Thefloorshouldhaveasmallthinoflayer.Beddinginthebrooderneedstoprovideanabsorbent,non-slipperysurfacefortheyoungchicks.Mostproducersusereadilyavailablepineshavingsinalayer3to4inchesdeep.Thepineoilsinpineshavingshavetheadvantagebyreducingmoldgrowth.Otheroptionsincludericehulls,groundcorncobs,shreddednewspaperorfinelychoppedstraw(ifitischangedoften).
Hardwoodshavingsandpeanuthullsshouldnotbeusedbecausetheycanbecomemoldy.Avoidsawdustbecausechicksmayeatitandbecomeimpactedintheircroporgizzard.Largeparticlelitter,likewoodchips,isnotusefulforbeddingbecauseitisnotasabsorbentassmallerparticlelitter.Beattentivetothechickswhentheyarefirstintroducedtothebroodingenclosure.Ifafarmerseeshisorhernewchickseatingthebedding,heorshemaychoosetocoverthebeddingwithnewspaperorpapertowelsforthefirstcoupleofdays,untiltheyareeatingtheirfoodwellenoughontheirown.Thefarmershouldnotuseslickmaterialstocoverthebeddingasthesemayleadtoleginjuriesknownassplaylegs.
Howlongshouldchicksstayinthebrooder?Chicksshouldstayforbetweenthree(3)tofour(4)weeksinthebrooderwhentheyhavefully
developedfeathersandnolongerneedartificialheat.
Heat(howdoesthefarmertellthevariationofheatinthebrooder)Theoretically,chickbroodertemperatureismeasuredwithathermometerplaced2inches(5cm)
abovethebrooderfloor(andattheouteredgeofahover),butthepoultryfarmershouldnotneedathermometer.Heorsheshouldjustwatchthechicks,andadjustthetemperatureaccordingtotheirbodylanguage.
Chicksthatarenotwarmenough-dueeithertoinsufficientheatortodraftiness-crowdneartheheatsource,peepshrilly,andmayhavestickybottomsoroutrightdiarrhea.Inanefforttogetwarmwhiletheysleep,thechickswillpileupandsmothereachother.Pilingismostlikelytooccuratnightwhentheambienttemperaturedrops,soincoldweathercheckthechicksbeforegoingtobed,andifnecessary,increasetheheatovernight.
Chicksthataretoowarmmoveawayfromtheheat,spendlesstimeeating,andasaresultgrowmoreslowly.Theypantandtrytogetawayfromtheheatsourcebycrowdingtothebrooder’souter
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