September, 1913 



is to allow th« birds to sit about 

 thret- weeks on the co;ps, then 

 hriuj;^ tliem to an incubator, where 

 thev can be finish<^d ofi equallv as 

 well as though the birds were sit- 

 tinjj on the nest ; tliris the birds 

 do not g'et run down by a lonp,- 

 sittiufj of six weeks, and scx)u set 

 about jjcttinir another nest ready. 



— Artificial Incubation. — 



iMueh has been written and said 

 regardinj^ artificial incubation from 

 lime to time. This is not g^ner- 

 allv practised by ostrich farmers in 

 South Africa, as thev much prefer 

 to leave it to the birds. It is in 

 the early period, durintr incubation, 

 that the greatest risk is run. Vari- 

 ations of temperature, too m,nch 

 or insufficient ventilation, and 

 moisture, all play their part on 

 the health of the embryo, which is 

 is but a few hours or day old in- 

 si'de the shell. The temperature 

 can be measured, but the other ele- 

 ments — ventilation and moisture — 

 are not so easy to control. Atmos- 

 pheric disturbances also have an in- 

 lluence som.ewhat difficult to de- 

 fine. If the chicks can be given a 

 good start, the hatch will most 

 probably be a success. 



To the breeder of ostrichs an in- 

 cubator is ' an article which cannot 

 well be dispensed Avith, as some- 

 times with young breeding birds 

 the cock will occasionally refuse 

 to sit, and if no incubato'r be at 

 hand the nest of eggs wUl be use- 

 less. Sometimes, during severe 

 weather, birds, when sitting on 

 nests located in low-lying ground, 

 will get swamped, and the eggs 

 should be removed to an incubator. 

 Bv the ,use of the machine, as com- 

 pared with the natural process, a 

 greater number of eggs can be ob- 

 tained by takitig them awaj' as 



soon as they are laid, and keeping 

 three or four dummies in their 

 place. Thev will sometimes lay as 

 many as forty eg^js without stop- 

 ping, then commence sitting. It is 

 not advisable to force the birds 

 laying in this nvanner too much, 

 as weaklv chicks will be the result. 

 A far better plan is to let the birds 

 lav a nest of eggs, and allow, them 

 to sit on them for throe 'weeks, 

 then ]ilace them in the inciil>ators. 

 Ostrich eggs will hatch out at vari- 

 ous temperatures ; the minimum I 

 have known to hatch out at is 98 

 degrees, and the maximum 103 de- 

 grees. The best result's I have ob- 

 tained liave been from hatches that 

 were started at 98 degrees, and in- 

 creased at the rate of i degree 

 every six days, until a maximum 

 of loi is reached, and maintain 

 that temperature until the hatch 

 is completed. The eggs .should be 

 turned twice a day, night and 

 morning, and ventilated for five 

 minutes in the first three weeks, 

 and for tei;i minutes in the second 

 half of the incubating period. The 

 progress of incubation can always 

 be ascertained bv holJing the egg 

 against a strong light in a darken- 

 ed 'room. At aboivt nine days a 

 dark spot will be noticed, and this 

 \vill gradualh' extend until about 

 the twentieth dav the egg 1 becomes 

 perfectly opaque, with the excep- 

 tion of the air space at .cine end. 

 When properly incubated the air- 

 space should be clearlv, defined by 

 a dense, perfectly opaque outline. 

 If semi-transparent below the line 

 the egg is not likely to be good. 

 A day or two before hatching, 

 that is about tbe thirty-ninth day, 

 the chicT< will be observed to fall' 

 in the .shell, the air-space, becoming 

 considerably enlaTged. It will soon 

 rise again until the egg is quite 

 full. When at this stage it shoi'ild 



f 1 10/= Housewives Chance f 1 10/= 



For the lum ot £,1 lOs we will deliver to Adelaide Railway Station the foUowinE goods, 

 carefully packed. if jou watit them put on board boat, please add 1/- extra. Goods of equal 

 value not mentioned in thia list may be substituted in place of any of the smaller lines. If the 

 goods are to be booked to a prepaid station or s-lding-, it will prevent delay if you add what you 

 ihink will be the cost of freight. 



