Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-02-05
Arti d eial In u bation.

P. II Jacobs in the Rural New
Yorker says:
Quite large number of il cubatofs
of different makes are offered for sell
ection, each possessing some partlcu-
lar merit o. its own Some of them a. e
well equipped wit. n o e n applian-
ss for regulating the heat, supplying
moisture. and turning tee eggs, yet,
after all, everything depends on the
operator. for while the incubators
will usually perform all that is claim
ed for them, the novice has been led,
by the exaggerated praises OF the max
ers, to rely upon the machine to
exclusively y, and thus he has been iE-
duced to overlook many little details
that require human observation. 1t
would require lengthy article to full
ly describe an incubator; but any de-
vice, by which the temperature can
be kept uniformly at 100 deg, with
will hatch eggs, though success de-
ponds largely upon the vitality of the
parent stock.
In operating an incubator, the COM
mon errers are the handling OF the
eggs too frequently, and the constant
interference of those who examine
them through curiosity. The process
should be como uctes methodlcaliy and
in business like manner. The first
two days the eggs should not be dis
| turbsd in any manner, not even to
turn them, as the heat should be well
maintained at temperature fully up
to 103 degrees, and without variation,
in order to give the germ an advan-
tageous start, which is very import
ant. After the second day the eggs
should be turned twice a day (morn-
ing and evening". and cooled we'll
once daily. : pan of water under
them, with few moist sponges IN
the egg drawer, will usually supply
all necessary moisture where there is
not constant stream of warm air
flowing through the incu bator. When
the caicks have nearly reached the
time for breaking tie shells, they may
partially heat the egg drawer with
| their bodies, ard at the time of com
ing out tenn .erature 102 degrees is bet
ter than higher one. 1t is impos
sible to state which is the best incu-
bator. At Hampton, New Jersey, ali
the lncubators used are home made,
some being heated with lamps, while
others are operated simply by pour
ing i'll supply of hot water once or
twice daily, and the matches vary
from so to 80 per csut. according 10
the quality of the eggs and the care
bestowed upon them during iRcuba-
ton. Upon one farm two young
ladies Matched 5000 chicks last season
and propose to double that number
this winter, The details of
management of the chicks will be Civ
en- in another article, the object a.
present being 10 show that there is
nothing difficult in Matching chicks
artificially.
1t has been demonstrated that
small piece of ground can be made TO
yield large prof. from chicks, if the
operator can procure eggs from his
neighbors. And, if preferred, much
Of the labor of management can be
done under shelter, though at present
houses separate, with a small yard to
escb, each house containing brooder.
As an acre of ground can be divided
into large number of small yards,
several thousand chicks can be grown
quite easily to a marketable age there
on, ard when the business becomes
familiar, it will open up an excellent
avenue to those who have only linn
tied space al their disposal, and enable
many to engage in it who cannot ven
ture upon the large business of stock
raising: but such persons must devote
their time and attention to it as bus
mess, and not attempt to raise chicks
artifcially in connection with other
pursuits, except in limited manner
for experiment. Comparison has
shown that with the aid of breeders,
the labor OF raising chicks is not
greater than with the use of hens, in
proportion to number of chicks, nor
is the loss from all causes against the
breeder.