ordinarily be excluded but can be 
 controlled by sanitation. Keeping the 
 litter dry by placing the water on low 
 
 wire platforms, avoiding overcrowding, 
 and reasonably frequent cleaning all help 
 to control this disease. When an out- 
 break of coccidiosis occurs among floor- 
 brooded chicks, it is advisable to clean 
 the pens daily. However, when deep 
 built-up litter management is practiced, 
 daily stirring of the litter will accomplish 
 the same purpose. 
 
 Where coccidiosis is a serious problem, 
 raising the chicks on wire will help. The 
 wire should be kept clean and the attend- 
 ant should not walk on the wire. 
 
 Sulfonamides and certain other drugs, 
 when properly used, are effective for the 
 prevention and control of coccidiosis. 
 These drugs are highly toxic to birds, 
 which makes it essential to follow care- 
 fully the manufacturer's instructions. 
 This is a case where a little may be good, 
 but more may not be better. These drugs, 
 while effective for the control of coccidi- 
 osis, have not proved a completely satis- 
 factory substitute for sanitation and good 
 management. 
 
 Roundworms. This intestinal para- 
 site can be controlled by keeping the 
 birds off contaminated ground and by 
 sanitation. Birds heavily infested with 
 roundworms should be treated with nico- 
 tine preparations. 
 
 REARING CHICKENS ... for egg production 
 or breeding purposes. 
 
 Merely to hatch or purchase well-bred 
 chicks and brood them properly will not 
 guarantee maximum results in the laying 
 house. Proper feeding and management 
 during the rearing period are equally 
 essential. 
 
 Range vs. Confinement 
 
 The comparative value of complete 
 confinement, as contrasted with more or 
 less free-range management in rearing 
 pullets, is a disputed question. Certainly 
 there is considerable opinion that opti- 
 mum development in young stock can 
 
 only be obtained with range conditions. 
 This influence will not be evident, how- 
 ever, if adequate attention is given to 
 proper nutrition and sanitation. Suffice it 
 to say that each method is being success- 
 fully used by many producers in this 
 state. 
 
 Where land values are high or not 
 enough land is available to provide yards 
 of reasonable size, many successful poul- 
 trymen confine their birds to houses at 
 all times. The confinement method is 
 often desirable when soil is extremely 
 heavy and drainage is poor. Furthermore, 
 
 [25 
 
the soil in small dirt yards surrounding 
 permanent poultry houses may eventually 
 become so contaminated, particularly 
 with organisms such as roundworms and 
 coccidia, as to force poultrymen to use 
 continuous confinement methods. 
 
 Free-range management presumes a 
 large acreage of land in proportion to 
 the number of birds. The ideal range will 
 have good soil so that green crops of 
 value to the birds can be raised. There 
 will be an adequate water supply avail- 
 able and an abundance of shade during 
 the summer months. There will be cross 
 fences so that a proper rotation of range 
 can be practiced from year to year. Range 
 shelters, as well as water and feed facili- 
 ties, will be portable so they can be 
 readily moved from one part of the range 
 to the other. Such extensive acreage and 
 facilities are available on few poultry 
 ranches in California. For this reason, 
 the greatest percentage of growing birds 
 in this state are raised under systems of 
 management that are intermediate be- 
 tween complete confinement and the more 
 natural free range. 
 
 Sizes and Kinds of Yards 
 
 The most widely used management 
 system provides a more or less limited 
 outside yard of some kind for the use of 
 the birds. These may be of dirt when 
 reasonable acreage is available and soil 
 types and drainage facilities make their 
 use feasible. When acreage is more 
 limited and when heavy or poorly drained 
 soils are present, it is more customary to 
 use small porches which may be of wire, 
 slat, or concrete construction. 
 
 Dirt Yards. It is possible for internal- 
 parasitic infections such as roundworm 
 eggs and coccidial oocysts to remain alive 
 in moist soil from one year to the next. 
 For this reason, dirt yards should not be 
 used for chickens without proper rotation 
 or renewal. A double-yard system simpli- 
 fies rotation and the two yards may be on 
 the same or on opposite sides of the house. 
 
 Proper rotation, particularly of 
 
 small dirt yards, is essential. If properly 
 done it will accomplish the important 
 dual purposes of inexpensively destroying 
 all dangerous infections, and of utilizing 
 surplus fertilizer which cannot otherwise 
 be removed. 
 
 The first important step in the rotation 
 process is to remove all birds and make 
 certain that they stay out of the yard. 
 The ideal time to start the rotation in 
 California is in early summer when 
 spring rains are over. This is not always 
 possible when the yards are being used 
 to grow replacement stock. But it is the 
 most ideal time. 
 
 The next step in a good rotation system 
 is to rake up and cart away all excess 
 droppings, feathers, and litter. Cut and 
 burn all weeds, and make sure there are 
 no puddles of water in the yard. 
 
 The third and most importane step is 
 to permit the sun to disinfect the soil. 
 Dangerous disease germs and parasites, 
 if any, are on or near the top of the 
 ground. Do not waste money on sprays 
 and disinfectants because the drying ef- 
 fect of strong sunlight is the best and least 
 expensive topsoil disinfectant. Allow the 
 yard to remain hard, dry, and bare as 
 long as possible before plowing. If these 
 organisms are plowed under immediately, 
 they may be able to live in the moist soil 
 for a year or more. 
 
