ARTIFICIAL INCUBATING AND BROODING 



hatching or until it is all over and you are ready then to remove 

 the chicks to the brooder. This is also a critical time, as they 

 must be quickly removed to the brooder without a chance of 

 a chiO, which is almost sure to be fatal, and if not so will give 

 them a great set-back, and they never will quite recover from it. 



A most important point to be observed is the keeping of 

 an equal temperature and the proper supply of pure, fresh air. 

 In the matter of temperature it is a good plan to err on the side 

 of too much than too Kttle. What I mean is that if your ma- 

 chine is such that it cannot be regulated to a fiiie point, it is 

 better to be on the high side than to have the machine at 102 

 degrees. One hundred and three degrees is conceded to be the 

 correct incubating temperature, and the nearer the temperature 

 is kept at that the more satisfactory the result. 



All good makes of incubators are now provided with reliable 

 automatic regulators, so that if the maker's directions are fol- 

 lowed there will be no variations of temperature. Follow the 

 directions and keep heat as regular as possible, providing plenty 

 of fresh air by proper airing of the eggs daily. Do not be afraid 

 to give the eggs plenty of fresh air, as this is essential above all 



39— JUST HATCHED 



things to the proper and timely exclusion of the chick and to 

 the natural drying out of the egg. But do not get the eggs 

 where they will be chilled or you will err on the other side. 

 What is wanted is pure, not cold air. 



Most beginners are too timid about airing the eggs; especi- 

 ally during the last week, and more chicks are lost from this 

 cause than any other; they are practically smothered in the shell. 

 Did you ever notice the way a hen will leave her eggs, often for 

 half an hour each day, and even an hour if the weather is warm, 

 and then hatch every one? More pure air should be the motto 

 of the incubator operators and there would be more chicks. 

 These same remarks apply also to the brooder and brooder 

 houses. Fresh air is the life of the chick, both before and after 

 hatching. 



MOISTURE AND VENTILATION IN INCUBATORS 



All know that varying conditions demand \'arying forms 

 of treatment. This applies to artificial incubation, and especi- 

 ally to "moisture" and "ventilation." Experience has taught 

 us that it is impracticable to build an incubator with a positive 

 fixed ventilation (self-ventilation); also, with no provision for 

 supplying moisture; for a machine must be so made as to give 

 uniformly large hatches whether operated in a cold cellar or in 

 an over-heated chamber, and whether operated under the ex- 

 acting conditions in the dry atmosphere of Colorado, the damp 

 air of the Atlantic coast, the heat of Florida, or the chilly air 

 of Maiae. Not to provide for these varied conditions would be 

 impractical and unreasonable. Provision' must, therefore, be 

 made to govern at all times, in nature's way, the proper supply 

 of fresh air and the lack or excess of moisture, under any and all 

 conditions of atmosphere . and temperature, and at different 

 seasons of the year. 



The operator will have to use a great deal of judgment and 



common sense in this important matter, as the conditions at 

 the time of hatching have so much influence on the matter that 

 it is impossible to lay down any set rules. 



There are times when the so-called non-moisture machines 

 have been proved to give infinitely better results by having a 

 pan of water placed in the machine. 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATORS 



W. H. HARDIN 



IN REGARD to the kind of incubator to purchase, I should 

 by all means advise buying a hot air machine in prefer- 

 ence to a hot water one. Hot water may be just as good, 

 but I have invariably had the best results from the former. 

 My first choice for the location of an incubator would be a me- 

 dium dry cellar, there being few changes of temperature in such 

 a place, though I have had excellent results from machines that 

 stood in my bed room. You should avoid placing your machines 

 where a direct current of air will strike them, in which event 

 you will find more or less trouble in maintaining a uniform de- 

 gree of heat within the egg chamber, especially if your machine 

 is a single case one. Although double case machines cost a 

 fraction more than single case ones, yet they are well worth the 

 difference in price and give far more satisfactory results. 



In order that you may get a good uniform hatch, it is nec- 

 essary that your eggs be as freshly gathered as possible, and as 

 nearly as practicable of the same age. Freshly gathered eggs 

 always will hatch sooner than those that are older. After get- 

 ting your machine heated to the proper degree of temperature, 

 introduce your eggs, allowing them to remain quietly for two 

 days and nights, after which they should be turned night and 

 morning and aired ten to thirty minutes, according to the season 

 of the year. Do not let them cool much under seventy degrees. 

 The importance of this matter of airing was brought to my at- 

 tention before I began using incubators, from the fact that those 

 of my sitters that came off their nests twice or three times a day 

 during the period of incubation almost without exception brought 

 off the greatest number of chicks, while on the other hand, the 

 close, steady sitters never gave me satisfactory hatches. Dur- 

 ing the winter and early spring I should advise say ten minutes 

 cooling; but later on, from twenty-five to thirty and even forty 

 minutes would be better. 



I test my eggs on the seventh day of incubation, removing 

 all clear eggs, and I test from that time on until I am satisfied 

 that none but fertile eggs, those that will hatch, remain in the 

 machine, because if one or more chicks should die in the shell 

 during the time they are allowed to remain in the machine they 

 will throw off a most disagreeable odor which will prove disas- 

 trous to your hatch. It is highly important that the air within 

 the egg chamber be perfectly sweet and pure at all times. 



In regard to the proper amount of ventilation requisite at 

 different stages of the hatch, I would suggest that an amateur 

 on making his first hatch with an incubator set a hen at the same 

 time he does his machine and note carefully from day to day 

 the difference in the development of the air cells of the eggs 

 under the hens and those in the incubator. By this means you 

 can readily determine whether you ha\-e too much or too little 

 ventilation. 



If your machine is located in a cellar that is somewhat damp, 

 it is not hkely that you txtII need any supplied moisture, but in 

 running your machine in a dry room above the ground, particu- 

 larly in hot, dry weather, is it often necessary to supply a little 

 moisture during the latter part of the hatch. However, the 

 necessity for this ^^^ll haA'e to be determined more or less by the 

 appearance of the egg shell. When the chicks come out, if they 

 look dry and shriveled and pieces of the shell adhere to them, 



46 



