RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



Be Sure and Follow Instructions. 



Another fertile source of trouble is removing ducklings 

 from machine, putting them behind -the stove, or somewhere 

 else to dry off. For every fifteen birds removed, the heat in 

 egg-chamber is reduced at least one degree, as you are remov- 

 ing so many little stoves, and if the machine is not gauged 

 higher, to correspond with the number of ducklings taken out, 

 the result will be fatal to the unhatched eggs. 



I corresponded a whole summer wih one man on this 

 very point before I found out what he was doing. He said 

 he had never been able -to get out more than fifty per cent, of 

 fertile eggs. His machine ran splendidly until his chicks were 

 about half hatched, when it would drop down to 90 degrees, 

 and the rest would die in the shell, after they were nearly all 

 pipped. At last a letter came from him stating that he had 

 just had a worse experience than ever. He had a most prom- 

 ising hatch of three hundred fertile eggs, nearly all of which 

 were pipped, and that, after a little more than half were hatch- 

 ed, he took them out as usual, about one hundred and fifty 

 in number, and put them behind the stove to dry off, and his 

 machine dropped to 90 degrees at once, and not another chick 

 came out. The cat was out of the bag. 



I wrote at once that for every fifteen chicks he had taken 

 out he had taken one degree of heat from his machine, and 

 had he followed instructions he would not have suffered loss. 

 He wrote back that he had shut up his machine for the sea- 

 son, but that he should run it one more hatch just to prove 

 that I was wrong. At the end of three weeks a letter was re- 

 ceived saying, "I tender you my hat. I got a splendid hatch 

 of 88y2 per cent." Proving that occasionally there is danger 

 of the operator knowing too much. After the ducklings are 

 all out, the egg-tray should be removed, the valves opened, 

 and the machine cooled down to 90 degrees, and the birds al- 

 lowed to remain in the machine for at least twenty-four hours. 

 I always covered the bottom of machine with an inch of fine 

 wheat-bran, otherwise the ducklings would soon make it filthy 

 and offensive. This acts both as absorbent and disinfectant. 



After each hatch there will be more or less fertile eggs 

 left in the trays with dead ducklings in them. There will be, 

 comparatively, but few of these in the spring of the year, but 

 during the latter part of the summer there will be more of 

 them, and many of the eggs will have but little vitality in them. 



Forcing the Bird Reduces the Vitality of the Egg. 



The reason is this : the bird in its natural condition does 

 not produce her eggs in our climate until April. She will lay 



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