 The final step in the rotation process 
 should take place after the first good fall 
 rain. That is the proper time to plow and 
 seed to barley, wheat, oats, or some other 
 fall- and winter-growing crop which will 
 take advantage of rainfall and use the 
 excess fertilizer in the soil. No crops 
 should be grown that require irrigation 
 or cultivation. Resulting green feed 
 should be cut and fed while it is young 
 and tender. 
 
 When spring rains are over and green 
 crops begin to dry out, the yard will again 
 be ready for use. It will be clean and 
 relatively safe for birds of any age. 
 
 Wire Porches. Wire porches are used 
 extensively where satisfactory dirt yards 
 
 [26] 
 
are not practical. They may be made as 
 described on page 10. Apparently even 
 chicks can travel comfortably on ^4-inch- 
 mesh wire, but 1-inch mesh may be 
 more nearly self-cleaning for birds three 
 months of age or older. The porch may 
 be from 6 to 12 feet wide and should ex- 
 tend along the entire front of the house. 
 It will prevent the birds from eating drop- 
 pings and, therefore, aid in controlling 
 roundworms and coccidia. 
 
 Wire porches have an advantage over 
 hard-surfaced yards, particularly on hilly 
 land. Their use eliminates necessary ex- 
 cavations and fills. If the frames are high 
 enough aboveground the droppings can 
 be cleaned away without moving the 
 frames or disturbing the birds. 
 
 Concrete Yards. Concrete yards 12 
 to 20 feet wide may be used where land 
 is high priced and free range or suitable 
 large yards are not available. They may 
 save land, but their primary value is to 
 help control intestinal parasites. Their 
 most practical use is limited to level land 
 where excavation and leveling costs are 
 not excessive, and they may be particu- 
 larly desirable on heavy soils where drain- 
 age is poor. 
 
 Concrete yards should have a slope of 
 at least one inch in 10 feet to insure 
 drainage and to aid in cleaning. On level 
 land such yards generally cost no more 
 than hardware-cloth yards of similar size 
 and usually are more durable. They are 
 of questionable value, however, unless 
 they are kept clean and dry. 
 
 Slat Yards. Slat yards, or porches, 
 are sometimes used as substitutes for 
 wire yards. They may be useful in sec- 
 tions where redwood is available at rea- 
 sonable prices. The slats usually are one 
 by three inch redwood and are spaced one 
 inch apart on edge. The slats may be 
 nailed to supporting joists to make port- 
 able sections and used to cover the yard 
 area along the front of the house. If the 
 nail holes are drilled before laying, no 
 trouble will be experienced from split- 
 ting, and heavier nails can be used to 
 
 prevent twisting. On hillside locations the 
 sections may be placed on a permanent 
 framework high enough to permit easy 
 removal of droppings. 
 
 Slat yards are not always self-cleaning 
 since the droppings will tend to adhere 
 to the top edge of the slats. When prop- 
 erly constructed, however, they are sturdy 
 enough to support the weight of an at- 
 tendant who can quickly clean them with 
 a scraper and broom. Slat yards, or 
 porches, should be comparable in size to 
 those recommended for wire or concrete 
 
 runs. 
 
 Feeding and Management 
 
 The feed for growing birds is essen- 
 tially the same as that needed by adult 
 birds. It must contain all the essential 
 nutrients of a complete ration: carbohy- 
 drates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, 
 and water. Not only should the ration 
 supply the various nutrients that are 
 necessary, but it should supply them in 
 the correct proportions. The proportional 
 requirements for proteins, minerals, and 
 vitamins are at the maximum during the 
 first few days of the chick's life. With in- 
 creasing age, however, the rate of growth 
 diminishes, and so do the proportional 
 requirements for proteins, while the 
 energy requirements (which are supplied 
 primarily by starch and fats in the feed) 
 increase. 
 
 Birds on free range ordinarily get 
 enough sunshine to prevent rickets and 
 provide for bone growth. They may pick 
 up insects, worms, and greens to supple- 
 ment the ration. Quite different are the 
 conditions for birds in semiconfinement 
 or complete confinement. Their oppor- 
 tunity to supplement the basal feed is 
 limited and, therefore, special care must 
 be exercised in providing a satisfactory 
 ration. 
 
 All feed given to the birds should be 
 fresh and clean. Grain, as well as mash, 
 should be fed in hoppers or troughs — 
 neither should be thrown on the ground. 
 
 To simplify management and reduce 
 
 27] 
 
labor, the birds may have free access both 
 to a mixture of whole grains and to dry 
 mash continuously. (The practice with 
 moist mash is discussed on page 29.) 
 Ideally, with dry mash, a 24-hour supply 
 should be put in the troughs every day — 
 just the amount the birds will clean up 
 before another daily supply is fed; this 
 insures fresh mash at all times. With 
 grain, in contrast, several days' supply 
 may be placed in hoppers. 
 
 Be sure that enough hopper space is 
 provided so most of the birds may eat at 
 the same time. Three troughs for mash 
 and two for grain (each six inches wide 
 and four feet long, and three inches deep) 
 should be provided for each 100 birds. 
 
 A daily supply of tender green feed 
 should be placed before growing pullets. 
 Even when ranging on green pasture, they 
 will consume large quantities of tender 
 greens when finely chopped and fed 
 in hoppers or troughs. One hundred pul- 
 lets approaching maturity in semiconfine- 
 ment or complete confinement may eat 
 as much as five or six pounds of chopped 
 greens daily. It supplies essential bulk, 
 vitamins, and minerals to the average 
 ration. 
 