One Bag Be-t White Sugar, 501b. GROSS WEIGHT at Id. PER LB. . . 

 Two Tins New Season's Jam. 4 lbs. for . . 



Four lib. Tins Australian Meats 001 

 Four large size Tins Miller's Peerless Shoe Blacking for 

 Two Bottles Leggo'B Celebrated Bendigo Tomato Sauce for . . 

 One Tin Kruse's Insecticide 



Two Bottles McLintock's Madras Pickles .. .. ' 



One Bottle Hire's American Root Beer for 

 One Tin Alkali, for scrubbing and cleansing, 6d. size 



One Nice Sponge, worth 6d. .. .. - .. 



Bottle Mason's Ciderine 

 One Dozen Bett Satetv Matches 



One 101b. and one 51b Tin, gross weight, 2/- quality Tea, reduced to buyers of this 

 parcel for 



£0 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



TOWN AND COUNTRY STORES, LIMiTED, 



1 2 C 



£1 10 

 286. 288, 290 

 RUNDLE STREET EAST. 



F. A. WILSON, Managing Director. 



be marked ; and if in twenty-four 

 hours the cliick has not broken tlic 

 shell, it should be released by 

 cracking it at the air-space end and 

 breaking away some ot the shell. 



— Rearing the Chicks. — 

 When hatciicd in au uicubator, 

 remote ail ijroiven shells and leave 

 the chicKs in the drawer until uext 

 day, wnen tliey snoiud put out in 

 the suusliine, unless it is ve»ry litjt, 

 m which case tiie sliade wouiu, be 

 better. A small sp.ace snoiald be 

 enclosed with boarus to iveejj them 

 from roaming auoat, ana plcncy ot 

 gravel supplied them, so tuat they 

 may peciv at a little oi it. Keturn 

 them to the inetioator at nignt 

 for the lirst weeK. Alter that place 

 them in a box with an empty sacK, 

 at the bottom, anu ^^lacc auotuer 

 sacK over tHe top of the box, leav- 

 ing a small opening as access icr 

 iresn.air. Un the lourth day they 

 will begin eating any ^recu 

 food, sLich as lucerne, rape, cab- 

 bage, etc., and will require a pieu- 

 tilul supply of boncs crusncd small. 

 If the weather is wet or very cold 

 they should be Kept , in a light 

 room. Alter the iirst wee^i Luey 

 can be taken out by a boy, where 

 there is auy picking of the nati^rai 

 herbage,, and if this is plentilul 

 they will require no artihcial feed- 

 ing. A little gram such as barley, 

 wheat, or crusned maize may be 

 benelicial if fed to them when 

 ^brought in of an evenmg. Alter 

 the hrst month they can be housed 

 in a warm shed, and at three 

 months old left out in the pad- 

 dock, unless the weather be wet 

 and cold, when they should be put 

 in the shed at night. 



Young ostriches hatched in the 

 natural way are sometimes le.t 

 with the parent birds. This prac- 

 tice has httle to commend it, as 

 the birds when grown up are much 

 harder to handle than birds that 

 are taken away and artihcially 

 reared. 



The age of the birds can be de- 

 termined as follows : — At seven, 

 months old the lirst crop of feath- 

 ers will be quite ripe— that is, the 

 drab feathers can be pulled out 

 without bleeding, and, the long 

 white or quill feathers can be cut. 

 At twelve months the second crop 

 of feathers will be well forward, and 

 some of the cocks begin to get 

 their black plumage, and show 

 white on the front of the legs and 

 along the edge of . the beak. At two 

 years old the cocks will be quite 

 black, none of the narrow-pointed 

 chicken feathers being visible ex- 

 cept where the neck joins the body; 

 the hens will similarly have lost 

 all their chicken feathers, which 

 will be replaced by drab. 



