HATCHING THE CHICKS 71 



shining brightly, it is only necessary to darken the 

 room and hold the eggs over this hole in order to 

 test them. If a black curtain fastened to the board 

 is dropped over the head, it is not even necessary to 

 have the room dark. 



Eggs are often pipped on the twentieth day and 

 the chicks should be out by the end of the twenty- 

 first day. However, a hatch is delayed or pro- 

 longed if the temperature has been low, just as it 

 may be hastened by running the temperature high. 

 It is a normal hatch when all the chicks appear 

 within a few hours and at the proper time. 



It is well to restrain one's impatience and keep the 

 door of the incubator closed while the hatch is going 

 on, except that near the end some of the shells may 

 be removed. The natural heat of the chicks is 

 likely to send the thermometer up near the close of 

 the hatch and the temperature must be regulated ac- 

 cordingly. It is not wise to remove the chicks until 

 they are well dried, for they will not need food for 

 several hours and are better off in the machine, if 

 the latter is not allowed to get too hot. Hatching 

 a lot of chickens in an incubator is always an in- 

 teresting experience, for the whole process is one of 

 the most wonderful of Nature's mysteries. 



