The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-09-03
Matching Without Moisture.

HaCcn1nG without moisture.
After all the theories about moisture in
incubatOrs it is still one of those Fun
known quantities" that will not be solved.
We give below the experiments OF two
gentlemen who went to work to find out
about moisture. One of them, Mr.. Ed
wards, Matched in his incubator without
moisture, and the other, Mr.. Neazer, who
tried hens, says moisture is q humbug.
Here is the letter Of Mr.. r. S. Edwards,
Gwynedn, Pa:
The result of an experimental hatch,
just concluded, may possibly be of inter-
est to you or your readers. The eggs
were put in a Prairie State Incubator on
April Goth. The experiment consisted in
using no artificial moisture at all. BY
this | mean that no water was at any
time put in the incubator. The Temporal
ture was kept as near as possible at 1922
though | regret to say therewas at times
considerable variation. A large percent
age of the eggs were infertile. From the
fertile eggs | obtained on the twentieth
and tWenty-frst days a splendid lot of
chicks. Not one defOrmed and all, save
six that helped out, strong and healthy
The percentage of chicks from the fertile
eggs was siXty-nine. From nine matches
made this winter, in each case pans OF
water being placed in the Incubator over
the eggs, the percentage OF chicks Matched
from fertile eggs varied considerably, but
the average obtained from thefertile eggs
of the nine matches was IS per cent. So
this last hatch, with no water put in the
incubator, produced larger percentage
of chicks than the average percentage of
nine matches this winter. Another fact |
noticed. There was much smaller num-
Der of chicks fully formed and dead in the
shell, and no deformed ones. While one
experiment proves nothing, yet it may
serve to set others at work to attempt to
solve this question of moisture or no
moisture. The books give as a reason for
the need of moisture the tact of the hen
leaving the nest and going through the
wet grass in search of food mOistens the
eggs with her. wet body on her return.
have known hens never to leave the nest
during the entire period of incubation.
My hers, when sitting, should they leave
the nest, have access on y to a yard with
floor of clay or ashes all under roof.
They have no chance to get their bodies
wet, yet they produce chicks"
We may state that many Others have
tried the mo moisture at all'@plan with
success, and we suggest that all readers
having an Incubator give an experiment
in that direction. IncubatOrs free from
currents of air flowing through them need
but little, il any, moisture. Mr.. M.
Neazer, Newberry, Mich, has tried no
moisture with hens. and writes:
ION the Doth of March last put thir-
teen eggs under hen This hen was put
in building which has a plank floor,
with straw on the floor. [ also put a
dust box in for her. Now, this hen never
went outside of this building during the
period of incubation. She came off with
seven chickens, the other six eggs being
infertile, as [ broke them Where did
those eggs get their moisture? | have
another hen sitting in the same building
which | shall keep shut in until she gets
through Matching. | believe this moist
ure is all a humbug. Chickens can be
Matched without it,
So it appears that a hen on plank
floor, kept as dry as a bone, also Matched,
and so it goes Moisture may have to
follow the Douglass mixture after all
and go Next the theory that q hen
comes off to cool her eggs will receive al
tention, her coming off depending on how
many fertile eggs she has III the nest. In
fact the hen is sometimes driven off be-
cause the chicks in the shell make her too
warm If she has but few fertile eggs she
"sticks' and does not cool them.