OCR Text |
Show BEST LITTER TO USE IN BROODER Shavings, Cut Straw and Cut ,S Hay Meet With Favor. One of the commonest questions 'A asked of the poultry department of the New Jersey agricultural experi- ment station during the spring Is, l' "What Is the best Utter to use In .' the brooder house7" For the bene- fit of ail poultrymen wlio are tron-,-j bled with this problem the station V issues the following statement: j There Is no best Utter, but there Si are certain requirements that litter & must meet In order to be satlsfac-" satlsfac-" ' tory for use In brooding chicks. ' M These requirements are that It ;fj should be: Light in weight, thus al- lowing the droppings and dirt to 7$ work to the floor so the chicks are ,54 aot likely to pick up contaminated' material ; absorbent, and therefore a capable of keeping the brooder bouse floor dry ; cheap, so one can afford to replace It every live days H, after the first four weeks; and clean, which means freedom from mold, mustlness, and dust. Shavings, cut straw, and cut hay ,L meet these requirements. They are tj not the only materials that one can use, but they are among the best Straw or hay used for Utter ehould , always be cut If the straw or hay is Dot cut it becomes matted, and covered with droppings, and Is vy therefore of no value for Utter, -q! Bacillary white diarrhea, coccidl- osis, and intestinal worms are iy spread to a large extent by the use ' of dirty litter, the experiment sta-v sta-v tlon warns. One rule In brooding i chicks that should be followed, if all others are forgotten, Is, "Clean j the brooder house every five days." i This means removing the litter, - J sweeping the floor of the brooder i house, and putting In clean Utter. |