Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-01-20
THE INCUBATOR.
FOR HATOHING EGGS 1T BEATs
THE HEN.
Anybody With n Vacant Garrett and
Back Yard Can Raise Roast
ers" and "BroilerS"
Unlimited.

the progress OF modern invention which
has taken chickens in its clutches and
got up number of machines to look
after them without the aid Of hens. All
the hen need to do is to lay the egg, the
machines do the rest until the chicken 5
are old enough to be broilers.
It bothered the farmers aud chicken
raisers for many years tina. the hens
would lay more eggs at some seasons
than at others, aud that they would
hatch more at some seasons than Others,
so that at times the chicken market was
not we'll supplied and at other times it
was overstocked. They figured out that
if they could only hatch chickens when
they pleased there would be greet deal
more money in the business, besides
leaving the hens free to go on and lay
more eggs, instead Of spending a month
aud q half trying to hatch some chick
ems and bringing them up until they
we're old enough to look out for them
selves.
To DO this work OF the house a ma p
chine called an incubator was invented
to do the Matching. Tnere are several
kinds OF incubators, but in the main
they are alike. An incubator is big,
square wooden box propped up on four
legs to be out of the way OF dradgdt3.
Under it is a large oil lamp, and on top
is a aue with cover on the enG OF
balance. Within there are trays, on
which the eggs are placed. Any num-
Der Of eggs can be put in the machine,
though it is hardly worth while to run
an incubator on less than 100 or $50
eggs. A large incubator will hold 500
eggs. The eggs should be good, freshly
laid aud put in the incubator without
having been exposed to any heat over
1O4 degrees. Ordinary eggs from ordir-
arY hens will do, unless the chicken
raiser wants to breed for blood and
quality. He can get high toned eggs
which cost as much az IS a dozen, and
out of which come highly bred chickens
which ara worth several dollars apiece.
1t is not well, though, to begin trying
to hatch chickens with costly eggs, as it
takes while to get the knack, aud it is
cheaper to experiment on ordinary eggs,
so that if the machine is not handled prop.
crly the loss will not be great, while for
eating purposes only there is not 50 much
difference in the value Of the young
chickens to make up for tue didercnce
in risk.
When the eggs have been secured they
are put in a place with a steaiy ten-
perature Of about IS degrees until the
incubator is warmed. The lamp is light.
ed and the balance adjusted 50 that the
fue will be raised aud the heated air will
escape at 101 Fahrenheit. When the
incubator has been at this even TEN vera
ture for day, the eggs are put in the
trays, every egg in an apartment by it.
self. The temperature Of the incubator
at once falls, because the eggs are cooler
than the air. Then 1t begins to rise, an
in day or two it is back again to a
temperature OF 10l degrees. At that
temperature the eggs are kept for three
weeks. Every morning and every even.
ing the position of the eggs are reversed,
which is easily done by putting one tray
over another and turning 1t. The lamp
needs to be kept filed aud the wicks at
tended to 50 that it will not burn too
high or 90 out. II the balance IS well
adjusted and the lamps kept properly
fed, the eggs will be kept st tempera-
ture of between 1O1 degrees aud 1O9 de.
grees steadily. -
Some people who raise chickens by
machinery think that the eggs should be
taken out and cooled from time to time
to correspond with the times that the
hen leaves tho nest to get food for itself,
but the general opinion is that the ma
chine is vast improvement over the
hens, aud that the reason 50 many eggs
under hens do not hatch iS because tie
hen does not sit there steadily to keep
them at an even temperature.
At the end Of three weeks the eggs
open and the chickens appear. In some
incubOtors the chickens drop ,ut through
the eggs into tray placed below to re-
ceive them, while in other incubators the
chickens climb up out Of the eggs and
climb around over their unmatched
brothers and sisters. For a day these
freshly hatched chickens are kept in the
incubator to dry Off. II two thirds OF the
eggs hatch successfully the experiment
has beaten the average hens record sew
eral times over.
When the chicks have spent day in
the incubator they are put in another ma.
chine called a brooder, which is also
heated with lamps, but not to such
high temperature. They make their first
meal in this machine off hard boiled aud
chopped up eggs mixed with few bread
crumbs. This is their diet for few
days, when they get milk aud ginger
mixed with bread crumbs and ralually
oatmeal and cornmeal. The important
thing in the brooder is to ksep them
warm and drE. -------- -----