PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



1. Set the machine in a cellar, where an even temperature 

 can be maintained, or in a room with a firm floor, where the 

 air is pure and the temperature about 60 degrees. 



2. Make sure that the machine is level. If not, the high 

 corner will be hotter than the low corner, resulting in an un- 

 even hatch. 



3. Do not put the eggs in the machine until it has been 

 regulated so at to run at an even temperature of not less than 

 102 degrees. 



4. If the machine has been used before, give it a thorough 

 cleansing and disinfection. A weak solution of creolin in hot 

 water makes a good disinfectant. Every surface of the in- 

 terior of the machine should be treated, for the germs of 

 coccidial and white diarrhea often lurk in the incubator and 

 infect the whole brood at,hatching time. If there are nurseries 

 lined with burlap, new material should be used, and all trays 

 should be carefully disinfected. 



5. Keep the temperature at 103 degrees during the first two 

 weeks. During the third week the temperature should be 

 104 degrees, except that during the period of hatching no harm 

 will come if the temperature reaches 105 degrees. Remember 

 that, the temperature cannot go below 90 degrees or above 107 

 degrees without seriously injuring the quality of the chicks 

 that may hatch. 



6. About the fourteenth day look for a sudden rise in tem- 

 perature. This is due to the animal heat generated by the de- 

 veloping embryos. It amounts to several degrees, ranging 

 from 4 degrees to 10 degrees. Unless the machine is watched 

 at this time and regulated so as to make allowance for this 

 natural increase, the hatch may be injured. Temperature can 

 be regulated by the size of the flame and by adjusting the 

 thermostat. 



7. Begin turning the eggs on the third day and turn twice 

 a day until the 18th day. Turning is accomplished by remov- 

 ing some of the eggs and shuffling gently. Do not turn eggs 

 after the eighteenth day. 



8. At the end of the 18th day close the machine and keep it 

 closed until the hatch is completed. Watch the hen. She sits 

 close while the chicks are hatching. When the hatch is com- 

 pleted, remove the tray and put the chicks in the nursery. 

 This will be about the end of the 21st day. 



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