The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-14
MANAGEMENT OF INCUBATORS
 TO SECURE THE BEST RESULTS
Location One of the First Important Considerations Demanded
Ventilation, Heat, Selection of Proper Eggs and Con- stant Care Required
By REESE V. HICKS Manager of Rancocss Poultry Farms, Brown Mills, N. T.
(Copywright, 1e15.)


 IN selecting location for the incuba-
 tor three things are to be consid-
 ered temperature, ventilation and light. The temperature of a room or eel lar in which the incubator Is to be oper- ated should be fairly uniform and range from 50 to 70 degrees. A warmer or cooler room for operating is not desirable The ventilation should provide for an abund- ance of fresh air. be easily regulated and free from drafts. Fresh air of an even temperature is important to the welfare of the developing chick The room in which an incubator is operated should be nat urally well lighted or else have a strong artificial light so that the temperature as indicated by the thermometer in the incubator can be easily and accurately read.
 The ideal location is a cellar, especially constructed so as to care for ventilation and evenness of temperature, but as only the specially equipped poultry farms can afford such cellars, the next best place Is a basement or cellar under a residence. The cellar should be fairly dry and espe- cially we'll ventilated. If the cellar con- tains a heating furnace special precau- ton must be used to supply extra mois- ture and keep abundance of fresh. pure air. A living room may be suc- cessfully used for operating an incubator. Care must be used where a living room is utilized to place the incubator so there will be no drafts from opening and clos ing doors, so that the sun will not shine on it, or heat from the radiators or stove affect 1t.
 The incubator should be placed close to a wall, so as to avoid being jared by passersby. The most light should fall on the front, and the lamp, regulator and doors should be handy to reach
 Setting Up Incubator
 Tn setting up the incubator care should be taken to have 1t stand level, with the legs securely fastened in place,
 only the best of kerosene oil should be used never an inferior grade, or 1t will make trouble in smoke and soot. The wick used should be trimmed square across so that the flame will be even and nicely spread Trim off any stray threads or broken corners that make tue flame irregular The machine will require sev- eral hours to heat up owing to it's size, insulation and temperature or the room in which it is being operated. It IS best for beginner to operate the machine for two or three days before putting eggs In if He should be sure that he can main- tain the temperature without more than a degree variation in "A hours. The ther- mometer should be tested with known thermometer to insure it's correctness. A clinical thermometer, which can be DOT roWed from a doctor or druggist, can be used for this test. Place the two in wa ter, gradually adding warm water, and note any variation. Be careful not to |. ohn n the thermometer or it will break the bulb.
 As soon as the egg chamber of the in- cubator is heated up to the desired tenn perature, usually 1021s to 1O3, according to where the thermometer Is placed, the regulator should be adjusted so as to raise the damper or tin disc slightly off the lamp fue.
 Select Good Eggs
 The best of incubators and care will not hatch poor eggs. In selecting eggs for matching they should be fresh, not over 10 days old. They should be of uni form size, shape and color. All irregular shapes, such as oyer-large or understood. rough or uneven shell. should be discard- ed It is not advisable to fncubate eggs from different breeds in the same incu- bator.
 Eggs should come from strong. healthy, vigorous stock Eggs from fully matured hens at least a year old, will hatch bet ter than those from bullets. The eggs should come from hens that have been mated with male for at least 10 days before they can be expected to be fertile. Eggs that have been shipped distance should be allowed to rest 12 hours before being put into the incubator.
 In placing the eggs into the incubator trays, they should be laid on their side rather than on their ends, with the small end slightly downward. After the eggs have been placed in the m0chine 1t will take sometime for the temperature, pos sibly "A hours to regain the normal de- gree of heat required. The lamp should not be turned up or an attempt made 10 rush up the heat. but it should be allowed to come up slowly and normally. The degree of heat at which the machine is to be operated varies from 102 to 163. according to the make of the machine, location of thermometer, etc. For the first two to five days lower degree is