96 INCUBATION 



Do not neglect to turn and air the eggs in an in- 

 cubator. 



When the eggs are taken out of an incubator to air, 

 the door should be closed so that the egg chamber will 

 not cool off. The eggs should not be kept out of the 

 chamber until they become chilled. This kills the 

 embryos. 



Be sure to have the brooders prepared for the accom- 

 modation of the chicks when they are ready to be taken 

 from the incubator. 



When the incubator is not in use, keep it in a place 

 where it will not become infested with vermin. When it 

 is again put in use, it should be examined, thoroughly 

 cleaned, and run for several days before the eggs are 

 placed in it. 



TESTING FERTILITY OF EGGS 



After hen's eggs have been incubated for some time, 

 it is usually desirable that they be examined for 

 fertility. This examination should be made during the 



seventh day of incuba- 

 tion, and while the 

 work of testing the 

 egg can be done in 

 daylight, it is usually 

 well to do the work 

 after dark. The egg 

 may be tested without 

 the aid of any appli- 

 ance except a lamp. 

 As shown in Fig. 3, 

 the hand of the tester 

 shades the lamplight 

 so that the light trans- 

 mitted through the egg 

 may be apparent to 

 the tester, or the light may be shaded by means 

 of a cardboard in which an egg-shaped hole has 

 been cut, as shown in Fig. 4. No matter what 



