PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 

 Conserving the Fertile Egg 



1. Gather the eggs twice daily. Do not jar or crack them. 

 The vitelline membrane is very delicate and is easily ruptured. 



2. Keep eggs in a room free from drafts, dampness or bad 

 odors. The room temperature should be 60 degrees, not less 

 than 55 degrees nor more than 65 degrees. At 70 degrees an 

 egg incubates. 



3. Turn the eggs daily. If they are kept in a 12-dozen 

 case they can be turned by shifting the case to the opposite 

 side. If kept in cabinet dravifers w^ith sliding frames, several 

 dozen can be turned with one motion. 



4. Eggs received by express or parcel post should be al- 

 lowed to rest for twelve hours to allow the egg structures to 

 be properly composed. 



5. Do not keep eggs for hatching longer than 10 days if 

 it can be avoided. From this date on the hatchability of eggs 

 vanishes very rapidly. 



6. Do not wash eggs. After washing they deteriorate rap- 

 idly. If they are only slightly soiled the soiled spots can be 

 removed with a damp cloth without wetting the whole egg. 



7. Number each egg on the large end according to the pen 

 from which it was obtained. In case of trapnesting and ped- 

 igree breeding the number of the leg-band should also be 

 marked. 



8. It is a good plan to test all eggs for specific gravity, using 

 only those for setting that have dense contents. 



9. It will pay to test all eggs with a lamp tester. This will 

 detect any with thin shells and with cracks, or dents, or con- 

 taining blood spots, or with yolks adhering to the shell. It 

 will also detect eggs with broken vitelline membrane, in which 

 the yolk becomes fused with the other contents of the egg. 



A home made egg-tester will answer all purposes. Using 

 half inch lumber make a box six inches square and twelve 

 inches high. On one side opposite the lamp flame make a hole 

 two inches in diameter. Cover this hole with a piece of 

 leather and in the center make a hole one inch in diameter, 

 If a mirror is placed opposite this hole it will reflect the light 

 through the egg. The top should be covered with tin con- 

 taining an aperture about three inches in diameter to allow 

 the escape of fumes from the lamp. A picture of such a tester 

 will be found on page 64. 



[138] , 



