PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



A good hatch - 



pipped the chick remains quiet for six to ten hours and then 

 -begins the work of extricating itself in earnest. The body 

 of the chick is turned in the shell, the membrane enclosing the 

 chick turning with it. As it turns, the shell is pipped until 

 a circular cut is made around the egg. The remaining process 

 is chiefly muscular. By pushing with its feet in one direction 

 and with its shoulders in the opposite direction the two parts 

 of the shell are separated, and the chick emerges into the outer 

 world. 



Kind of Incubation 



There are two kinds of incubation — natural and artificial. 

 Natural incubation is accomplished by natural means, artificial 

 by human devices. Which is to be preferred? It is not un- 

 common to hear the following statement : "During the present 

 season I have had poor success. All my chicks were hatched 

 with an incubator. I have lost nearly all of them. Last season 

 I hatched with hens and lost very few." 



Two things must be noted, first, that without any doubt 

 a hen hatches a better chick than an incubator and, second, 

 that we must not blame the incubator for all the losses among 

 chicks. If the cause was sifted out it would undoubtedly be 

 found that the losses were due to faulty brooding rather than 

 to imperfect incubation. The art of brooding, notwithstanding 

 all modern improvements, is a long road from perfection. 



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