Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-02-02
Machinery and the Chicken Business,

Chicken raising has become more
profitable business through the develop
ment of the incubator. Formerly there
was always Il great deal of doubt as 70
the outcome. during the Matching sea-
son. because of the eccentricities of the
sitting hen. and the chicken raiser'S
hopes were often crushed by happenings
against which no provision could be
made. Now all that the chicken raiser
has to do to insure himself in this regard
is to purchase a reliable incubator. pro-
cure fertile eggs from fowls of good
breed. touch the match to the lamp, and
let the incubator do the rest. But care
must. of course be exercised in these
particuars-ca in the selection of an
incubator, care of procuring fertile eggs,
care in the operation of the mechanical
hatcher. and care in the raising of the
motherless fowls.
Having secured Il good incubator the
would-be raiser Of chickens should set
it up where the temperature does not
vary widely or suddenly, and where the
atmosphere is comparatively dry. Drafts
are detrimental in a hatchery and should
be avoided. The lamp should be lighted
and series of temperature tests made
for the purpose of ascertaining whether
the heat is the same throughout the iu-
cubator. When information in regard
to this has been thus practically secured,
fresh eggs should be put into the mcu-
bator. y woman who has been success
full in the operation of incubatOrs says
lit is Il good idea for the beginner to set
Il hen at the same time the incubator is
set in operation. BY doing this the OPP
orator can by comparison ascertain
whether the air cell is right in the incu-
bator eggs The beginner should fol
low the directions as closely as possible
L, ~, lit
therein given is founded upon actual eX-
perience. When the general principles
of the incubator are thus mastered, the
cparot must proceed on his own judg-
ment in regard to each hatcR. as matches
are rarely alike.
\ writer of experience in the chicken
business says in regard to the Matching:
The eggs should be tested the tenth
or fifteenth day. Only good, fertile eggs
should be left in the machine. After the
tenth day. start with cooling the eggs
five minutes and increasing the time
each day until you have cooled them
twenty to thirty minutes, which can be
done it the temperature of the room is
10 degrees or above. Cooling and turn
ing with the temperature above 20 de-
grees brings out better and stronger
chicks and fewer cripples.'
After the incubator has done it's inn
portant work. the matter of feeding be-
comes paramount. The young chicks
must be carefully fed up whether
they are intended for the 'broiler'' mar
ket OF for service as egg producers.
Milk is excellent for chickens. whether
sweet or sour. 1t can be used to mois-
ten the mashed foods. a report of sew
eral tests in regard to the value of milk
has been received by the department of
agriculture from Il Virginia experiment
station. In the first test, which covered
l22 days, - hens fed skim milk laid
l244 eggs as compared with 996 eggs
laid by the - hens fed mash wet with
water. In the first period of the second
test 90 hens fed the skim milk ration
laid So eggs in 81 days as compared
with G}2 eggs laid by similar lot fed
no skim milk. In the second period the
rations were reversed. The chickens
fed skim milk laid 1920 eggs in 81 days
as compared with 91S in the case of the
lot fed no skim milk. In both eXperi-
ments more eggs We're produced when
SKIM milk was substituted for water for
moistening the mash. Under the con-
ditions prevailing in these experiments
ana with eggs selling for 20 or - cents
per dozen the skim milk used for mois-
tenlng the mash had feeding value of
from ll2 TO cents per quart. In these
trials SO2 quarts of skim milk were fed.
resulting in an increase in the egg pro
duction of 702 eggs.
An essential feature in feeding poul-
Try IS to have regular feeding hours.