438 Effective Farming 



" See that the incubator is running steadily at the desired 

 temperature before filling with eggs. Do not add fresh eggs 

 to a tray containing eggs which are undergoing incubation. 



" Turn the eggs twice daily after the second and until the 

 nineteenth day. Cool the eggs once daily, according to the 

 weather, from the seventh to the nineteenth day. 



" Turn the eggs before caring for the lamps. 



" Attend to the machine carefully at regular hours. 



" Keep the lamp and wick clean. 



" Test the eggs on the seventh and fourteenth days. 



" Do not open the machine after the eighteenth day until 

 the chickens are hatched." 



218. Artificial brooding. When the chickens are to be 

 brooded artificially, they are usually left in the incubator with- 

 out feed for twenty-four to thirty-six hours after hatching. 

 After this period they are taken to the brooder which should 

 have been in operation for a day or more at the proper temper- 

 ature. The proper temperature during the time the chicks 

 are in the brooder depends on how near the thermometer is 

 to the source of heat, the age of the chickens, and the weather. 

 Usually, the temperature for the first ten days will run from 

 90 to 100 F., averaging from 93 to 95; for the next ten 

 days, it should be reduced to 85, and then as long as the 

 chicks require heat be kept at about 75. The brooder lamp, 

 if one is used, should be cleaned every day, and the brooder 

 should be inspected often to see whether it is at the correct 

 temperature. The chickens are usually allowed to stay in the 

 brooder until they are from six to ten weeks old, the exact time 

 depending on the weather and the condition of the chickens. 



Brooders in which hard coal is the source of heat are used 

 on many poultry farms and seem to give satisfactory results. 

 They are much easier to care for than the lamp type. 



219. Feeding for egg production. Hens require a narrow 

 ration. Wheeler, from a large number of tests at the New 

 York Experiment Station, has found that a ration having a 