 The principles underlying adequate 
 poultry nutrition, and practical rations 
 designed to meet these requirements, are 
 completely set forth in California Exten- 
 sion Circular 159, Feed for Chickens. 
 
 Good management is just as important 
 as good feed. Many flocks of good pullets 
 are ruined by improper management dur- 
 ing the rearing period. Occasionally the 
 damage is done by improper rations or 
 rations composed of poor quality feeds. 
 Most often, however, poor growth and 
 development can be traced to crowded 
 conditions in the houses or range shelters, 
 lack of adequate feed hoppers and drink- 
 ing facilities, insufficient shade in the 
 yards, and the use of contaminated or 
 unsanitary yards or ranges. Each of these 
 
 Useful types of service carts. The small wheels 
 on the center cart are useful only on hard pave- 
 ments. 
 
poor management practices will tend to 
 prevent optimum growth and develop- 
 ment. 
 
 Anything a poultryman can do to make 
 his birds more comfortable and encour- 
 age increased feed consumption will usu- 
 ally pay dividends in the form of better 
 growth. Growing birds should be outside 
 the houses as much as possible during 
 good weather. Satisfactory shade at some 
 distance from the house or range shelters 
 will be used by the birds if feed and water 
 facilities are provided in the shade. Dis- 
 tant shade, without feed and water pro- 
 visions, tends to discourage rather than 
 encourage feed consumption, particularly 
 in warm weather. Water and feed should 
 always be together. Feed, especially dry 
 mash, at a considerable distance from 
 drinking water is a very poor manage- 
 ment practice. Furthermore, all feed 
 should be in the shade, because exposure 
 to sunlight rapidly reduces vitamin con- 
 tent. 
 
 Most poultrymen feed dry mash to 
 growing birds. When the birds appear to 
 lack appetite and do not eat a sufficient 
 amount, a daily feeding of moist mash 
 may be beneficial. This may be particu- 
 larly true when a limited amount of skim 
 milk is available. Moist mash for chickens 
 should have a crumbly consistency, never 
 sloppy. What the birds will consume in 
 about 30 minutes is the correct amount. 
 Any remaining after that time should be 
 removed because moist mash can spoil 
 quickly, particularly in warm weather, 
 and may be harmful to the birds. 
 
 Dopes and tonics are not substitutes 
 for clean, fresh feed and water. Further- 
 more, they are expensive and may be 
 harmful rather than beneficial. 
 
 Diseases and Parasites of 
 Young Birds 
 
 Certain poultry diseases, such as fowl 
 pox, Newcastle, and infectious laryngo- 
 tracheitis, can be controlled by preven- 
 tive vaccination. The use of such vaccines 
 to immunize young birds against these 
 
 diseases is recommended where they are 
 known to have been present on the ranch 
 during the previous year. Young birds, 
 however, should not be vaccinated unless 
 they are in good health and in good physi- 
 cal condition. Flocks which are in poor 
 condition should not be vaccinated until 
 they are again in good health. These vac- 
 cines are not recommended on farms in 
 an isolated district on which these dis- 
 eases have ever occurred. 
 
 Grading and Segregation 
 
 During the growing period, certain 
 birds in a given flock grow and develop 
 more rapidly than others. These stronger, 
 more precocious and domineering indi- 
 viduals tend to bully their weaker pen 
 mates so that the latter do not have the 
 same opportunities, particularly at feed 
 and water. When separated from the 
 larger birds and given special feed and 
 management, many of these backward 
 birds, which under usual conditions are 
 only culls, will have opportunity to de- 
 velop into good individuals. Such segre- 
 gations, based mainly upon size, weight, 
 and development, are recommended at 
 least twice during the growing period. 
 
 Segregation Out of the Brooder 
 House. It is desirable to separate cock- 
 erels from pullets just as soon as the sexes 
 can be identified. This practice is gener- 
 ally completed at the time the birds leave 
 the brooder houses. However, the segre- 
 gation of the cockerels and pullets at this 
 time into two or preferably three groups, 
 each according to size and weight, is just 
 as important as the separation of the 
 sexes. 
 
 This segregation permits special man- 
 agement of the males so that they may 
 be rushed through to a marketable weight 
 in the shortest possible time. It also pro- 
 vides opportunity to give the pullets more 
 room and better care during the early 
 part of the growing period. 
 
 With cockerels that are to be sold as 
 broilers, segregation may be taken care 
 of more or less automatically as the larger 
 
 29 
 
birds are sold. Yet even with broilers, 
 more uniform growth and a higher per- 
 centage of top-grade birds will be pro- 
 duced when the cockerels are segregated 
 into two groups at the time they are re- 
 moved from the pullets. This will also 
 simplify the selection of the larger broil- 
 ers for market when they attain desired 
 weight. 
 
 Segregation of the pullets at 8 to 12 
 weeks (the earlier, the better) , according 
 to growth and weight, will tend to pro- 
 duce more uniform development and 
 fewer runts and culls. This segregation 
 can usually be made most conveniently 
 just after the sale of the broilers. Such a 
 practice provides necessary increased 
 floor, roost, feeding, and drinking space. 
 
 Growing birds should have all the feed 
 they will eat, but care should be taken to 
 see that none is wasted. Both grain and 
 mash should be hopper-fed, and a gener- 
 ous daily feeding of tender greens is rec- 
 ommended. 
 
 Segregation into Laying House. 
 The second segregation of the pullet flock 
 
 should be made when the birds are 4% 
 to 5 months of age. At this time they 
 should be divided into three groups — two 
 to keep and one to sell. 
 
