CHAPTER VI. 



INCUBATORS AND BROODERS. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 



I. THE ANTIQUITY OF ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. II. INCUBATORS VS. HEN. III. 



WHEN CHICKS BRING MONEY. IV. KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES. V. CARE 



WHILE IN THE BKOOUER. VI. FEEDING YOUNG CHICKS. VII. HOW TO 



MAKE AN INCUBATOR. VIII. HOW TO OPERATE THE INCUBATOR. IX. A 



CHEAP HOME-MADE INCUBATOR. X. HOW TO MAKE THE BROODER. 



I. The Antiquity of Artificial Hatching. 



How long artificial incubation has been practiced is not definitely 

 known. Tiiis principle was known in Egj'pt many centuries asro. It has 

 long been practiced in China. In Egypt ovens were used. In China the 

 same general plan was in operation. In warm climates the use of brood- 

 ers are not so essential as in cold climates. Efforts were made from time 

 to time in France and in the United States in the direction of artificial in- 

 cubation, but little progress was made until a perfect brooder became an 

 accomplished fact. It is only within the last few years that real progress 

 has been made in rendering incubators and brooders pratically succesful, 

 and only within the last three years is it the fact that eggs have been 

 hatched and reared more succes.sfully than by the natural process. 

 II. Incubators vs. the Hen. 



The incubators will not hatch every fertile egg, neither will the hea. 

 In intelligent hands, however, the incubator will hatch more eggs in cold 

 weather than the hen, and in warm weather about as many. The brooder 

 will take care of chickens better than the hen if the temperature is 

 properly controlled. The incubator does not, like the hen, drag the 

 chicks throngh the dew and dirt. It does not cover the chicks with lice, 

 like too many hens. The food can be just what is required. The water 

 is pure, and the weak chick is not without food, since there is always 

 enough for all. 



One reason why the incubator should hatch more eggs than the hen, 

 is, the eggs if gathered properly are known to be fresh. They can bt 

 tested readily from time to time, and infertile eggs removed. The prin- 

 cipal thing to attend to is to know that the incubator retains its heal 

 without requiring too nmch attention. The operator must learn how to 

 manage the machine, and this any intelligent man or woman may easily 

 do. In fact, women take most kindly to the work, and become enthusi- 

 asts in the care of the fluffy chicks. 



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