178 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



ture. Can it be from too much blue- 

 stone in their water or because of too 

 much egg-food? I feed them a mixed 

 food from the feed yard, consisting 

 of corn, wheat, Kaffir corn, beef 

 scraps, bone, charcoal, oyster shell, 

 barley and some other grains I can- 

 not classify. They get this twice a 

 day together with all the table scrap 

 and all the grass they can eat. They 

 also have plenty of exercise. Is there 

 anything I can do for this particular 

 hen? Shall I try to set her or get 

 some other hen for the eggs? Still 

 another question, what causes a milky, 

 watery substance in the whites of the 

 eggs; it runs out after the eggs have 

 been cooked? G. W. Y. 



Answer It is the bluestone in the 

 water that thoroughly disagrees with, 

 or poisons the setting hens. Feed a 

 setting hen only grains, wheat and 

 corn mixed, and give her fresh water 

 to drink without any medicine in it. 

 You should not be giving your hens 

 bluestone at this season of the year 

 at all. They do not need it, and it 

 will injure the fertility of the eggs 

 and make the chicks hatching out 

 weakly. Do not set the hen you men- 

 tioned, as in all probability she will 

 leave the eggs. All setting hens 

 should be in perfect health and entire- 

 ly free from lice or mites. You had 

 better get another hen for those eggs. 



The milkiness in the whites of your 

 eggs is an indication that they are 

 perfectly fresh, that is, new layed, and 

 is a great recommendation for the 

 quality of your eggs. 



Chicks Dying in Shell A large per 

 cent of my chicks, fully developed, die 

 the day they are due to hatch, even 

 after pipping the shell. They seem 

 to dry in the shell. Mrs D. D. 



Answer Float the eggs in warm 

 water. That will help the chicks to 

 break through the shell better than 

 anything I know of. Next time try 

 sprinkling the eggs after the eighth 

 day twice a week with warm water. 

 I think you will find it is what is 

 needed in your dry climate, and is 

 likely to help matters. 



Answer If your hen has been sit- 

 ting for a week or ten day, she will 

 "take to" the chicks as well as though 

 she had hatched them herself; espe- 

 cially if she is a Plymouth Rock or 

 Buff Orpington. Those two breeds 

 have a greater affection for chickens 

 than some of the others. Be sure 

 that the hen is entirely clear of lice, 

 and if she is a large hen, put from 15 

 to 18 under her at night; a smaller 

 hen should have from 12 to 15, not 

 more, if you expect the chickens to do 

 well. I have trained capons to act as 

 mothers; they do even better than 

 the hens. 



Thermometer Will you kindly tell 

 me where I could get tested thermom- 

 eter for incubator; also where I could 

 have one tested which I already have? 

 H. H. C. 



Answer At any good drug store 

 you can have your thermometer test- 

 ed. If you want to buy a new one, 

 go to the agent selling your make 

 of incubator. Take the new one also 

 to the druggist and have him test it 

 thoroughly, because the thermom- 

 eters, as they are seasoned some- 

 times vary some degrees, and even a 

 new one cannot be trusted. 



Fooling the Hen Is it possible to 

 fool a setting hen into caring for some 

 incubator chickens when she has not 

 hatched them herself Mrs. C. R. 



Helping Them Hatch I find my 

 White Plymouth Rock eggs are very 

 slow about hatching and some I know 

 would die in the shell if I had not 

 dropped a few drops of lukewarm wa- 

 ter on their heads, as it seemed they 

 would get about half out and then the 

 white skin would dry on their heads 

 and hold them fast. After having two 

 die in the shell, I found they would 

 free themselves if a few drops of 

 warm water were sprinkled on !hem. 

 I kept moisture in the pans all three 

 days and part of the fourth and they 

 are still slowly hatching. This is the 

 twenty-third day. Do you think I 

 should keep the moisture pan full for 

 a week I mean the last week of in- 

 cubation? Please send me an ; dea on 

 chick feed, as I can not get good clean 

 chick feed here. Mrs P. W. B. 



Answer If you had only men- 

 tioned the name of the incubator you 

 are using, I could have better diag- 

 nosed your case. As it is, all I can 

 say to you is to follow the rules and 

 directions they give you as closely 

 as possible. With some machines it 



