Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-06-08
INCUBATOR HINTS
FROM AN EXPERT.
lust How to Get the Best Re-
suits and How to Care for
Chicks and Machine.
BY o. p. SCOTT,
Manager Pacific Incubator Company
Tacoma, Wash.

The writer has been experimenting
making and selling incubators for
about 80 years, not just now and then.
but twelve months each year Old
Biddy has been our only model to work
from, and ii would seem that in all that
time one could master her every
thought, and action, and while artificial
incubators have made wonderful strides
In recent years, there has been one
most important feature overlooked,
namely, the cooling and airing Of the
eggs
Possibly | should not say cooling, for
there is the point l wish to make that
in nature eggs are not cooled. When
the hen leaves her nest (as most people
think for food and drink nature or
instinct tells her just how long to re-
main off the nest. 80 that the eggs may
not be injured by becoming cold or
chilled BY watching her carefully, you
will note that Gf she is q good setter)
she will not leave the nest for the first
SO to 40 hours and If so, she will quick
ly return.
The incubator manufa cturer" adj
vises that after the eggs are placed in
the machine they are to remain undis
turbed for the above length of time.
The eggs turned and replaced as soon
as possible, always leaving the door
closed that the heat may be kept up to
the proper degree, for the hen will re-
turn to her nest with the same degree
of heat that she had when she left It,
and we must to succeed, initiate her
closely.
The point wish to make is this, that
we do not initiate the hen in airing the
eggs. All incubator manufacturers lex
cept one) make the egg trays exactly
the same, with wire cloth for the bot
tom of the tray Why the wire bot
That uaa al In &c
through and warm the nursery drawer.
And in some machines to hermit the
air to pass out Of the machine below
the eggs What is the result? Very
dangerous, one might say suicidal l
will try to explain so simply that all
can see at a glance that I am cor
rect
When the hen leaves her nest she
leaves both eggs and nest warm, say
about 1903 or 104 degrees. now follow
carefully. the nest is oval in form the
eggs lie packed together the bottom
Of the nest, you might say, is air tight.
or nearly so, this being the fact, no
air can touch the eggs, only as It
passes over the top Of the same What
is the result? You air the eggs from
the top down. the eggs cool very slowly,
the nest keeps the eggs warm. The
eggs being close together, keep each
other warm. We have seen the hen
remain off the nest for an hour and
still the eggs were not cold. This Is
nature
Now, let rs 90 back to the imitation.
the incubator. The eggs are taken from
the machine and as directed either put
on top of the incubator, on a table box
or anything that may be handy More
likely the end projecting over the edge
Of the table. What is the result Heat
always creates a draft. instead of cool =
ing very slowly and from the top only.
as In nature, the eggs in the tray are
cooled from both top and bottom. while
a current of air is passing up around.
and through, the eggs. and they viii
cool very fast Just as you would do
should you sit near an open window
when quite warm YOU would chin
quickly and take cold. If the eggs are
only cooled once during the hatch, the
chicks might stand the shock. but to
repeat it daily for eighteen days you
can at once see that only the strongest
chicks can endure it,