POULTRY FOR PROFIT 43 



ing. In general, it is better for the beginner to 

 hatch with hens. The hen understands her busi- 

 ness better than an incubator can. Hen-hatched 

 chicks are usually stronger and can be raised with 

 smaller loss. On the other hand, the average hen 

 will break at least one egg and kill at least one 

 chick before the brood is safely out of the nest. It 

 is rather surprising to learn that, in spite of the 

 undoubted superiority of the hen as a hatcher, the 

 average proportion of chicks hatched by hens is 55 

 per cent, as against about 50 from incubators. 



After considerable experimental work on meth- 

 ods of incubation, the Oregon Station, in Bulletin 

 100, published the following summary of results: 



1. From 879 eggs set, incubators hatched 533 

 chicks, or 60.6 per cent. 



2. From 279 eggs set, hens hatched 219 chicks, 

 or 78.8 per cent. 



3. Eliminating eggs broken in nests, the hens 

 hatched 88.2 per cent of eggs set. 



4. The incubators hatched 78.5 per cent of "fer- 

 tile" eggs, and the hens hatched 96.5 per cent. 



5. Eggs incubated artificially tiested 22.7 per 

 cent as unfertile, while those incubated by hens 

 tested out 11.8 per cent. 



6. The incubators showed 16.6 per cent of chicks 

 "dead in the shell," and the hens 2.8 per cent. 



7. Chicks hatched under hens weighed heavier 

 than chicks hatched in incubators. 



8. The mortality of hen-hatched chicks brooded 

 in brooders was 10.8 per cent in four weeks and of 

 incubator-hatched chicks 33.5 per cent. 



9. The mortality of hen-hatched chicks brooded 

 under hens was 2.2 per cent, and of incubator chicks 

 49.2 per cent. 



10. In other tests the mortality was 46.5 per 