 The exact number of pullets that qual- 
 ify for each grade will depend upon the 
 quality and development of the birds in 
 the flock. Proper segregation according to 
 grade, however, is impossible unless the 
 birds are all the same age and have had 
 identical feed and management. 
 
 The number one group should contain 
 the earlier-maturing pullets because they 
 will prove to be the most profitable pro- 
 ducers. These should have well-developed 
 combs for their age; long, deep bodies; 
 and for Leghorns will approach 3% 
 pounds in weight. Undersized birds 
 should not be included in this group be- 
 cause the standard weight for 6-month-old 
 Leghorn pullets is four pounds — for ma- 
 ture hens, 4% pounds. Records also prove 
 that those birds which approach standard 
 weight for the breed are likely to be better 
 producers than those which fall much 
 below or greatly exceed that standard. 
 
 
 A catching crate is useful for segregating birds. Note sliding panel in center of this one. 
 
 [30] 
 
These early-maturing birds must be fed 
 generously in order for them to maintain 
 body weight while producing heavily. 
 Both grain and mash may be hopper-fed 
 continuously. Good birds will not get too 
 fat. 
 
 The medium, or number two, group 
 will contain those pullets that have de- 
 veloped less rapidly. They will evidence 
 good health, but both physical and sexual 
 development will be less advanced. They 
 need a little more time in which to reach 
 full development. 
 
 These birds usually are less aggressive 
 than the early-maturing birds, but may 
 make good production records, particu- 
 larly when segregated into groups of like 
 size and quality. Feeding, care, and man- 
 agement should be the same as recom- 
 mended for the previous group. 
 
 Group number three will contain all 
 backward, slow-developing birds which 
 show no evidence of approaching produc- 
 tion. It will include all runts and all sick 
 or deformed birds. Such birds are culls 
 and should be sold as quickly as possible; 
 records prove them to be unprofitable as 
 producers. 
 
 Debeaking 
 
 Cannibalism and feather picking among 
 chickens, turkeys, and pheasants cause 
 considerable losses to flock owners. These 
 vices increase bird mortality and reduce 
 the market value of chickens because of 
 bare or pin backs, and of turkeys because 
 of blue backs. A number of mechanical 
 devices, antipick salves, and diet changes 
 have been used to prevent the vices; but 
 none of these methods has been univer- 
 sally successful. Several years ago a poul- 
 tryman in San Diego County, California, 
 tried debeaking his birds (removing part 
 of the upper beak) to stop cannibalism 
 and feather picking. Since the results 
 were satisfactory, other poultrymen in 
 that area adopted the method; and it has 
 now become a common practice with 
 many flock owners throughout the state. 
 
 The procedure in debeaking is to re- 
 
 move a portion of the upper beak by 
 means of a heated knife, which cauterizes 
 the tissue and prevents bleeding. 
 
 Effects on Birds. Observations made 
 on many flocks throughout the state show 
 that debeaking, if done before the vice 
 becomes a habit, is a positive control for 
 all forms of cannibalism and feather pull- 
 ing. Growing birds tend to be more uni- 
 form in size and in feather condition, 
 and all birds seem to be less nervous and 
 more quiet. There are no harmful effects. 
 Hungry birds start to eat and drink within 
 a few minutes after being debeaked. Mash 
 should be fed immediately to discourage 
 picking at other things that may injure 
 the beak. Grain or other coarse materials 
 should not be fed for about 24 hours, 
 since these may cause bleeding. All feed 
 should be placed in hoppers, because de- 
 beaked birds cannot take it off the ground 
 or floor so easily. The birds have less 
 tendency to pick over the feed and bill 
 it out of the hoppers : being unable to pick 
 up choice particles, they are forced to 
 eat exactly what is mixed for them. They 
 have difficulty in eating green feed unless 
 it is chopped and fed in hoppers rather 
 than in large pieces on the ground. They 
 cannot easily obtain sufficient granite grit 
 even from hoppers, because they hesitate 
 to force the lower beak into these heavy 
 materials. This difficulty is overcome, 
 however, if the grit is frequently scattered 
 over the grain or mash. 
 
 Flocks of debeaked growing birds have 
 made greater average weight gains than 
 flocks of non-debeaked birds. Doubtless 
 this is because the aggressive birds are 
 unable to drive the timid ones away from 
 the feed; the latter obtain their share; 
 and so the flock is more uniform in size 
 and has a higher average weight. 
 
 Debeaking Practices. Both turkeys 
 and chickens from hatching to maturity 
 have been successfully treated. Age does 
 not seem to be important. The most com- 
 mon practice is to debeak when the birds 
 are removed from the brooders. Birds 
 that depend on the range for a portion 
 
 [31 
 
Debeaked chickens. In upper photos, about one-half of the upper beak has been removed. In 
 lower photos, enough was removed several months prior to pictures so that beak has healed over 
 but did not grow back. 
 
 of their feed, however, should not be 
 treated. 
 
 The time required for the beaks to grow 
 back to normal varies according to the 
 amount removed. Sufficient experimental 
 work has not been done to make exact 
 determinations on the rate of regrowth. 
 According to general observations, how- 
 ever, regrowth takes three to six months 
 when one third to one half of the beak 
 is removed, and can be stopped entirely 
 by removing three quarters or slightly 
 more. 
 
