HATCHING AND REARING CHICKS . 
two-thirds over; this is done because by this time 
the empty egg shells are getting almost too numer- 
ous for the size of the egg trays, and sometimes 
there are large, perfectly dry chicks which have 
failed to find their way to the nursery below, but 
which should be quickly dispatched there to get 
them out of the way of the chicks just hatching; 
also, empty egg shells sometimes slip over pipped 
eggs, shutting off the chick’s supply of air by en- 
closing its breathing place. 
Should there happen to be any crippled or de- 
formed chicks in the lot, they should be promptly 
killed. It usually is only a waste of time to try 
to raise such chicks, and it always requires more 
time and effort than the chicks are worth. This is 
a point over which beginners always hesitate or 
falter, but the law of Nature of “‘ the survival of 
only the fittest” is sure to obtain sooner or later, 
and one might as well save himself unnecessary 
trouble by taking the matter into his own hands 
right at the very outset as I have suggested. 
Warm, dry, comfortable quarters should have 
been provided for the old mother hen and her 
brood some little time before necessary to remove 
them from the nest. In the case of a brooder, the 
lamp should be started at least twenty-four hours 
before the chicks will need to be placed in the 
machine, so that the flame may be regulated to 
maintain the correct temperature. 
153 
