Poultry Keeping 



instinct leads her to shuffle the eggs about frequently 

 with her bill, and she comes off the nest each morning to 

 get feed, often remaining away for twenty or thirty min- 

 utes until the eggs are nearly cold. Turning each egg 

 is necessary to keep the chick from sticking to the shell. 

 Eggs should be turned twice daily up to the eighteenth 

 day. After that, each chick is so large that it cannot 

 easily change its position in the. shell, and so it is better 

 not to turn the eggs any more. 



It is necessary to allow fresh air to enter the incubator, Ventilation 

 for air is as essential to the life of the embryo chick 

 within the shell as it is to the same chick a few weeks 

 later. The porous shell allows the oxygen of the air to 

 be absorbed into the blood of the chick. The hands 

 should not be oily from handling the lamp when the eggs 

 are turned, for oil on the egg shells would prevent air 



FIG. 261. A brooder made by pupils in the seventh and eighth grades at 

 Platteville, Wisconsin. Young chicks need to be kept warm. The brooder 

 temperature should be about 85 F. 



