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HOME AND FAKM MAGAZINE SECTION
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Profitable Business of Poultry Raising in America
The Ini'iibnlor l n nrrclly on (lie
fiuniiirrclal ioiillry plnnt nml n ron
cnlenre to Hie nnutfur iioullrjinan.
, coml miuhlnr, proprrlr oprnitril,
Mill hillill chichi f MitUfrtclory
qnnllty nl nny rnwn of tlio jciir.
Tlio morr Important ilctullt of In
riilmtor inunngriiirnt lire oiittlnril lr
rrofrator Nluneburn In Ills urrum
putijlnc conlrluutlon.
by i'iior. riii:Di:itic n. stonkuuiin.
THE truly remarkable dovclop
mcut of tho poultry industry
during tho last quarter of a
rentury Is duo, In no sninll measure
to the Improvement made in Incu
bators nml brooders. Of course,
many other factors havo had great
Influence, havo materially assisted
In this development, but with all our
up-to-dato knowiedgo of methods of
breeding, housing, feeding nnd man
aging our stock, few of us would caro
to attempt to opcrato a goou-sizeu
commercial poultry plant If wo wero
compelled to depend upon hens to
hatch and rear all tho clilcits.
Tho great popularity and wldo uso
of tho non-sitting breeds has followed
tho perfection of npparatus for hatch
ing and rearing tho chicks. Imagine,
for a moment, how extremely diffi
cult it would be for n Leghorn breed
er to maintain n flock of a thousand
birds without incubators and brood
ers. Then consider tho vast number of
ostabllshments where that or a great
er number of Leghorns arc kept, and
3011 will instantly realize what a debt
of gratitude the American poultry in
dustry owes to tho pioneer investiga
tors In tho fields of artificial incuba
tion nnd tho men who have followed
In their steps and brought tho indis
pensable hatching machine to their
present stato of por'ection.
Incubator?) PoM'ss Advantages.
It can scarcely be claimed that tho
best incubators aro superior to good
Hitting hens in tho matter of tho qual
ity of tho chicks produced. It is
difficult to improve upon Nature. But
It is truo that tho machines huvo
ninny advantages over tho hens
from tho standpoint of tho poultry
man in that they will do their work
at any season of tho year, and when
many chicks nro hatched It Is easier
to enro for machines of given capac
ity than for tho number of hens re
quired to cover tho same number of
eggs.
In tho comparatively recent past
thero existed n general prejudice
against Incubators. Tho common be
lief was that tho machines wero un
reliable, needed almost constant
wntchlng nnd produced chicks which
wiro weak and of llttlo value.
Today tho pendulum hns swung to
tho other extreme, and a very largo
number of peoplo seem to think that
tho incubators really run themselves,
producing a strong chick from vir
tually every fortllo egg, no matter
how llttlo attention is paid to the
work by tho operator. Probably this
change Is duo to tho great improve
ment mndo In dovlccs for regulating
tempcrnturo and ventilation, and to
various automatic contrivances do
slKiiod to relievo the attendant of
much detail work.
It Is unfortunnto that such an Im
pression is so widely entertained, be
iwiso many who hold it will bo dis
appointed when they attempt to op
erate their machines. Tho writer has
had exporlenco with n great number
of Incubators of many types nnd
liiakos, hns seldom, If ever, been ablo
to hatch every fortllo egg, and has
always found that best resultu nro
M'oured only when nil details of man
agement havo been carefully attended
to during the ontlro period of Incubn.
tlon. Neglect of any of theso may
bring disaster.
Thero are many different makes of
incubators, tanging In size from tho
tiny ninehlnoa holding but two or
throe dozens of eggs to the grcnt
mammoth lmtchers with a capacity of
thousands of eggs. Tho manufactur
er of each usually stntos that his par
ticular model U superior to ull others
of slmtlnr type, nnd points to certain
details of construction or operation
which theoretically nro Improvements
over anything offered by other manu
facturers. In all this clamor the amateur Is
at 11 loss to know which particular
machine ho should secure. No one
wishes to make a mistake In this
ninttop, since nil unsatisfactory Incu
bator may bo tho cause of heavy loss.
Choosing an luc.ihalor.
Possibly tho best advice one can
o In this connection is about as
follows: Visit n nemlior nf inrMic.
fill poultry plants iu your own neigh
borhood nnd nsccrtnln what particu
lar Incubator has given tho greatest
degrco of satisfaction. Then sccuro
a machine of thut make, becauso it
has shown that It will hatch well un
der tho conditions existing In your
locality nnd you will bo nblo to ob
tain help from experienced operators
It nnything goes wrong.
