PROGRESSIVE POULTRY RAISING 



At the beginning of every season it is a safe precaution 

 to test the thermometer and make sure it is registering 

 accurately. This may be done by borrowing a physician's 

 thermometer, heating some water to a temperature of 

 about 1 06 F. and moving the bulbs of the physician's 

 and the incubator thermometers back and forth through 

 the water together. If they agree, it is safe to assume 

 that the incubator thermometer is all right. If they 

 disagree, it will be the best plan to invest in a new ther- 

 mometer. Not infrequently a thermometer which regis- 

 ters perfectly one season may be found to be very inaccu- 

 rate the following season. 



It is the general practice to start the machine at a 

 temperature of about 102 and carry it at that tempera- 

 ture during the first week. The second and third week 

 it is allowed to run as near 103 F. as possible and during 

 the hatch is likely to go to 104 F., which is a good tem- 

 perature for bringing the chicks out. It should never 

 be allowed to go above 105 F., which is the danger point. 



In all localities except where the climate is very humid, 

 it will help the hatches to introduce moisture into the 

 machine. The most convenient way of doing this is to 

 place large shallow galvanized iron trays below the egg 

 trays. These should be filled with sand and the sand 

 kept puddled with water. Where provision is made 

 for the chicks to drop down into the Nursery below, the 

 moisture pans should be removed on the i8th day. 



It is customary to turn the eggs at least twice a day 

 until the i8th day and to cool them once. The turning 

 may be done by removing a few eggs from one end of 

 the tray, rolling the eggs in the tray and then replacing 

 those taken out. This turning largely prevents the 

 difficulty known as "stuck germs" which refers to the 

 fact that as the egg loses its moisture, the developing 

 chick occasionally adheres to the shell. A stuck germ 

 seldom, if ever, hatches. 



Page Eighteen 



