ANCIENT ARTIFICIAL INCUBATING 





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EGYPTIAN INCUBATORS 



SEMI-OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSUL AT CAIRO, EGYPT, 



SETTING FORTH INTERESTING AND SURPRISING FACTS REGARDING THE 



STATE OF ARTIFICIAL INCUBATING AND BROODING AS PRACTICED AT THE 



PRESENT DAY IN THE COUNTRY OF THE NILE 



IS quite generally known that the hatching and 

 raising of chickens by artificial means was first 

 practiced in Egypt. The fact now develops that 

 artificial incubating and brooding is still exten- 

 sively practiced in Egypt. Some time ago Mr. 

 F. W. Judd, of Michigan, wrote to the United 

 States Consul at Cairo, Egypt, asking for infor- 

 mation on the subject of artificial incubation in that country 

 to date. In due time he received through the foreign or consu- 

 lar department at Washington a lengthy and carefully prepared 

 report, accompanied by three drawings, outlining the ground 

 plan of a present-day Egyptian incubatory and two sectional 

 views of same, showing the interior construction and arrange- 

 ment. 



From this report we learn that the Egyptian hen, in many, 

 many cases, has abandoned the work of sitting on eggs for pur- 

 poses of incubation. In other words, her instinct to do this 

 has become extinct in a majority of cases. If we want a hen to 

 lay eggs and do nothing else for a living, she will accommodate 

 herself to our wishes. Not only has she shown this disposition 

 in Egypt and China, but in this country as well. About four 

 years ago Mr. Redkey, of Ohio, who used incubators e.xclusively 

 during eight years only, reported that he noticed a decided fall- 

 ing off in the broodiness of the sixth, seventh and eighth gene- 

 rations of hens produced in this manner. Possibly he was mis- 

 taken, probably not. Since then a, number of prominent poul- 

 trymen have come to the same conclusion, that the tendency to 

 broodiness can be bred out of a strain. Following are the semi- 

 official report and drawings, presented under copyright, all 

 rights being reserved: 



REPORT OF THE U. S. CONSUL AT CAIRO 



The artificial hatching of eggs has been so long practiced 

 in Egypt that the hens have completely abandoned that part 

 of their work to man. It is a regular industry and the profes.sors 



form a very close corporation, handing down their secrets from 

 father to son. For three months of the year their time is com- 

 pletely absorbed by constant attention at the incubatories. 



Although very successful in the work, they never attempt 

 the hatching except during the months of February, March 

 and April. The minimum temperature in Egypt is reached on 

 the 20th of January; after this it steadily rises, and by Easter 

 the hot weather may be expected. This makes the process 

 difficult and the ovens are therefore closed for the year. 



The population of Egypt is very dense, about 700 per 

 square mile. This agglomeration fosters the use of large in- 

 cubatories, turning out each one from 300,000 to 600,000 chicks 

 each season. In some villages there are from three to five of 

 these establishments. They are generally near to some import- 

 ant market place, and each one apparently in the center of a 

 district of about 50,000 population. That is, each one is the cen- 

 ter of a circle having a radius of five miles. It is this density 

 of the population that has allowed this system of artificial 

 hatching to become so very successful. At the same time it 

 must be remembered that there is no other, as the native hen 

 never sits on her eggs. 



Another important point is that the hatchers do not at- 

 tempt to rear the young broods. Forty-eight hours after the 

 chicks emerge from the shell they are scattered over the coun- 

 try; overcrowding is thus prevented. This distribution is ef- 

 fected in a very simple manner. As the incubator is near a 

 market place, word is sent there that on such a day there will 

 be so many young chicks. This news is quickly disseminated 

 among the villages, and on the appointed day the women ar- 

 rive with their cages and purchase the young chicks, which are 

 generally sold by the hundred for about $1.50 per hundred. 

 There are also a number of brokers or dealers who take the young 

 chicks to the more distant villages. For this they have cages 

 made from palm branches. They are divided into two stories, 

 each of which is divided by a partition, so that the smaller divi- 



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