HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



179 



is very advisable to sprinkle the eggs 

 twice a week after the twelfth day 

 with warm water; this seems to make 

 the shells more brittle and prevents 

 the inner ' lining skin from toughen- 

 ing. I have found this better than 

 keeping much moisture in the ma- 

 chine. The moisture in the machine, 

 seems to make the chick grow, but 

 does not make the shell brittle. Your 

 Plymouth Rock eggs should hatch 

 promptly on the 21st day. The de- 

 layed incubation indicates that part of 

 the time the temperature has been too 

 low. Are you sure that your ther- 

 mometer is perfectly correct; have 

 you had it. tested? On the efficiency 

 of the thermometer much depends. 

 Many thermometers that are accurate 

 at first become, through the use of 

 unseasoned glass in their manufac- 

 ture, absolutely incorrect after a few 

 months' use. Others are really only 

 within two to four degrees of being 

 correct, therefore, be sure you have 

 your thermometer tested. About the 

 chicken feed, write to the Experiment 

 Station, University of California, Ber 1 

 keley, for bulletin 164 on poultry feed- 

 ing. This gives you the lists of foods 

 available in your part of the country, 

 with the proper proportions for mix- 

 ing them, see page 36. 



Eggs for Hatching Will you kind- 

 ly tell me what is the matter with my 

 eggs? They will not hatch well. Our 

 hens are Brown Leghorns and Rhode 

 Island Reds. I only got fifteen chick- 

 ens in my last batch. When we break 

 the eggs after we know they will not 

 hatch we find the chicks dead, but 

 fully formed and just ready to hatch. 

 Perhaps the shells are too hard. Will 

 you please tell me what to do to 

 make a softer shell? Feed according 

 to your directions. 



Is it necessary to put moisture in 

 the incubator? Does it hurt the eggs 

 to sprinkle them with warm water if 

 we think the shells are too hard? I 

 will be very thankful if you will an- 

 swer this, as I want to know before 

 I commence to save eggs for next in- 

 cubator lot. I do not keep them over 

 two weeks and keep them in a cool, 

 dark place, turning them every day. 

 Mrs. G. A. M. 



Answer I wish I could tell you 

 for certain what causes chickens to 

 die in the shell. I have my theories 

 about it, and I believe it comes from 



the eggs not being aired and cooled 

 sufficiently. Cooling them and then 

 warming them up again seems to 

 make the shells m6re brittle, and this 

 is the same under hens. If I notice 

 that a hen is setting too closely, I 

 take her off twice a day to cool the 

 eggs. With an incubator I would air 

 them and turn them three times a day, 

 and either sprinkle them three times 

 during the last ten days or float them 

 in warm water two days before the 

 hatch is due. Float them from three 

 to five minutes, and then put them 

 back into the tray while they are wet. 

 I do not believe in putting moisture 

 into the incubator unless the direc- 

 tions call for it. 



Incubator Chicks Dying Off We 

 have started in with the R. I. Reds, 

 and have been fairly successful until 

 our last hatch. Out of 65 eggs 44 

 came out. Last Saturday they com- 

 menced dying off, just fell seemingly 

 from weakness and died soon after. 

 We have fed them chick feed, bran, 

 Indian meal, cayenne pepper, beef 

 scraps, twice per day, and a little 

 germazone in water occasionally. 

 C. R. H. 



Answer From your description I 

 am afraid that the chickens have 

 either been chilled or may have been 

 over-heated. Either one of these 

 conditions will cause the symptoms 

 you describe. All you can do now is 

 to give them rice boiled in milk, add- 

 ing a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 

 mon to each pint. Give them also 

 chopped lettuce and onions. Do not 

 give any cornmeal or beef scraps. 

 When chicks have been over-heated 

 either in the incubator or brooder, it 

 so weakens their bowels that they 

 cannot digest their food and they die 

 of starvation. 



Poor Hatching I should like very 

 much if you can give me some infor- 

 mation about my hatching eggs in an 

 incubator. I bought a new incubator 

 this spring. I have set it twice and 

 had the same results both times. The 

 chicks form fully and then most of 

 them die in the shell. As the same 

 eggs do fine when put under a hen. I 

 think it must be that I make some 

 mistake in my treatment of the in- 

 cubator. I have as nearly as possible 

 followed the instructions that came 