 Cauterizing the beak to prevent bleed- 
 ing is very important and should be done 
 carefully. For proper cauterizing, the 
 blade should be hot enough to have a 
 dark-red color — about 1,000° For slightly 
 hotter. Some operators prefer to use a 
 sharp blade that cuts quickly and then 
 to cauterize by holding the beak against 
 the blade for a second or so. They claim 
 that crushing of the beak is lessened by 
 this method. Other operators prefer to 
 use a relatively dull blade that cuts more 
 slowly and has time to cauterize while 
 
 [32 
 
cutting. Either method is satisfactory pro- 
 vided the heat is applied long enough to 
 stop the bleeding but not so long as to 
 injure the bird. Young birds can be cau- 
 terized more quickly than older ones. 
 
 When a foot-operated debeaker is used, 
 the bird may be held by the legs with one 
 hand and by the head and neck with the 
 other. The beak is held open by pressing 
 on the angle of jaws with the thumb and 
 forefinger or by placing the forefinger in 
 the mouth. When a hand-operated device 
 is used, the bird's legs may be held well 
 up into the operator's right or left armpit 
 while the head and beak are held in posi- 
 tion with the same hand. In this way the 
 other hand is left free to work the lever. 
 
 The rate at which debeaking can be 
 done depends on the age of the birds, 
 the experience of the operator, and the 
 amount of assistance available. When the 
 birds are given to an experienced oper- 
 ator as fast as he can handle them, 200 
 to 300 adult and 300 to 400 young birds 
 can be debeaked per hour. One operator 
 with three assistants catching the birds 
 was able to debeak 300 six-week-old birds 
 in a half hour. 
 
 Rearing Cockerels for 
 Breeding 
 
 The primary objective in rearing 
 breeding cockerels is to provide the nec- 
 essary nutritional and environmental con- 
 ditions that will enable prospective breed- 
 ing cockerels to attain optimum physical 
 and sexual development. Each individual 
 cockerel's ability to respond to favorable 
 environment will depend upon his inher- 
 ited characteristics, which are determined 
 by breeding. 
 
 Numbers Required. It has been 
 found advisable to save at least three 
 times the number of 8- to 10-week-old 
 cockerels that will be needed as mature 
 breeding males. In practice, this means 
 holding a minimum of 20 Leghorns or 
 30 heavy-breed males for each 100 breed- 
 ing hens to take care of expected mor- 
 
 tality and whatever culling may be found 
 necessary. 
 
 Selection and Culling. The first se- 
 lection of breeder cockerels is usually 
 made before any broilers are sold. At this 
 time selection should be based on rapid 
 growth, early maturity, quick feathering, 
 sturdy conformation, and robust health. 
 The selected birds should have straight 
 keels and strong bones, and be free from 
 visible defects and disqualifications. 
 
 As these birds develop, it is wise to 
 cull out all individuals that fail to grow 
 properly, as well as those with noticeable 
 defects. In this manner, even with Leg- 
 horn cockerels, many may be salvaged 
 and sold as broilers or fryers before they 
 become too staggy. 
 
 When heavy-breed cockerels are being 
 developed, a second general culling and 
 grading is recommended at three to four 
 months. Each bird should be handled and 
 carefully examined, particularly for slow 
 development, defects, and faulty body 
 conformation. Those saved as possible 
 breeders should have a plump breast and 
 full red comb and wattle development. 
 This second culling among the heavy- 
 breed birds will permit all off -grade birds 
 to be marketed. 
 
 During the growing period, all birds 
 that have been completely beaten and 
 subdued by their pen mates should be 
 removed. 
 
 The final selection should always be 
 made at the time the males are placed in 
 the breeding pens. All breeding males 
 used should approach standard weight for 
 the breed and be strong, vigorous birds. 
 Many of the common defects and weak- 
 nesses are hereditary and therefore should 
 be avoided whenever possible. 
 
 Feeding and Management of 
 Breeding Cockerels. Feeding and man- 
 agement practices are of primary impor- 
 tance in the development of breeding 
 males. The birds should be comfortably 
 housed in roomy, well-ventilated houses 
 or range shelters. If flock mating is prac- 
 ticed, in which several males are to be 
 
 [33 
 
used in the same breeding pen, it is es- 
 sential that these males shall have been 
 reared together in the same yard or pen. 
 This will tend to eliminate much of the 
 destructive fighting after the birds are 
 mated. 
 
 Any good poultry mash, plus generous 
 amounts of grain, green feed, and water, 
 will take care of the feed requirements 
 for cockerels during the rearing period. 
 The birds should have access to each of 
 these continuously. The feed and water 
 containers should be more numerous than 
 is generally recommended for a similar 
 number of pullets. Furthermore, these 
 containers should be widely spaced or 
 scattered to permit the more timid males 
 the opportunity to eat and drink. When 
 abundance of natural shade is not avail- 
 able for the birds, as well as for feed 
 troughs and water, then artificial shade 
 should be provided. 
 
 Pole perches, hurdles, and barriers of 
 various kinds are recommended in the 
 pens and on ranges. These will permit the 
 more timid to elude aggressors and may 
 save the lives of many cockerels. 
 
 Crops such as Indian corn or sunflow- 
 ers are often grown in poultry yards to 
 provide shade, protection, and supple- 
 mentary feed. When either of these is 
 grown in cockerel yards, however, it 
 should be planted in rows rather than 
 scattered. Furthermore, the stalks in each 
 row should be thinned or spaced at least 
 six inches apart. This will prevent birds 
 from being chased about and then trapped 
 and killed when trying to escape from 
 other males. 
 
