272 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



already hatched, in preference to going to the trouble of incubat- 

 ing their own eggs, it was likely that people in other communities 

 would want to buy them for the same reasons. 



Forthwith this poultryman increased his incubator capacity, 

 and for the remainder of the season he found a ready sale for all 

 the chicks he could hatch. The following year he added more 

 incubators, and to be sure of a sale for his increased output, the 

 poultryman inserted a small advertisement in a local paper. 

 The notice was to the effect that he had little chicks for sale, 

 and that he would deliver or ship them when one day old. Orders 

 came in thick and fast, and in a comparatively short time the 

 season's output was sold or reserved. 



The next year this progressive poultryman's incubator ca- 

 pacity was trebled, also he did more advertising. He sold out 

 again. Most of the buyers to whom he sold the first season 

 wanted more and more chicks. They were satisfied customers 

 and told their friends about the scheme. Whereas the first 

 year's chicks were sold to farmers living in nearby sections, now 

 orders began to come in from more distant points and from other 

 states. The poultryman soon found that he had more business 

 than he could possibly handle. 



Idea Spreads. — Then it was that others engaged in the enter- 

 prise, until the baby chick industry quickly spread throughout 

 the entire country. In less than five years hatcheries were dotted 

 in almost every state from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific, 

 and almost all reported a thriving business. 



To-day the chick industry has assumed operations on a gigantic 

 scale. It has capital invested in plants and equipment running 

 into millions of dollars. Millions of chicks are produced each 

 year, and the demand is constantly growing. In the opinion of 

 many, the business is still in its infancy. 



Capacities of Hatcheries. — Apparently the size of a hatchery 

 has no limitation. There is one in Ohio which has an incubator 

 capacity of over 600,000 eggs — about forty tons of eggs — at 

 each hatching. See Fig. 174. During the spring of 191 7 this 

 establishment produced 1,500,000 chicks. Numerous other 



