5io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 31 
Live Stock Matters 
WHAT AILS THE WOODEN HEN? 
THE FEATHERED BIRD BEATS HER. 
Our experience with the incubator this past 
season has not been entirely successful. A num¬ 
ber of chicks die in the shell after about two 
weeks’ incubation; some pick the shell and die, 
and a few live feebly along for a day or two and 
then die. When testing out at the fifth day, we 
cannot find as many fertile eggs as we can find 
under the hens at the same time, when the eggs 
are taken from the same pens. Will you be kind 
enough to tell us what are the probable causes 
for these results V In your opinion, should the 
ventilation in the incubator be above or below 
the eggs? Will you give, in a few words, what 
you have found to be the most important things 
connected with running an incubator ? 
Mr. Wyckoff Has Good Results. 
My experience lias been to find fully 
as large a per cent of fertile eggs in the 
incubator as under hens, the eggs all 
being from the same breeding pens. I 
am of the opinion that air should enter 
the incubator above the egg trays, and 
pass down through them on its way out. 
I aim to run my machines as near 103 
degrees as possible all through the hatch, 
cool the eggs after the second day, from 
10 minutes to an hour according to the 
temperature of the room, and the length 
of time they have been in the machine, 
never allowing them to go below 85 de¬ 
grees, and dry the eggs down so that the 
air cell corresponds in size to those un¬ 
der hens set at the same time in a fairly 
dry situation. I very seldom have occa¬ 
sion to use any water in the moisture 
pans, and have used none at all this 
season. 
The Greatest of These Is “Moisture.” 
There are vastly more theories than 
well-established facts about incubation. 
You will discover that it is quite as 
much an art as it is a science. Though 
I have had some good hatches, I doubt 
whether we have yet a man and an in¬ 
cubator that can do as perfect hatching 
as a good hen. Nevertheless, from the 
fact that we can hatch so many eggs at 
once with so little care, the incubator 
has come to stay and is a success. It is 
difficult to draw safe conclusions as to 
the failure of any hatch, because so 
many factors are to be taken into ac¬ 
count : First, the temperature ; second, 
moisture ; third, airing; fourth, turn¬ 
ing ; fifth, strength of the germ, any 
one of which may have been responsible. 
I believe that moisture has more to do 
with poor hatches than any one other 
factor, or all others combined, and it is 
the one that varies most from day to 
day with climatic conditions, and the 
one most difficult to determine and regu¬ 
late. I believe that we should seek not 
to evaporate the egg down to a certain 
amount, but rather that the air be of 
such a condition of humidity that evap¬ 
oration does not take place to any ex¬ 
tent. My best hatches have nearly al¬ 
ways been in a rather damp cellar. It 
is my notion that the oil from the hen’s 
body, and the exudations from the egg 
naturally fill the pores and check evap¬ 
oration, while chemical action of the 
growing chick uses the water of the egg. 
You very likely have observed the vel¬ 
vety gloss of eggs that contain strong 
chicks. My only guide in regulating 
moisture is to feel the air when I open 
the incubator doors. It should have a 
warm, humid touch and a live smell. 
With some seasons, especially early in 
the spring, hardly any water is used in 
the machines until the last days, while 
later on, in a dry time, all the pans nearly 
are used, especially in a dry, variable 
place. We have always had the best re¬ 
sults when we kept the temperature 
nearly constant at 103 degrees through¬ 
out, being very careful not to overheat 
at any time, and not to let the tempera¬ 
ture fall below 103 degrees at batching, 
but rather to keep it a little higher at 
that time. When the chicks are nearly 
through hatching, unless the tempera¬ 
ture be kept up, it will fall because of 
less activity of the chickens, and as a 
consequence, many will not come out 
that might otherwise have done so. egg against the bottom of the pan. At 
With the hen, this constant temperature the close of the nineteenth day, there 
is not true. I found with glass eggs was a vigorous picking of shells in all 
which had little thermometers inside, parts of the drawers, showing that I had 
that the temperature varied according the heat evenly distributed in all parts 
to its position under the hen, from of the pan, since the position of the eggs 
85 to 105 degrees, and that the body had not been changed during the experi- 
temperature of six incubating hens as ment except to turn them on the springs 
shown by a clinical thermometer, varied once every 24 hours, 
from 102 to 108 degrees. The hatch was disappointing, how- 
I like to turn twice daily, and to keep ever, since I got only a little over 100 of 
the little ends down. Scarcely any ven- what horsemen would call “standing 
tilation is given, but the eggs are aired and sucking colts.” The rest either died 
while turning, and during the heating- before they got out, or else died within 
up period, the last half of the time, they a couple of days. I can usually do much 
are cooled for several minutes. If you better than that with hens, 
should ask the above questions of sev- As to the cause of the trouble, I con- 
eral experienced persons, I am sure that fess I do not know. I am inclined to 
you would get answers no two of which think that it is a lack of uniformity of 
would be alike. We only think we know, heat, although it did not vary except 
and each one studying with different between 100 and 105 degrees. There is, 
machines under his own peculiar condi- probably, some animal magnetism in 
tions, has arrived at his own particular natural incubation which we shall find 
conclusions. I cannot suggest any cause it hard to imitate. I shall try again 
for chicks dying in the shell other than with more uniform heat. The thermostat 
has been given already in a general way. which I use is immersed directly in the 
Moisture ! moisture ! moisture ! see that pan of water, and can easily be increased 
it is right. If it is too dry, the circu- in sensitiveness fourfold or even tenfold 
latory tissues which ramify about the if necessary. As a brooder, I am satis- 
shell membrane for the blood to oxidize fled that the blood-warm pan of water 
(I only guess at this) cannot work and, will be a success. This last hatch of 
on the other hand, if the eggs are kept 100 chicks is now about a week old, and 
so wet that moisture drips on the win- it is interesting to look in on the little 
dows, the chicks may almost completely chaps at night. Part will be found 
fill the shell. As to ventilation above squatted down on the floor and part 
or below, I don’t know. Don’t get the standing up with their backs pressed 
notion that, because I have had a good against the warm pan, evidently dream- 
deal of experience, I always succeed, ing of their mothers. If a chick begins 
because, this year in a new incubator to feel chilly, he does not have to hunt 
cellar that heaved and thawed and cov- around for his brothers and sisters in 
ered with water, we had the worst sue- order to huddle in a corner for addi- 
ccss in my experience. The insurance tional warmth. He only has to straighten 
companies made us remove the incu- out his knee joints to bring his back 
bators from the old place in the house, against the warm pan. Ventilation, in 
jamks e. rice. my case, was necessarily from below. 
