PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



setting one on each nest box as the hatch comes due. Only 

 a few of these will be needed as only a few hens are usually 

 set at one time. The building described above is very useful 

 in many ways, providing a place for fattening market fowls 

 and for conditioning birds for the show. 



The feed kept before sitting hens consists of equal parts 

 of shelled corn, whole wheat and hulled oats. Water is pro- 

 vided in cups and the feed in small boxes upon the walls. The 

 third method is by a large room with nests around the walls. 

 The hens are confined on the nests and allowed to come off 

 for feeding once a day. A second visit is necessary to see 

 that the hens get back on the nests in good shape. When the 

 chicks hatch, as many as 25 can be given to a single hen. The 

 remaining hens are returned to the laying house as it is not 

 best to set them a second time. Chicks from special matings 

 should be toe-marked or leg-banded so as to preserve their 

 identity. See toe-mark chart on page 162. 



Artificial Incubation 



For the commercial plant or the breeder who handles the 

 heavy meat breeds or the non-sitting Mediterranean breeds, 

 artificial incubation is almost a necessity. The incubator is 

 his boon. 



There are mammoth incubators, accommodating as many as 

 600,000 eggs, and baby incubators, designed for only 50 eggs. 

 There are hot water machines and hot air machines. Some 

 are heated by coal stoves, others by oil burners, gas, or elec- 

 tricity. As to whether hot water or hot air produces the best 

 chicks, opinion is divided. A hot air machine with adequate 

 provision for moisture seems to have the preference. An in- 

 cubator, to have any consideration at all, should provide for 

 the three conditions of successful incubation, viz., heat, moist- 

 ure and ventilation. The incubator that fulfills these condi- 

 tions in the same degree as the mother hen is the one for 

 which poultry keepers everywhere are searching. For the 

 average farm, the incubator that approaches nearest to the 

 above requirements is the one to purchase. 



It is a safe rule to follow explicitly the directions of the 

 manufacturer in setting up, regulating, and operating the 

 machine. 



The following rules are of general application and ma\- be 

 helpful : 



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