Having purchased tho incubator,
plan tp give it a fair chanco to do its
best work. If It reaches you In a
crnte, unpack It with caro and set It
up In exact accordance with tho ac
companying sheet of Instructions.
Study this carefully. Do not attempt
to asscmblo tho various parts without
knowing exactly whero each goes and
what It is for. Tho manufacturer
probably knows best, so follow his di
rections and conduct experiments at a
later date.
I'laco tho machlno in a toom whoro
thero is frco ventilation, a fairly oven
tomporaturo and considerable mois
ture. Sluggish ventilation, oxccsslvo
fluctuation of room tcmperniuro una
bone-dry nlr will adversely affect ro
8Ults. Tho machlno should not bo
plnccd in a direct draught, slnco tho
lamp will givo troublo under such
conditions.
Set tho machlno lovol to insure oven
temperaturo in all parts of tho egg
chamber. Then run it for a fow days
before putting tho eggs In, bo that the
proper caro of tno lamp anu mo na
Justment of tho regulating dovrco may
bo learned. After theso points havo
been worked out, and only then, tho
eggs may bo put in.
Selected Eggs Hatch Best.
Now, a word about eggs of proper
quality. Big hatches of sturdy chicks
aro to bo secured only through tho
uso of selected eggs. Better to opcr
ato tho machlno two-thirds full of
really good eggs than to fill up tho
remaining spaco with thoso of doubt
ful quality. Tho egg cost per chick
will bo less In tho former case, and
thero will bo a smaller proportion of
weaklings, which aro of llttlo or no
valuo anywny.
Hatching eggs should bo secured
from well-mntured, healthy, vigorous
brooding birds, which insures
strength in tho chicks. They should
bo of good size, not abnormally
large, slnco tho chicks will bo larger
and heavier when hatched and will
usually retain this ndvantago over
thoso from small eggs until mnturity
Is reached. They should bo of good
Bhapo nnd frco from serious Imper
fections In shell, as such appear to
hatch better than thoso which aro
very round, oxtrcmoly pointed, or
hnvo ridged or mottled shells.
They should bo fresh, as bntchabll
Ity decreases steadily with ogo. Thoy
Bhould bo collected frequently during
cold weather to prevent possible chill
ing, which is always Injurious. F(nnl
ly, tho eggs In each machlno Bhould
bo from fowls of tho samo gonoral
typo, as mixed lots from Leghorns
up XtiwKxi ol XtTlZL U 0. ""
oss. limners located in 11
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PMMluclnir nbltlty. Today tho ritVode Islam lie 1 ,,, ..i'"' W',n,f.ropmar baue or thv
to ta beauty and It busing. iuniml2 "."M,"!01 ' its., ,0," "'"'? tho mo.t po
ronulnr weiehta nr n. fii.. ".T. .,,-"- r""' .'" "; 'imsny red, with a small
and Brahmas, for instance, do not
hatch ovcnly.
Virtually nil modern Incitbntors nro
sclf-rcgulatlng, so far as temperaturo
Is concerned, and when onco adjust
ed will mnlntnln tho proper degree
of heat, unless tho tomporaturo
of tho room fluctuates violently. Tho
proper Incubating temperature, as
Indicated by tho thermometer, varies
according to tho location of tho lat
ter. When the bulb Is suspended nt
tho lovol of tho top of tho eggs, tho
tompernturo should nverago 103 de
grees for tho entire three weeks, run
ning slightly higher at hatching time.
Sorao operators prefer to keep tho
temperature at this point continuous
ly. Tho writer has had best results
from holding tho tempcrnturo nt
102 & degrees during tho first week,
103 degrees tho second week, 103
degrees tho third week nnd 101 to
105 degrees when tho chicks aro
hatching.
Tho nmchino should bo running
ovenly at tho required heat boforo
tho eggs nro put in. When rendy,
placo tho trays of eggs In position in
tho morning. They will heat up dur
ing tho day nnd give npportunlty to
mnko any regulator adjustments bo
foro bedtime nrrlves. When tho eggs
aro placed In tho machlno at night,
thero Is more chnnco of things going
wrong becnuse of tho absenco of tho
attendant.
Tho eggs should be turned onco
every 12 hours, beginning 3C to 48
hours after they are placed In tho ma
chlno, Tho exact method of, turning
them is of llttlo moment, so long ns
their relative position Is changed and
they aro partially rotated. It is not
necessary to turn each egg squarely
over.