 Dubbing and Spur Removal. Since 
 California climatic and temperature con- 
 ditions in all important poultry districts 
 are such that frozen combs are not a prob- 
 lem, there is no evidence to indicate the 
 necessity, or even the desirability, of dub- 
 bing the combs of breeding males. 
 
 In some sections, however, the presence 
 of edema of the wattles justifies the dub- 
 bing of the wattles of breeder males. The 
 equipment necessary for this operation is 
 a table of convenient and comfortable 
 height for the work of the operator, two 
 Ferguson forceps or clamps (one for each 
 wattle), one pair of curved scissors, and 
 a supply of antiseptic astringent dusting 
 powder. An assistant holds the bird se- 
 curely while the operator stands directly 
 before the bird. One clamp is fixed in 
 position on each wattle, with the convex 
 side of the jaw upward toward the lower 
 beak. When both clamps are securely 
 fixed in the proper position, the wattles 
 are removed by cutting as closely as pos- 
 sible along the ventral surface of the 
 clamp with a pair of curved shears. Dust- 
 ing powder is then applied to the wounds, 
 pressure slowly released on the clamps, 
 restraint removed, and the bird allowed 
 to go back into the pen. 
 
 Complete spur removal is seldom nec- 
 essary. If aged males are used, the spurs 
 may easily be clipped with pliers or snips. 
 This blunts the end of the spur and pre- 
 vents injury to the hens. With heavy 
 breed males, however, it is essential to 
 blunt the toenails. This should be done at 
 the beginning of the breeding season. It 
 is easily accomplished with pliers or a file. 
 
 REARING MEAT BIRDS ... is a specialized 
 business in itself. 
 
 Prior to World War II, most of the 
 poultry sold for meat by California poul- 
 trymen was by-products of egg-produc- 
 tion flocks, such as cockerels or cull hens 
 and pullets. Many poultrymen now, how- 
 ever, derive all or most of their revenue 
 
 from the sale of heavy-breed broilers, fry- 
 ers, or roasters. Very few raise large 
 roasters or capons. 
 
 Broilers differ from fryers or light 
 roasters primarily in weight. In either 
 case the object is to obtain rapid, eco- 
 
 [34 
 
nomical growth so that the birds can be 
 marketed at the earliest possible age. This 
 facilitates the most efficient use of equip- 
 ment and labor. The choice of stock, feed, 
 equipment, and management all influence 
 the results obtained. 
 
 Economic Considerations 
 
 Costs and Returns. Feed is the largest 
 cost item per pound of chicken raised. 
 On an efficiently managed farm it usually 
 accounts for 60 to 70 per cent of the total 
 cost. The cost of feed per pound of 
 chicken depends on the price of feed and 
 the amount of feed consumed which, in 
 turn, depends on the rate of growth, the 
 age and weight at which they are mar- 
 keted, and mortality. Mortality and the 
 age at which it occurs affects all costs. 
 Chicks are generally the next highest item 
 of cost, with labor third, while all other 
 items usually make up less than 10 per 
 cent of the total cost. 
 
 Over a period of years, meat produc- 
 tion as a specialized branch of the poultry 
 industry has been less stable than com- 
 mercial egg production, and profits have 
 fluctuated widely. The margin of profit 
 is usually small. 
 
 Seasonal Effects. There are seasonal 
 variations in the market price of eggs and 
 in the fertility and hatchability of the eggs 
 set. These variations are reflected in the 
 cost of chicks. Similarly, brooder-fuel 
 costs will be higher in the colder winter 
 months than at other times of the year. 
 The market price of small Leghorn broil- 
 ers tends to be lowest in April through 
 July; for large Leghorn broilers the price 
 paid is usually lowest in May, June, and 
 July. Prices paid for colored fryers fluc- 
 tuate relatively less, but are usually high- 
 est from March to June, inclusive. The 
 variations in one year do not correspond 
 strictly to those in another year; hence 
 it is unwise to vary the output according 
 to average seasonal trends in prices. For 
 one thing, prices cannot usually be accu- 
 rately predicted, and in the second place, 
 the economic use of equipment and labor 
 
 requires the continuous operation of the 
 plant at or near its maximum capacity. 
 
 Breeds and Crossbreds 
 
 The stock purchased, whether purebred 
 or crossbred, will depend partly on mar- 
 ket preferences for birds with a particular 
 plumage color and partly on whether 
 broilers or fryers are to be raised. Surplus 
 Leghorn cockerels are used extensively to 
 produce light broilers and to some extent 
 to produce heavy broilers. Crossbreds 
 from Leghorn hens mated to males of 
 some of the heavy breeds, such as the 
 New Hampshire, the Single-Comb Rhode 
 Island Red, the Barred Plymouth Rock, 
 the Cornish, and other heavy breeds, are 
 also used. 
 
 The Leghorn and crossbreds from Leg- 
 horn with heavy breeds should not be 
 used to produce birds weighing more 
 than 2% pounds. They usually make rel- 
 atively inefficient gains after attaining 
 this weight. The heavy breeds, such as 
 the Plymouth Rock, the Rhode Island 
 Red, the New Hampshire, or crossbreds 
 from these breeds or of females of these 
 breeds mated to Cornish males, are usu- 
 ally used for fryer or light-roaster pro- 
 duction. Breeds and varieties such as the 
 Jersey Giant, Australorp, and others may 
 also be used when suitable strains are 
 available. Black-plumaged fryers are less 
 attractive when dressed than fryers of 
 breeds that have fewer black pinfeathers; 
 hence, fully black varieties should not be 
 used unless exceptionally good strains are 
 available. 
 