I might have had too much moisture 
What 0. W. Mapes Says. during the hatch, as it stood in drops on 
My experience with incubators, as the doors the last two days, and the 
yet, has been too limited for my opinions chicks dried very slowly. 
to be of any value to others. My ex- Touc h the Old Hen. 
perience in raising chicks, as you know, 
has been mostly confined to natural in- I am in the same boat as you are as to 
cubation. I got the incubator fever, artificial incubation, and cannot answer 
however, something over a year ago, and your questions intelligently. I fear none 
started out on a tour of investigating as of the manufacturers of incubators can, 
a preliminary step. After visiting some as yet, hold a candle anywhere near a 
of the largest broiler farms, where I good sitting hen. Put there are so many 
found in use, as a general thing, the hot- poor hens that will do everything but 
water-pipe system of brooding, I said to sit properly, that 1,000 eggs set in ma- 
myself on my way home, “ You don’t chines, even though they do not work 
want any. They, evidently, can hatch quite satisfactorily, will usually give as 
chickens pretty well, but they do not many chicks as 1,000 eggs under hens, 
raise them successfully.” Before the and a machine will sit when you can 
train stopped, however, I decided to try find no hens. Much more care should be 
whether I could build a better brooder paid to the breeding of stock so as to get 
than any I had seen. My idea was to the very strongest kind of a germ, as 
fill a metal pan with blood-warm water, machines will not hatch nearly as weak 
hold it automatically at blood heat, and germs as a hen. A uniform heat and 
allow the chicks to get the necessary one that will not bring out ducks or 
amount of heat by pressing their bodies chicks ahead of time, I think the most 
up against the warm bottom of the pan, important; 102 degrees on a reliable 
thus warming their bodies by actual thermometer will give me a good many 
contact as in natural brooding, instead more birds than 103 degrees. If your 
of by radiated heat as in those I had hatch is all over at the end of the 21st or 
seen. I went to work in spare minutes 28th days, except three or four eggs, you 
developing my idea, and am still at are running about right; if all cleaned 
work at it. up on the first half of the 21st or 28th 
It afterwards occurred to me that such day, a trifle too hot, and so on. The 
a brooder might be made to hatch its most important thing is in the germs 
own chicks, thus avoiding the expense and breeders ; if they are the very best 
of an incubator. I made some egg trays the eggs will hatch in anything almost, 
with little springs under each egg. By and with a great deal of neglect, 
pressing the egg tray up against the wm. H tru SLOW. 
bottom of the pan filled with blood- a Hens Out of Condition.” 
warm water, the springs yield under the 
larger eggs, allowing all the eggs of 
varying sizes to come in actual contact 
with the warm surface of the pan. 
My first attempt was a rough affair, and 
I got only about 50 per cent of chicks. 
Most of the other eggs had fully de¬ 
veloped chicks, and many of them picked 
the shell but could not get out. As a 
brooder, it was a success, as we raised 
100 per cent of the chicks hatched, bar¬ 
ring one accidental death. They were 
Leghorns and weighed two pounds each 
at 10 weeks old. 
My next attempt was a more elaborate 
affair with a larger pan. Two hun¬ 
dred and thirty springs pressed each its 
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At this time of year milk in the dairy 
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third the cream can 
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The other two-thirds 
are lost. A Little 
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all the cream in the 
most unfavorable 
weather. It is a labor- 
saver as well as a 
cream saver. Any one can manage it. 
P. M. SHARPLES, 
West Chester, Pa. 
Elgin, Ill. 
Rutland. Vt. 
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There should be no difference in the 
umber of absolutely clear eggs found 
uder hens and in the machine, from eggs 
•om the same pens, and which have had 
le same treatment previous to being set. 
fhy the germ dies in one egg and not 
(Continued on next page.) 
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