POULTRY FOR PROFIT 61 



the germ to adhere to one side of the egg and pre- 

 vents its development. 



Chicks that have been unable to free themselves 

 from the shell may often be freed by the operator 

 after the hatch is over. Break the shell where the 

 egg has been pipped, or make a tiny hole with a 

 pin if you hear the chick peep inside an unpipped 

 egg, being careful not to puncture the delicate mem- 

 brane which surrounds the chick; then carefully 

 break away enough of the shell so that the chick 

 can work itself out. Sometimes dipping a pipped 

 egg into warm water, without, of course, allowing 

 the water to enter the hole, or wrapping it in a flan- 

 nel, wet in warm water, will bring the chick out. 

 The chick should always be laid in a warm place 

 while it is hatching itself, and it is usually safer 

 not to leave it under the hen. She is almost sure to 

 crush the little helpless creature. 



When the chick is weak because the parent stock 

 was weak or on account of faulty incubation, there 

 is nothing to be gained by helping it out of the shell. 

 It will die sooner or later or, if it lives, will be a 

 runt. 



Recent investigations have shown that weakness 

 of the germ is probably responsible for by far the 

 larger part of these untimely deaths. A vigorous 

 germ develops into a strong chick which will man- 

 age to get out of the shell somehow in spite of lack 

 of moisture. It is noticeable in every hatch that it 

 is the strongest chicks that come out first, while 

 the late hatched chick is rarely worth raising. Vigor 

 in the parent stock and frequent introduction of 

 new blood are the best means of producing germs 

 that will hatch in spite of faulty conditions. If one 

 cannot afford to send away for new blood every 

 year, he can usually manage to trade cockerels with 



