Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-19
INCUBATOR HINTS.
Evaporation a Matter for Operators
Consideration.

There is really very little known about
the running of incubators. Some peo-
pie succeed while others under the same
circumstances fail. The exact reason of
this is hard to explain. There seem to be
several factors in successful incuba ton
Until recently. the question of tempera
ture has been looked upon as the leading,
if not the only factor. 1t is no doubt i'm
portant, but has been pretty thoroughly
solved. Besides proper temperature
factor Carbon dioxide has also been
found to play an important part in artiti-
cia incubation
From the Investigations carried on re-
censly at the Ontario Agricultural Col
lege: Guelph Canada, by Prof. w. r. Gra-
ham, it was found that the evaporation
under hens Considerably more carbon
dioXide was found under hens than in
machines. Larger matches were secured
also where moisture was used in incu-
batOrs. Good results were secured by
using moisture pan one inch deep 1illcd
with water and placed in the bottom of
the incubator. The pan or pans nearly
covered the bottom of the machine. These
We're kept in the machine until the eggs
began to hatch.
1t was also found that washing. tie ma
zencleum or creolin Just before the eggs
were placed in it lesscned the trouble in
raising TIE chicks from machines: From
these Investigations it was found that the
average evaporation of eggs under hens
set on normal nests WAS II per cent, ma
chimes run dry l.G and machines with
that with hens set on earth nests the
evaporation was much less than with
those set on ventilated nests. The aver
age carbon dioxide found under hons WAS
This vas when only water was used as
moisture 1t was found that by using
butterinill in the moisture pans, some
carbon doxide was developed which gave
good results.
A few matches were run at the Penn
sylvana station during December and
creolin in the moisture pans; Nearly all
the chicks hatChed good ard strong and
no evidence of diarrhoea was manifest.
While it is true that the mortality IN
Young chicks on many farms is not serl-
o,l, whan incubators are in use, vet ut the
same time it is too true that the losses
soe Of
tors have success for year or so. tnen
the chicks die from from the common
bowel trouble the chicks @ , n2t pe.nS sii;"h eh;oh
when first hatched have a certain amount
of yolk left in their bodies This is ma
ture's method Of sustaining IRE vi, III, tneg
for six or eight days without food. Ii the
chick is not normally hatched it is unable
to absorb. this yolk and It DECAYS. caus-
between the fifth and tenth days. When
the chicks are about twenty four to nine-
ty-six hours old they resemble each otner
ception zen that hen-hatched chickens and
those Matched in moist fncubators are
longer in the down or look larger and
anfier. They also have legs loo lo%king lns, much
The trouble generally begins about the
fifth day Al affected 3ro chick be wi nent taYe H Is
not not active. it has a sleepy look and the
s to settle hn bafb fbe cSeK was hs
cold or in great pain Some of the. chicks
stay closely under rst the hoySr b While While 9fs s
charge is not always present. The chicks
may die in large numbers trsrs setwee" INsv na she
eraaual dropping off each day 1lntil they
are perhars FIVE or SIX weeks etd
examination will reveal the following con-
ditions The lungs i will ,hs usually TSese snow srs
Generally seen on the side next, to the
ribs. The white spots ere ts usually 40 a1te
ways present, but from examination they
appear to be in 50 per cent OF the cases