186 



POULTRY PRODUCTION 



as soon as possible, they should be confined in a coop that 

 offers no opportunity for nesting. The broody coop shown in 

 Fig. 118, having a slatted bottom, is useful for this purpose. 

 During the time that the birds are confined they should be 

 well fed and cared for, so that they will soon be in laying 

 trim. For all but the heaviest breeds a few days of confine- 

 ment on a bare floor with no nesting material will be sufficient 

 to overcome the desire for setting. The starvation and other 

 mistreatments sometimes recommended are not only in- 

 human, but are also bad practice from the standpoint of 

 production. 



Fig. 90 



Ancient Egyptian hatchery. 



History of Artificial Incubation. — ^The hatching of chicks 

 by artificial means has been practised by the Chinese and 

 Egyptians since centuries before Christ. In Egypt, tradition 

 credits the invention to the ancient priests of the Temple of 

 Isis. The methods used from the earliest times are still in 

 use. 



The first account of these methods is given in The Voiage 

 and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville, Kt., written before 

 1356 A.D. A Frenchman, Reaumur, in a treatise on The 

 Art of Hatching and Bringing up Domestic Fowls, published 

 in 1750, gives a detailed description of the Egyptian incuba- 

 tory, which tallies quite closely with that of the United 

 States Consul-General Cardwell, of Cairo, made in 1890. 



