PROGRESSIVE POULTRY RAISING 



better, though they may usually be kept, if under proper 

 conditions, for a week or even ten days without injury. 

 If for any reason it is desirable to set dirty eggs they 

 should be put into the incubator without washing. The 

 probability of their hatching is better if they are not washed. 

 The small incubator is fast replacing 

 Incubating the setting hen in most sections of the 



country and in some sections is in turn 

 being replaced by the mammoth incubator at the customs 

 hatchery. Buying day-old chicks or having the eggs from 

 the farm incubated at a hatchery is gaining in popularity. 



The small lamp-heated incubator will continue to be 

 used on most farms for a good many years to come, how- 

 ever. In purchasing an incubator it usually pays not to 

 depend on the very cheapest makes. The difference in 

 cost between a poor machine and a good one is small in 

 comparison with the loss that may be caused by an 

 inefficient hatcher. The machine should be set up in 

 some room that is fairly uniform in temperature. This 

 is most likely to be a cellar. It should be so located that 

 the sun cannot strike it at any time of day and should be 

 made perfectly level by the aid of an ordinary carpenter's 

 level. 



In the case of used machines care should always be 

 taken thoroughly to disinfect with a 3 per cent solution 

 of any of the coal tar stock dips. If a spray pump is 

 not available the work can easily be done by dipping a 

 whisk broom in the disinfectant and flirting into the 

 interior of the machine, making sure that the thermometer, 

 regulator and the sides, top, bottom and all the trays are 

 thoroughly drenched. 



Directions for operating each make of machine are 

 usually sent out by the manufacturers. While the 

 directions vary somewhat for different makes, it is the 

 intention of the manufacturer to give the directions which 

 will bring the best results for his particular make of 

 machine and they should, therefore, be followed unless 

 some reason for varying from them is found. 



Page Seventeen 



