Arizona republican., 1914-02-16
FIVE THOUSAND
 CHICKS HATCH
In Space of Seven Hours Fuzzy Brown and White Chicks Make Bow to the Incubator Director at l.. H. Seargeant Ranch

Between four and five thousand chickens were matched in the short space of seven hours yesterday in one small room at the l.. H. Seargeant chicken ranch some five miles north west of the city. They were the chicks due from the eggs of six incubators out of dozen which have been kept con- stantly busy since the first of the year, and which will turn out their regular quota once every three weeks from now until the middle of May, the end of the matching season.
 Unless one has seen five thousand chicks coming from the eggs all at one time, it is hard to imagine them, and even after seeing them in the small space they occupy it is hard to be con- vinced there are so many there in the wooden, glass fronted cage. It is like judging sheep in the band. Only the expert can judge the number, and
 imagination underestimates the bunch.
 This five thousand started matching yesterday morning. By noon over half of the eggs were broken and the chicks had worked their way out, and by even- ing every shell in the incubators was broken with the exception of a very few which were bad. Before the eggs
 began breaking there was an audible peep in the room from within the shells, and as the number of chicks to
 break out increased, the peep become more noisy and more constant. By evening there was a jubilee peep from
 each of the Jubilee incubators
 The small chicks came out of the
 egg white or brown according to the kind of egg. They came out wet and
 ragged, like they had just been dipped n bath. Basking on the top of the broken shells they dried in the heat of the incubator. and their down began lying back and becoming smoothe Later they got up and walked about on top of the shells till they fell through the little slit made for just that purpose and Were held in the lower compart-
 ment free from the old eggs and the broken she'll Here they completely dried out in a few minutes, and be- l came live cheeping, eager little chicken. ht ildtNiicu NouHSSltlS W III De dl- lowed to remain in the incubators twenle hours.-that is until this morn- Ing. Then they will be packed and sent out to several parts of the state, They | are packed in the toughest sort of red | wood boxes, just strong enough to withstand the wear and tear of the railroad trip and not for their comfort i in the least. But their stay in their | cages is never long. They are never l shipped further than one days jour | ney. This matching will go to Ray, l Winkelman, Hayden, Mesa, Tempe and | several stops on the Santa Fe Later | shipments will go as far as Cottonwood. Walnut Grove Jerome and Bisbee and | Douglas.
 | Another five thousand chicks are due
 to arrive at the Seargeant ranch inside the next ten days. u is an interesting | and instructive sight to see them pick
 their ways out of the shells. to see them l dry out on the top of the broken shells
 and see them crowd to the windows when they hear a noise on the outside which resembles the chuck of an old
 hen. MT. Sergeant will be glad to have visitors at the next matching and he will tell anyone wishing to know just when the chicks may be expected to hatch.