The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1909-09-15

| hens one day and the other the next
In this way the males are kept IN =
better condition. and the chickens are
likely to be little stronger No roost
ers will be needed in the general flock
Indeed. the eggs will keep all the bet
ter for not being fortified
The care and feed Of the breeding
flock should be much the same as thos,
outlined for laying hens In article No
IL. The main thing is to keep them
healthy. Do not overfeed. but keer
them in vigorous condition. IL posi-
bic the breeding pen should be large
enough so as to include little greer
feed, such as clover or rape If thi-
cannot be done a little forage cut ant
put in the pen every day will be rel
| ished.
The sitting hens should have a
small house or compartment to then,
selves. This will avoid the great an.
noyance of having nests broken NJ
and fresh eggs laid in with those al
most ready to hatch This house
should be provided with charcoal. yril
and oyster shells. A dust bath f.
which the hens can roll will help e.
keep them free from lice Oats, whpai
and some scrt of green food make q
good ration When very expensive
eggs are set it is best to keep each
hen in a compartment by herself. as
there will be less risk of having the
nest broken up. Soon after the chick
ems are h1tched they can be mar,le,
by punching n hole through the we,
of the toe. so that they can be picked
out from the rest of the flock IN the
fail.
Selecting the Incubator.
Although incubators are not well
adapted TO raising chickens for the
breeding flock. they are indispensable
to the poultryman who is raising TO Wis
for market They are more reliable ana
more easily cared for than hens. They
are ready to go TO work at any time
so that early chickens can be raised
In much larger numbers than with
hens. The broody hens can be broken
up and will soon go to laying again.
Not the least among the advantages Of
the incubator is the fact that the
chicks will be free from lice when
Matched.
There are two general types Of incu-
bators, the hot air and the hot water
machines. The heat in the hot air
machine is furnished by currents of
warm air which circulate around the
egg chamber and in the hot water ma
chine by hot water circulating through
metal pipes. The hot air machine is
simpler and generally gives better sat
isfaction
The two most important points TO
consider in buying an incubator are
the lamp and the regulator, since upon
the efficiency of these depends the
maintenance of a constant tempera-
ture in the egg chamber. The lamp
and chimney should be of heavy metal
The reservoir should hold enough oil
for twenty-eight to thirty hours run.
The burner should be of brass. with
cotton wick which fits snugly and yet
works easily. 1t is important to use
the highest grade of oil that can be
obtained. as a steady heat capnot be
maintained with cheap OIL
The function of the regulator is to
raise or lower n valve over the lamp.
thus lessening or increasing the amount
Of hot air that goes into the machine
OF all the many kinds Of regulators
none works more satisfactorily than
the double disk type. The disks should
be four or five inches across IL
smaller they are not sensitive enough
The regulator should be placed toward
the back part of the egg chamber and
high enough so that it will be well up
out of the way Avoid incubators
that have the regulator lever on top of
the machine. Such lever is always
in the way and is liable to be bent or
displaced 4 machine that has the
lever at the end or under false top
is much more satisfactory. There is
nothing in the way on top, and it can
be used as table for testing. turn
ing and cooling eggs.
The body Of the incubator should be
maze OF well ntted hard wood. with
three walls and two dead air spaces.
so as to be as little affected by the
outside temperature as possible. The
legs should be strong and firmly at
tached. The doors should be of double
glass. The egg trays should slide
easily, and there should be at least
three and a half inches clearance be-
tween the eggs and the top of the
chamber. The nursery below the trays
should be at least four inches deep
This lower space is needed for the
newly Matched chicks. This nursery
is sometimes made to slide out like
drawer. This is a great convenience
in removing the chickens.
A small hole covered with a remova-
h1a slide will nrovida all fha vantila