NATURAL INCUBATION 67 



early as the fourth or fifth day. The removal of the infertile eggs 

 gives those that are left a better chance of hatching. The infertile 

 eggs or dead germs are colder than the living eggs and chill the lat- 

 ter ; besides, the infertile egg has a market value and can be used in 

 the kitchen or fed to the chicks. It is a waste to throw them away. 

 Testing should not be neglected. There is no use in hens sitting 

 on eggs that will not hatch. They had better be reset on fresh eggs 

 or returned to the laying pen. 



Egg testers can be bought at the poultry supply houses, but a 

 home-made egg tester I have used for years is only a box with the 

 back knocked out and a hole in the top for ventilation. I put the 

 lantern into it. Just opposite to the flame a hole about two inches 

 square is cut in the box and a piece of a rubber boot-leg tacked on. 

 T drew a pencil line around a fifty-cent piece and cut that out with 

 a pen knife, leaving the round hole for the light to shine through. 



The testing must be done in the dark. Set the egg tester with 

 the lantern inside it on a box near the nest. Take the hen quietly 

 off the nest, being careful to put your hands under her wings to 

 make sure that you do not lift an egg or two with her. Place the 

 hen very gently on the floor at one side. Do this so gently that the 

 hen will not realize that she is off the nest. Take all the eggs from 

 the nest, placing them either on the floor or in a basket ; examine 

 each egg and replace each fertile egg in the nest as you examine it ; 

 mark on the record card the number of infertile eggs, and gently 

 replace the hen on the nest. Should any hen awake and appear 

 nervous, she can be put upon the nest and the eggs slipped one at 

 a time under her as they are tested, but the former plan is prefer- 

 able, being more quickly done, with less disturbance to the hen. 



The light shining through the egg, when held against the hole 

 in the tester, shows the condition of the egg. Infertile eggs are 

 clear. Fertile eggs have a shadow in them by the seventh day. 

 The germ appears in some like a dark, irregular floating spot. 

 Doubtful eggs should be marked with a D and given the benefit 

 of the doubt, replacing them in the nest. 



After taking out the infertile eggs, if there are many of them, 

 you can reset the hens that have none or turn them back into the 

 laying pen, culling out the fractious or nervous hens. By doing this 

 carefully at each test, you will probably have good mothers when 

 hatching time comes. Restless sitters usually make indifferent 

 mothers. Close observation is necessary for success in all lines of 

 poultry culture, and especially with setting hens. 



The second test should be made in the same way on the four- 

 teenth day. The eggs containing dead germs should be buried. 



Dusting the Hen 



A hen should be well dusted with insecticide the day she is set. 

 To dust a hen the powder should be in a tin box with a perforated 

 cover. An effective home-made peppering box can be made from a 

 baking powder can with holes in the lid. Hold the hen by the legs, 

 lay her on her side on a newspaper, raise the wing and sprinkle un- 



