258 PRESERVATION OF EGGS 



If the draft is too strong, the eggs will dry down. If 

 eggs are dried down before hatching, the chicks will be 

 dried down, small and weak. 



Eggs for incubation should not be laid longer than a 

 week. The older the egg, the lower the vitality of the 

 chick. Usually the cellar is the best place for keeping 

 eggs, for here the temperature is more even, and it is not 

 too dry. 



The first two or three days after the setting of the incu- 

 bator are vital. The heat should never get higher than 

 102 degrees; a little below will do no harm. For the 

 first two days the eggs should not be turned, but there- 

 after turn every morning and evening until the eighteenth 

 day, when they should not be touched until all fertile eggs 

 are hatched. 



Have both ventilation and moisture in hatching rooms. 

 The cellar is usually about right where there is a floor, 

 and if there is an outside entrance it should not remain 

 open. 



Chicks hatched where there is moisture are stronger 

 than dried-down, non-moisture ones. Do not allow strong 

 sunlight or too much draft in the hatching room. 



The last few days, do not handle the eggs, and keep the 

 temperature not higher than 105 degrees, nor below 103. 



Sometimes the chicks, after they are dried off, open 

 their mouths and seem to want air ; then open some venti- 

 lator or open the incubator door a little. 



In gathering eggs for incubation, give the hens enough 

 good, clean food and exercise and clean quarters. They 

 should have free range, if possible. Meat scraps, lime, 

 milk, ground bone, oyster shells, wheat and bran mash 

 are excellent for laying hens. Plenty of fresh, clean 

 drinking water should be within reach. Green or cooked 

 vegetables are also good for the health of the hen, and 

 make healthy chicks. 



