THE ADVANTAGES OF INCUBATORS 



THE SOUTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION GIVES RELIABLE 

 ADVICE AND TELLS HOW^ SUCCESS MAY BE SECURED— THE ADVANTAGES OF 

 POSSESSING AN INCUBATOR— WHERE IT SHOULD BE LOCATED— MUCH DEPENDS 

 UPON THE EGGS— ATTENTION TO INCUBATOR AND EGGS— RAISING THE CHICKS 



O. M. WATSON 



N INCUBATOR is necessary for chicks to be hatch- 

 ed early in the season. By having early hatched 

 chicks much better prices are obtained, and the 

 chicks mature earHer in the fall and coramence 

 laying before winter sets in, and if properly cared 

 for a larger n\miber of winter eggs can be obtain- 

 ed. By using an incubator hens can be stopped 

 from sitting and can commence laying again. 

 A much larger number of chickens can be raised on a small lot. 

 An incubator is a time saver. It requires fourteen to sixteen 

 large hens to cover 200 eggs, and to look after these hens proper- 

 ly will require three times as much time as a 200-egg incubator 

 will require. It will take eight gallons of oil to the hatch with 

 a 200-egg incubator, which, at 15 cents per gallon, will amount 

 to $1.20. It will take half a pint of com per day to properly 

 feed a sitting hen. For six- 

 teen hens, four quarts per 

 day would be required. Four 

 quarts per day for twenty- 

 one days would amount to 

 eighty-four quarts. With 

 com at 64 cents per bushel 

 (two cents per quart), the 

 cost of feeding sixteen hens 

 for twenty-one days would 

 amount to $1 . 68. It costs 

 less to heat the incubator 

 than to feed the hens. By 

 having the incubator • thor- 

 oughly disinfected before the 

 eggs are put in we avoid the 

 worry and trouble of lice 

 and mites. 



WHY MANY PEOPLE FAIL WITH 

 INCUBATORS 



A great many people 

 have an idea that all that is 

 necessary is to get an incu- 

 bator, put the eggs in, heat it 



up and let it alone. The advertisements of manufacturers of 

 incubators are somewhat responsible for this. A certain 

 amount of attention at the proper time is absolutely necessary. 



A man will become interested in an incubator and will buy 

 one. When it comes his hens are not laying much. He wants 

 to start it up at once, so he goes out to get the required number 

 of eggs. He gets all he can from his friends and gets the balance 

 from the store, no matter what sort of weather they have been 

 through nor how long they have been kept, no matter what 

 sort of hens laid them nor what sort of care the hens had. All 

 he is looking for is eggs. He puts his , incubator anywhere, 

 where it will be out of the way and starts it up. He hatches 

 about ten per cent of sickly chicks, and then says that the in- 

 cubator is worthless and throws it into a shed and givej it up. 



THE PLACE TO RUN AN INCUBATOR 



The proper place to run an incubator is in a room or cellar 



40— ACTIVE, HEALTHY CHICKENS 



where the temperature is not variable. The greatest trouble 

 with a cellar is too much moisture. No matter if the temper- 

 ature in the room is high or low, so it is not subjected to sudden 

 changes. A brick cellar where it is not too moist is the best 

 place. By having a story above, the room is not affected by 

 the heat from the sun and the thick brick walls do not cool off 

 as quickly when it is very cold outside. A great deal of trouble 

 can be avoided by having the incubator in a room of this sort. 

 The room should be well ventilated so as to have a constant 

 circulation of pure air. Do not run the incubator in a draught. 



THE KIND OF EGGS TO HAVE 



A great deal depends upon the kind of eggs you have to put 

 in an incubator (or under a hen). The eggs should be fresh 

 and from good healthy, vigorous stock. As the eggs are 



gathered day by day they 

 should be kept where they 

 will not get too cold or too 

 warm. Select eggs as near 

 even size and color as pos- 

 sible. The eggs should be 

 turned once a day to keep 

 the yolk suspended in the 

 center. It is best not to 

 keep eggs more than two 

 weeks. The fresher they 

 are the better. 



CARE OF INCUBATORS 



The incubator should be 

 started up several days be- 

 fore the eggs are put in. 

 Heat slowly and gradually 

 turn up the flame. Watch 

 it constantly, and when the 

 thermometer registers 103, 

 screw the nut on the con- 

 necting rod until the cap 

 over the lamp is raised about 

 one-eighth of an inch. It is important to know that the reg- 

 ulator is working all right before the eggs are put in. After 

 the temperature is regulated, put in the eggs and close the 

 doors, and do not open them for forty-eight hours. It takes 

 the eggs from thirty-six to forty-eight hours to get warmed 

 through, so do not be surprised to find that the thermometer 

 does not register 103 right off. Just keep the flame as you 

 had it before the eggs were put in. 



The lamp should be filled and cleaned and the wick trimmed 

 every night. This insures a good steady flame through the 

 night. 



After the eggs have been in the incubator forty-eight hours, 

 they should be taken out and turned twice every day. It is 

 not necessary to turn them completely over each time, but just 

 enough to keep the yolks from settHng to one side. 



On the seventh day the eggs should be tested and the infer- 

 tile ones taken out. This is done by inclosing a lamp in a box. 



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