POULTRY 



431 



Except in very wet climates, a pan of water, with a sponge to 

 furnish an evaporating surface, should be placed below the egg 

 trays to keep the air moist. The incubator is then ready to 

 receive the eggs. Beginning the third day, the eggs should be 

 taken out and turned gently three times a day. Once a day, 

 after turning, they should be left out long enough to feel cool 

 to some sensitive part of the body, such as the lips or eye- 

 lids. This corresponds to the change in temperature when the 

 hen leaves the nest to eat, and results in an improved hatch. 



This routine should 

 be followed until the 

 eighteenth day, when 

 the temperature may be 

 allowed to reach 104 

 degrees F. but must not 

 go above 105 degrees F. 

 The door of the incu- 

 bator should be kept 

 closed from this time 

 until after the hatch is 

 over. The moisture pan 

 should be removed and 

 the egg tray arranged 

 so that the chicks may 

 drop down into the nursery bottom of the incubator. The chicks 

 should be left in the nursery, without feeding, for thirty-six hours 

 or more, until they call vigorously for something to eat. 



On the seventh and fourteenth days it is customary to test 

 out infertile eggs, or those whose germs show unmistakable 

 evidence of having died (Fig. 222). This gives more room 

 for the chicks to hatch, and prevents the dead eggs from 

 becoming putrid. 



570. Brooding. When incubators are used for hatching, in 

 the place of hens, something must be provided to take the 

 place of the mother for brooding (Fig. 223). For this purpose 

 boxes, somewhat differently shaped from incubators but heated 



FIG. 222. A simple device for inspecting eggs 



The tube, or " candle," here shown was made from 



coarse paper. The egg is candled either by use of 



strong sunlight or by use of a lighted lamp 