Turn Kggs Itcgiiluiiy.
More frequent turning, say thrcn to
four times dally, often increases the
number of chicks hatched, but tho in
crcaso Is bo snfiill that few Incubator
oporntors consider It worth tho trou
blo to turn ottener than twica dally.
By tho evening of tho ISth or 19th
day, sonio eggs will bo pipped, and
after that, turning should bo dis
continued. At tho end of the first week tho
oggs should bo tested, and thoso
which nro infertllo or contain dead
germs should bo thrown out. Tho
testing may bo repeated on tho 14th
or lGth day so nono but eggs con
taining llvo embryos will bo left on
tho tray.
Somo poultrymcn mnko a practico
of leaving tho eggs out of tho ma
chlno for a tlmo when turning them
in order to "cool" them, claiming that
tho sitting hen cools her eggs whon
off tho nest securing her food. Per
sonally, I do not think that "cooling"
Is necessary, unless through nccldent
tho eggs hnvo becomo overheated. In
tho caso of machines which hnvo llt
tlo or no ventilation, nnd In hot
weather when tho movement of tho
air through all machines Is very
... Vi 7 . . """ ia iiicbo
SINGLE-COMB K1IODI2 ISLAND KEDS.
- .&&u
.. ....,. WUv. , puuwis; nen, c'3 pounds; cockerel, 74 pounds; pullet, 5 pomms. 1
sluggish, It Is advisable to removo tho
trnys nnd nlr tho eggs onco or twice
per day; otherwise tho accumulation
of carbon dioxide In tho egg chamber
mny hnvo n bad effect upon the de
veloping chicks.
It is a slmplo tnnttcr to caro for
tho incubator Inmp, but there Is both
n right nnd a wrong way to do it.
Cure of tlio Lump.
Tho oil used should bo of the best
quality. Poor oil throws off fumes
causes 11 heavy crust to form on tho
lamp wick and may fill tho heater
with soot. Tho wick should also bo
of good quality and n now ono put
In ut tho beginning of each hatch.
Otherwiso it may get short and tho
lamp go out during tho night, thus
lowering tho temperaturo nnd Injur
ing or spoiling tho hatch. I prefer to
fill tho lamp In tho lato afternoon.,
This insures n. freshly trimmed wick
nnd an ample Bupply of oil for tho
night. If tho lamp goes out during
tho night, it may not bo noticed for
sovcral hours, but if this nccldent
occurs during tho day It is very like
ly to bo noticed boforo serious harm
has been dono.
At hatching tlmo, leavo tho ma
chine closed. If for any reason It be
comes nccossnry to open the door,
closo it ugnlii as quickly as possible.
Chilling tho chicks Is disastrous Just
nt this critical tlmo.
Also, keep tho Interior of the egg
chamber darlc when tho chicks are
coming out. Light nttrncts anil dis
turbs them. Wlint they need most Is
wnrmth and rest, and thoy will bo tho
bettor for It If kept comfortnble and
quiet.
(Copyright, 191H, by Matoa-Mon Adv.
Company, Inc.)
Chicken Chattel'.
Tho secret In feeding laying hens
is not to get them too fnt.
Fresh meat nnd bones cut with a
bono cutter will mnko hens lay when
other feeds fall.
When you see poultry scratching In
tho scratching pen It Is a sign of
thrift.
If proporly managed, an Incubator
may bo mndo to pay for Itself In tho
first' hatch. It depends on tho opera
tor, howovcr, as much us tho Incu
bator. To renew tho vitality of tho flock
get male birds of tho Bamo strain but
of another family. Don't rnlso mon
grols. Drafts nro bnd for poultry. Your
troublo will bo found In keeping cold
out rather than lotting It In.
Provldo plenty of grit. -Tho want
of grit in tho crop nnd gizzard Is to
a fowl what tho lack of teeth Is to
tlio human. Iicokon enrthen ware,
sand, grnvel, etc., should bo 011 hand
nt all tlmos nnd easy of access. Good
grit Is usually on snlo In overy town.
Drafty nnd damp quarters mean
colds; colds mean roup; roup causes
troublo. Stop tho troublo by pre
venting tho cntisc.
XDUIN MECARCI
a'-" roup of poultrym.;. took
uirua imu neon i-uiiiuiuiu w.v- .
tr hardiness nnd rce
nular breeds, due botn
amount 01 imv
pullet, 5 pounds.
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