, CHICKS FROM DYING IN THE SHELL 7 



remove all that is not fertile. You can keep a more even temperature if all 

 the infertile eggs and those that have dead chicks in are removed. Eggs 

 that have a live chick in them are as black as night on the sixteenth day. 

 Those that have dark and light spots in them are eggs that have started, 

 then died, the death being caused by too high a temperature some time 

 during the hatch, or perhaps a weak germ that would not have lived had 

 it come to maturity. These eggs should all be removed. It is more diffi- 

 cult to keep the proper temperature in the egg chamber if there are many 

 bad eggs in your machine. Do not hold the eggs too close to the lamp while 

 testing, as you will injure them. You will find eggs which you are 

 doubtful about. These you should mark and in a few days examine them 

 again. If you smell a foul odor in your machine hunt till you find the bad 

 eggs. The quicker they are removed the better, for a spoiled egg may 

 injure the hatch. Some Incubator Companies will tell you to test your 

 eggs three times. This is unnecessary. Twice is sufficient. When I have 

 a great deal to do I sometimes get mine tested but once, but it is better to 

 test twice. You will get better results if all eggs with dead chicks in are 

 removed. 



Never add eggs at different times. Put them all in at once. If you 

 haven't enough to fill your machine wait a few days, for it will take more 

 oil to hatch a few than an incubator full. The more eggs you have in the 

 machine, the more animal heat you will have, consequently it will take 

 less oil. The more fertile eggs you have in your incubator, the easier to 

 keep the desired temperature. 



How to Start Your Incubators 



SET up your incubator according to the directions you receive with it. 

 Place incubator in a bedroom or dry cellar; it should not be in a 

 room where there is a fire unless the fire is kept up all the time. It 

 should be in a room or cellar where the thermometer will not register lower 

 than fifty degrees, and where the temperature can be kept as even as pos- 

 sible. Never try to operate an incubator in an outbuilding in freezing 

 weather. It would be all right in summer time if there was no draught 

 and it could be well ventilated and kept dry, but the better the room is 

 adapted to this purpose the less attention the incubator demands and the 

 better the results will be. 



If your machine is a hot water one it must sit perfectly level in order 

 to get the proper circulation through the heating pipes. It should not be 

 set by guess, but you should use a spirit level. Now put on your regulator 

 according to directions. Fill your boiler or pipes with boiling water. It 

 would take too long to heat up the egg chambers if cold water was used, 



