Manchester Democrat., 1910-07-20
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THAT INCUBATOR.

THAT INCUBATOR.
AZ the incubator will be in evi.
dence from now until nearly June,
and as the sales of incubators in
crease now yearly, and there will be
many new operators in the incubator
Matching business this year, it might
not come amiss to give little more
advice than the directions sent with
the machines give-although these
seem reasonably clear.
The machine used in previous
years and to be used again this year
for good machine should last one
nearly life time-must have
cleaning out before trusting eggs
again to its mercy. 1t is now well
proved that the white diarrhea, max.
ing such slaughter of incubator
chicks, is carried straight into the
incubator on the eggs or in the eggs
laid by hens infested with the germs
of the so-called white diarrhea, cocc!-
diosa typhlitis, right name. l call
1t typhlitis for short. 1t is caused
by certain class Of protozoa, the
lowest in the animal kingdom. Hens
have the disease in lingering form,
quite often recovering. Where the
hens carry these germs indefinitely
IN their bodies there may be little
OF no sign of sickness except slug.
gish mode of moving about. They
eat well and lay well. but you can
guess what this condition may bring
about for the coming flock.
The heat of the incubator starts
this protozoa carried into 1t to null
tplying strong. and II your last year
incubator chicks died of 1t immedi-
ately after being put into the brood
er, or began dying, you may be near.
ly sure that the eggs were at fault.
And If they died of it last year,
and you did not wash out that incu-
bator with some good disenfectant,
you may rest assured that germs are
yet lurking in it to multiply again
with the heat and cut short the lives
of this year incubator chicks.
Last year. and already this year, I
made provision against this slaugh-
ter. Before heating up the incubator
this year put one teaspoonful of sui.
phuric acid in less than one pint Of
water, and washed out every part of
the incubator inside. cloth, trays and
all. ! used whisk broom. Then,
before putting in the eggs, washed
them with alcohol, weakly diluted
with water. / did not measure the
water but one-fifth water and four.
fifths alcohol will do. Alcohol kills
these germs-if outside the eggs. l
did this last year with surprising re-
suits, as the year before lost many
chicks with the disease. Last year
cut 1t short entirely at the begin
ming. although some Of my hen hatch
ed chicks came off bad with it.
Any disinfectant on hand will do to
wash out the machine with. Zeno-
leum is recommended to place in the
nursery below the eggs and keep
there through the Matching process.
/ put in top cupful of it. One tea.
spoonful to every ten of water Is the
way 1t is mixed. think any of the
coal tar disinfectants would be Just
as good. They all smell alike to me-
any Of the naptholeums, daytholeums
and so forth.
This it is claimed. penetrating the
eggs kills the germs within, doing
the chick no harm. It must be put
in when the eggs are put in II 1t be
effective, says authority on the sub.
ject.
Outside the incubator instructions,
l own few of my own. Should you
by accident let the heat run too high
the first week for even few hours,
don't get frightened and thinking the
eggs are ruined, give over trying to
look after them in the proper way.
The water in the egg saves them
through several heatings the first
week, just as long cooling will not
hurt them during the last week. 1
mark the eggs. turning the marks all
up in the morning, all down at night,
but this is not the only turning they
get by any means. Every time look
at the thermometer / roll the eggs
about and over. In an incubator the
part Of the egg nearest the tray is
cooler than in nest. and the oftener
turned M the better and livelier the
hatch will be.
For the first incubator matches you
must watch the incubator at night.
As the night cools of the lamp wick
must be turned up. To not watch
this and have the eggs cooling off
night after night to 80 or s5 degrees
means a serious loss. l have better
hatches If / never allow the heat to
go to 104 the last week. or If It gets
there in spite of me, not let 1t stay
there any time, cooling the eggs fire.
quently and giving them frequent air
ings.-I. M. S. in the Indiana Farm
er.