 Formerly a lower price was generally 
 paid for white than for colored (plum- 
 age) fryers. This prejudice has mostly 
 disappeared and some processors now 
 favor white plumaged fryers of the heav- 
 ier breeds such as the White Plymouth 
 Rock, White Wyandotte and some of the 
 new breeds. Some of the dominant white 
 strains are also being crossed with col- 
 ored plumage breeds to produce white 
 fryers. 
 
 Different strains vary considerably in 
 
 [35] 
 
average rate of growth, in rate of feather- 
 ing, and in fleshing. The source of stock 
 is therefore important. Early-feathering 
 strains are now available in most of the 
 popular heavy breeds — New Hampshires, 
 Rhode Island Reds, and Plymouth Rocks. 
 Chicks should be obtained from such 
 strains whenever possible. For cross- 
 breeding it is highly desirable that at least 
 one of the breeds used be out of an early- 
 feathering strain. The parent stock should 
 have been pullorum-tested and all reac- 
 tors removed. Furthermore, the parent 
 stock should have been selected for rapid 
 growth, early feathering, and good flesh- 
 ing qualities. Good breeding is just as 
 important in the production of meat birds 
 as in birds used for egg production. 
 
 Houses, Yards, and 
 Equipment 
 
 The houses used for rearing or finish- 
 ing broilers or fryers are similar to those 
 used for raising pullets. When floor- 
 brooded, the birds can be kept in the 
 same houses until ready for market, or 
 they can be moved to other similarly built 
 houses. In summer, open sheds may be 
 used. Such houses are used by some to 
 brood the chicks, particularly in the 
 southern part of the state, but provision 
 is usually made to cover the front tem- 
 porarily in cold, wet, or very windy 
 weather. Such makeshift fronts help to 
 keep down the cost of the house but re- 
 quire more labor to ensure good results. 
 The cheaper brooder and rearing houses 
 often have dirt or sand floors which are 
 changed to a depth of two or three inches 
 after each lot is marketed. Others have 
 concrete or wire floors. The most efficient 
 type to use will depend upon local con- 
 ditions. 
 
 The use of yards varies from free range 
 to none. When yards are used every effort 
 should be made to keep them free from 
 disease-producing parasites and other or- 
 ganisms. If small dirt yards are used, they 
 should either be left vacant at intervals 
 
 by having two sets of yards, or the top 
 two or three inches of soil should be re- 
 moved and replaced with clean sand or 
 soil after each lot is marketed. The alter- 
 native is to use concrete, wire, or slat 
 porches. 
 
 Chicks may also be reared in batteries 
 of several different types: (1) unheated 
 multideck batteries housed in much the 
 same way as other commercial batteries 
 used for starting chicks; (2) single-tier 
 batteries, best described, perhaps, as un- 
 heated outdoor-type brooders with an en- 
 closed box at one end of a wire runway. 
 Such batteries usually have 1-inch-mesh 
 floors with waterers and feeders on the 
 sides and ends. Some batteries allow sev- 
 eral inches of head space, while others 
 are made just high enough for the birds. 
 Where the latter type is used, it is neces- 
 sary to give the birds more head room 
 as they grow. The runways may or may 
 not have roofs, and the roofs may be re- 
 movable or fixed. Roosts two by three 
 inches are usually laid flat on the wire. 
 These batteries are at varying heights 
 above the ground. Concrete platforms 
 under the batteries facilitate removal of 
 the droppings. 
 
 Management of Meat Birds 
 
 In practice, the floor space per bird 
 varies. The minimum suggested is shown 
 in table 3 for birds raised in batteries, 
 and in table 2 for birds raised on the 
 floor. 
 
 Broiler and fryer chicks may be started 
 in commercial multideck batteries for the 
 first 7 to 14 days. However, this practice 
 is less popular than it was a few years ago. 
 Some remove the chicks at 12 days to per- 
 mit thorough cleaning of batteries and 
 rooms between broods. Brooding is then 
 continued on the floor or in outdoor 
 brooders. Some operators move their 
 birds into more spacious equipment every 
 2 or 3 weeks, but such practice is ques- 
 tionable. It unquestionably decreases la- 
 bor efficiency and usually disturbs the 
 birds enough to impair growth rate. The 
 
 [36 
 
smaller, slow growing birds in the flock 
 use their feed with least efficiency. Hence, 
 handling and moving the birds merely for 
 the purpose of segregating them accord- 
 ing to size and weight is of questionable 
 value, particularly for the large commer- 
 cial grower. 
 
 If the chicks are not moved frequently 
 then cleaning should be done whenever 
 necessary. Waterers should be scrubbed 
 daily. Feeders should likewise be cleaned 
 regularly. 
 
 When floor brooding is practiced, it is 
 normally best to start the chicks on the 
 floor and raise them to market age with- 
 out moving them. If radiant heat or ther- 
 mostatically controlled gas furnaces are 
 used, large numbers of chicks can be in 
 the same room and the only equipment 
 needed are feeders and waterers. The 
 house may be divided into pens for the 
 desired number of chicks per group, with 
 temporary or permanent partitions. 
 
 For those who have a retail outlet for 
 meat birds, it would be desirable to have 
 the brooder house so built that it can be 
 completely divided by solid partitions, 
 when desired, into two or more sections. 
 If that is done it may be possible to get 
 rid of respiratory infections (such as 
 coryza, infectious bronchitis and others) 
 without completely depopulating. Sepa- 
 rate attendants for each division of the 
 house may also be necessary. 
 
