THE CHICK BOOK 



9 



blame for it! And the disease germs also are easily prevent- 

 able; cleanliness and diSdnfectlng will down them and keep 

 them down; hence any one who allows them to breed in his 

 incubators and brooders and pounce upon his baby chicks 

 has only himself to blame for it. 



Getting Good, Hatchable Eggg. 



Another difficulty to overcome in hatching fall and 

 winter chickens is getting good, batohable eggs, but practi- 

 cal market poultry raisers overcome this diffculty, as is 

 proved by the fact that they hatch and raise fall and winter 

 ■chickens. Eggs of all kinds are very scarce in the fall and 

 early winter, and to get good, full-bodied eggs, eggs that 

 will produce a fair proportion of strong, healthy chicks, is 

 the problem. If pullets have now begun to lay, their eggs 

 are rather small in size, and, as, a rule, if they are used 

 tor hatching the chicks one gets are likely to be small and 

 weak. Eggs from mature hehs are the beat, but they are 

 mostly just recovering from the molt and lay few, if any, 

 •eggs. Hens can be induced to molt in summer and be 

 wholly recovered from it and in fall lay again by October 

 if handled for that object, and if one has eggs from such 

 liens of his own, or can get a supply from farmer neighbors, 

 he is fortunate and can hatch winter chicks. 



There is great difference in eggs, and marketmen speak 

 ■of the best as being "full-bodied and strong;" others are 

 -classed as "weak and watery." It is only the best "full- 



bodied and strong" eggs that will hatch strong, vigorous 

 chicks; it is well known that eggs which are weak and 

 watery cannot produce strong chicks. The food and bodily 

 condition of the fowls control the quality of thu eggs, hence 

 the hatchabllity of the eggs is largely in the control of the 

 manager of the fowls. The West Virginia Bxperiment Sta- 

 tion has recently reported some tests of "mash feeding com- 

 pared with whole grain, and heavy feeding compared with 

 light feeding as affecting the number of eggs laid and their 

 hatchabllity;" also, "beef scraps, ground fresh meat and 

 bone, and milk albumen as affecting the hatchabllity of 

 eggs." The conclusion of the first series of experiments 

 says: "It is seen that the eggs from the fowls fed liberally 

 hatched better than those from the fowls fed scantily;" 

 also, "The results from these two tests should be construed 

 as indicating that when the conditions are favorable for 

 normal egg production, then the eggs will hatch better than 

 when the conditions are unfavorable." It is Quite possible- 

 that the above tells us nothing new, but it is a restatement 

 of an important tr'.ith which we need to have frequently 

 put up to us. The liberal feeding- is Important, but the 

 good care, right sanitary conditions, fresh air and sufficient 

 exercise for good health are equally important factors for 

 the production of good, hatchabl'3 eggs, of eggs that are 

 "full, strong bodied," well sheller!, and ail fight in every 

 way. A. F. HUNTER. 



THE ENVIRONMENT FOR INCUBATORS. 



Fresh Air and Sunlight are as Essential for the Processes of Incubation as the Correct Degree of Heat. 



By H. A, Nourse. 



THERE is no question but we have good incubators- 

 machines that will do their part if the operator will 

 provide proper environments, give tliem necessary 

 care and furnish good eggs. The fact that any 

 hatch at all is secured where the operators are careless of 

 everything but the machine itself, is a telling recommenda- 

 tion of the present day hatchers. 



Aside from the proper control of heat in the machine, 

 nothing is of greater importance than a favorable condition 

 of the surrounding air. Oxygen is a necessary factor in 

 success and must be provided. To shut an incubator in a 

 small, dark room where to confine the heat every door and 

 window is shut tightly, or to place it in a dark, musty cellar, 

 where but little fresh air enters from autumn to spring, is 

 to deprive yourself of its benefits. 



Sunlight is one of the best air purifiers and germ de- 

 stroyers, but should not be allowed to shine through the 

 glass doors of the machine. For this reason few cellars are 

 fit for incubator rooms; yet, when one has ventilation suffi- 

 cient to keep the air pure at all times and windows above 

 ground through which the sunlight may shine, it is the very 

 best location for a machine, because the temperature will be 

 less variable than in a room or building that is wholly 

 above ground. In the absence of these conditions an ordi- 

 nary room in a dwelling, without heat, will be found best 

 adapted to the requirements of those who do not need or 

 cannot afford a building especially for this purpose. 



Ventilation may be secured and controlled by dropping 

 the windows at the top and raising them at the bottom, pre- 



venting a draught in severe or rough weather by inserting 

 cloth-covered frames in the open spaces. By having these 

 frames in two or three sizes and one or more windows the 

 situation may be thoroughly mastered. 



It is a fact that small buildings designed for the pur- 

 pose do not, as a rule, provide the favorable conditions de- 

 scribed, therefore are not very satisfactory. Of those above 

 ground few are well enough built to protect the machines in 

 severe weather without closing every source of fresh air, 

 in which case that confined in the building, usually of small 

 contents, is soon impoverished by the lamps, which abstract 

 the oxygen, leaving unhealthy gases in its place. Houses 

 partly or wholly below ground to the eaves almost invari- 

 ably lack sufficient ventilation, because it is more difficult 

 to introduce fresh air. The best room of this kind is one hav- 

 ing a building above to temper the heat in summer and the 

 cold in winter; walls extending five feet below the ground, 

 and two feet above; one-fifth of this exposed area of walls 

 being of glass. Good ventilation necessitates a constant 

 changing of the air by bringing in fresh air from without 

 the building and removing the air which has become laden 

 with impurities. To accomplish this, fresh air must be in- 

 troduced near the ceiling of the room, preferably through a 

 cloth diaphram, and the foul air drawn out from near the 

 fioor by means of tubes extending from within one foot 

 thereof, up through the highest point in the roof of the 

 building. In. this manner the room may be freed from 

 all gases without the aid of direct draughts and the chicks 

 will be strong and healthy, if other conditions are favorable 



H. A. NOURSE. 



