Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-04-17

EGg ~ E re ne N119
job In this way the eggs are brooded
mostly by the natural mother, and, al
the same time, escape the conse-
Quences of her nervous excitement
when the chicks come out.
In this method about four hens
should be set at time, on fifteen OF
sixteen eggs apiece, so that, after they
are tested out, there will be enough
to fill the machine pretty well. The
hens may then be set again, on q
fresh batch, and so on until they have
started four or five lots OF eggs. II
does not hurt a hen to stay on duty
eight, ten, or even twelve weeks, il
she has good care This allows the
rest Of the flock to attend to the lay.
ing part of the business, and insures
having quiet, persistent sitters.
The nests should be thoroughly
scrubbed and busted with sulphur be
fore usingy If they can be white
washed, so much the better. The
hen, too, should be well busted with
a good insect powder. Moth balls
and the coal tar preparations, though
death on the lice, are also hard on
both hens and eggs, on account OF
their strong smell. 1t is better tc
use preventives that have as little
odor as possible. The porous shells
admit doors, and the sweeter the ali
can be kept the better.
After the hens have been sitting
seven or eight days, the eggs should
be tested. BY this time it is possible
to tell pretty closely which eggs will
hatch A good tester can be made by
taking an ordinary pasteboard shoe
box and cutting a hole in the bottom
about a third smaller than the oval
of the egg The hole should be at
the level of the flame of the lamp to
be used with it
Stand the box on end, with the bot
tom towards you, and put the lamp
behind it. The sides should be left
on to deaden the outer light as much
as possible. Hold the egg up to the
opening, so the light will shine
through it, turning it slowly in the
fingers If it is clear it is infertile.
If it begins to look black, there is an
embryo chick in it. All infertile eggs
should, of course, be discarded.
The eggs should be tested again
the fifteenth day, when all that are
not almost wholly Opaque should be
thrown out. Sometimes the germ will
die after starting, leaving the eggs
only partly dark against the light OF
the tester At the end of two weeks
it should be all black except the air
space in the large end. A little ex-
perience will enable one to tell just
how they should look at different
stages.
1t is very important that the eggs
be handled gently while testing. A
slight jar will kill the embryo. Never
test where a draught of cold air will
strike them. Chilling will either re-
tard the growth of the germ or kill
it entirely
Where one keeps only a few hens
it is best to let them go on laying
and take care OF the chicks by hand"
This is not so hard as it sounds.
There is a kind of brooder which does
not use any sort of artificial heat,
which is rapidly gaining in favor, and
those who have used them for several
years say they are far ahead of the
lamp-heated systems, and take just
as good care Of the chicks as the hens
would. They are very easy to make
and to operate.
One of these breeders will care
for about twenty chicks, so it is we'll
to allow two to every incubator full
of eggs. They are merely little boxes
of half-inch lumber, sixteen inches
square and eight inches hight, with
floor of tarred building paper They
are covered with a removable top
made Of d square of canvas tackled or
a little frame which just sets down
inside the box. This cover rests OF
small nails driven into the corners Oh
the box, and is raised as the chicks
grow.
The chicks are put into the brooder
as soon as they are dry and well fluffe6
out. They should be left alone for
from thirty to forty hours, except hav.
ing little sip of water given them
when they are first removed from nest
or machine. After that they should be
fed every three or four hours for
few days, and then less often-about
three times a day.
The main principle in brooding the
chicks is to keep them warm without
crOwding, and to guard against damp
ness. The heatless brooder, if cor
rectly managed, will do this just as
well as the hen, and allow the flock
to go on with egg production. The lit
tie boxes can easily be carried inside
a building on cold nights, and taken
to the outdoor runs again in the morn
ing. They are easily cleaned, and
keep the chicks free from lice Even
where one has plenty of hens to do
the Matching, it is a question if this
system is not the best.
Copyright. 1918. by c. NJ. shultzD
n. II Ito ~ 1-N,1