 Feeding Meat Birds 
 
 Broilers and fryers are usually started 
 on an all-mash feed with a little grain 
 fed for a varying period before the birds 
 are marketed. Heavy mash consumption 
 tends to promote rapid growth. 
 
 Vices and Blemishes 
 
 Cannibalism and feather picking are 
 common vices among broilers and fryers, 
 particularly under crowded conditions. 
 For that reason, the chicks should be 
 carefully watched and prompt action 
 taken to check these vices before they de- 
 velop into serious outbreaks. 
 
 Breast Blisters. Breast blisters are 
 commonly observed on birds raised on 
 wire. These defects occur on heavy-breed 
 males, while relatively few Leghorns or 
 heavy-breed females are affected. One by 
 three-inch roosts placed flat on the floor 
 of batteries help to reduce the incidence 
 of breast blisters. Evidence is not suffi- 
 cient to show that other management 
 practices, such as built up litter, have any 
 effect on the incidence of breast blisters. 
 As noted, relatively fewer cases may de- 
 velop if roosts are not used for floor 
 brooded and reared birds. There may be 
 inherited differences in the tendency to 
 develop breast blisters, but the evidence 
 is inconclusive. Since most breast blisters 
 develop after the birds are 15 weeks old, 
 the problem is more serious in birds 
 grown to a weight of over four pounds. 
 
 Bone Defects. Bone defects some- 
 times occur among broilers and fryers. 
 These include crooked keels, crooked 
 backs, and perosis. 
 
 Crooked keels are likely to be due 
 to improper mineral balance, not enough 
 vitamin D when the birds are deprived 
 of sunshine, or both. Early roosting on 
 narrow roosts aggravates the tendency to 
 develop crooked keels. 
 
 Crooked backs may be caused by 
 vitamin D deficiency aggravated by other 
 factors, including crowding. Vitamin D 
 thus apparently plays an important part 
 in preventing these abnormalities. Feed- 
 ing excessive amounts of vitamin-D- 
 potent oils or other vitamin D carriers 
 does no good. Moreover, large amounts 
 of fish oils may cause off-flavors, particu- 
 larly if fed up to the time the birds are 
 marketed. If oil containing 400 units of 
 Vitamin D per gram is fed, adequate 
 amounts can be supplied without change 
 of flavor. 
 
 Perosis, or slipped tendon, is also 
 characterized by bowing of the legs and 
 enlarged hocks. It is caused by a defi- 
 ciency of manganese, of choline, of biotin, 
 and possibly of other organic factors. It 
 is aggravated by an excess of calcium or 
 
 [37] 
 
phosphorus. This is seldom a problem 
 unless extra calcium in the form of oyster- 
 shell or limestone is fed in addition to 
 a properly formulated ration. Hopper 
 feeding of extra bone meal may also in- 
 crease the incidence of perosis among 
 growing chicks. 
 
 Nutritional factors are mainly respon- 
 sible for these common abnormalities. 
 Faulty management may increase their 
 incidence. Moreover, there are inherited 
 differences in the tendency to develop 
 crooked keels and perosis; hence, the 
 birds with these or other abnormalities 
 should never be used for breeding. 
 
 Grading and Disposal 
 
 Not all birds reach the same weight at 
 the same age. Thus, some birds of the 
 
 heavy breeds reach a weight of 3% 
 pounds at 10 weeks; the average age at 
 this weight may be about 12 weeks, while 
 some birds lag two or three weeks behind 
 the average. Since the slowest-growing 
 birds do not always make economical 
 gains, it may be better to market some of 
 these at lower weights than those at which 
 fryers are ordinarily sold. 
 
 Uniform growth up to market age un- 
 doubtedly depends upon breeding, but 
 even more on good management. Correct 
 temperatures during the brooding period, 
 enough room for the birds, plenty of feed- 
 ing and watering space, and regular care 
 to see that the birds have feed and water 
 are all important management factors 
 which help secure uniform, rapid growth 
 and development. 
 
 38] 
 
Cooperative Extension work in Agriculture and Home Economics, College of Agriculture, University of California, and United States Department of Agriculture 
 cooperating Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8, and June 30, 1914. J. Earl Coke, Director, California Agricultural Extension Service. 
 
 15m-4,'53(9479)W.P. 
 
IT JUST COULD BE . . . 
 
 that the farm problems troubling 
 you have also troubled others. 
 
 And it's also possible that with 
 a little help from the right source 
 your problems can be eased, if 
 not cured. 
 
 Here's how to go about getting 
 help. 
 
 Take your problems to your 
 County Farm Advisor. He's an 
 agricultural specialist with a 
 background of practical knowl- 
 edge about farming in your lo- 
 cality. He will help you if he can 
 ... or he will get the information 
 you need from someone who does 
 know the answers. 
 
 Ask your Farm Advisor for a 
 copy of AGRICULTURAL PUBLI- 
 CATIONS— a catalog that lists 
 the bulletins and circulars pro- 
 duced by the University of Cali- 
 fornia College of Agriculture, or 
 write to the address below. 
 
 You'll be amazed at the wide 
 range of information covered in 
 these publications. 
 
 Yes ... it just could be that 
 your problems aren't nearly as 
 hard to solve as you think. Make 
 use of the free services of your 
 University. 
 
 Office of Agricultural Publications 
 
 22 Giannini Hall 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 4, California