408 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



INCUBATION. 



There are two methods of incubation — natural and artificial. 

 The success of either depends, first, upon the e.g^ itself. Neither 

 hen nor incubator can hatch an infertile egg. In mating birds 

 one male should be allowed to from twelve to twenty hens, de- 

 pending upon the breeds, also upon other conditions. The fertility 

 of eggs depends, too, upon the health and vigor of the flock, and 

 to some extent upon the feed and care. Eggs for hatching should 

 be kept at a temperature of from 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 Eggs of standard size, rather than very large or extremely small, 

 should be selected, and the best results may be expected when all 

 the eggs are of the same kind. 



"The whole theory of incubation is based upon the fact that 

 if a fertile egg is kept for a sufficient period of time under certain 

 conditions of heat, moisture and position, it will be transformed 

 into a healthy fowl." 



The periods of incubation recognized as approximately correct 

 are as follows: Common hen, 21 days; pheasant, 25 days; com- 

 mon duck, 28 days ; peafowl, 28 days ; guinea, 25 days ; goose, 30 

 days; Barbary duck, 30 days; turkey 28 days. 



Those who adhere to the old, and generally sure and safe, 

 method of hatching eggs under the hen, may find it a good plan to 

 have two hens bring off their broods at the same time, then give 

 all the chicks to one hen. From twelve to sixteen eggs are generally 

 placed under a hen, the number depending upon the size of the 

 hen, the kind of eggs, and the time of year, it being safe to give 

 a hen more eggs to cover when the weather is very warm than 

 when it is cool. Chicks hatched by the natural process are generally 

 strong, but are in more danger from vermin, unless the hens and 

 their surroundings are carefully looked after. 



With the use of incubators constantly becoming more com- 

 mon, the subject of artificial incubation is one of interest to a very 

 large per cent of the people. "The incubator," some one has said, 

 "was the first nature fakir," To this it might be added that it 

 has "made good." The idea of artificial incubation is not new. 

 Artificial egg hatching was practiced before the Christian era. 

 Ancient hatching ovens have recently been unearthed by explorers 

 in Old World ruins. 



I 



