The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-06-04
INCUBATION HAS
MANY ADVANTAGES
Loss Of Hens Time From Lay
ing House Means Several
Dozen Eggs.
EFFICIENT MACHINES
EFFICIENT
NJ ROBERT An n q.


The hen will continue to be the means
OF Matching and rearing checkers for a
large number Of poultry keepers. espe-
cially those who have small hocks or
those who have no: the time or inclina-
ton to adopt artificial brooding meth
DDS, despite the fact that the natural
WY has several disadvantages. mainly
the difficulty of securing broody mems
early enough to produce fall layers,
e~sneciallys X the winter IL severe. and
the loss OF the hens time from the lay
ing house. wherein she would probably
have laid a couple OF dozen eggs. To
offset this loss. however. there In no
gainsaying that, the natural method has
Its advantage s.
M things considered. the hen IL y
better brooder than man has Vet m
vented. which IL to be expected. and
the sa me MAJ he said OF her as an
Incubator. although the relative merits
Of artificial and natural incubation do
not seem to be az important as the
%brooding. In other words. incubatorS
have reached n state of perfection
whereby their efficiency compares very
favorably with the best efforts of Ms
tress Biddy. We are better able to .ml-
tate Matching. perhaps, than brooding.
because IN the irst process We are better
able to control our charge" The esg
is incapable of voluntary motion II
cannot stray from the conditions best
suited to It's Development. neither has
It a propensity for immoderateness. The
chick. Oh the contrary. is guilty of many
indiscretions and sometimes he Is in
corrigible. Frequently our greatest sf-
forts are unable to Illustrate an evil.
and. what is more hopeless. we have not
the Gift OF being able to divine the
strange convolutions OF the chick $
mind
strong. vigorous chicks a!e not al
ways obtained from properly incubaied
.sss, whether the Matching is done arti-
fcially or naturally. A successful hatch
depends on more than the methods or
Incubation i. goes further back. to tn"
selection Of strong, fully ma;ured breed
ing s'oca.. we'll mated and properly fed
and housed. The novice therefore Is
often ready to condemn his incubator
when n few Unmatched eggs are found
on the trays after a hatch is completed,
when TN reality the quality OF the eggs
Is entirely at fault. Moreover. the
Eggs usually set in a machine are a col
lection from an entire flock and on a
much larger scale than those set under
a hen. The hen very often steAls her
nest and sits on none but her own eggs.
We do not bother at finding two or
three unmatched sgs under a hen,
/, whereas the same percentage OF un-
hatched egg In an incubator seems uh-
satisfactory and wasteful.
Assuming then that the poultry keeper
wi shes 10 have his ch!cSs brooded by
hens, he would do we'll to consider COM
b.ning the virtues OF the incubator as n
time saver. Briefly the scheme = this
Place the eggs in a machine !or the
first two weeks and af;er thay have
been tested for fertility and dead germs
g>, the known to be fertile eggs 10 the
hers for the remaining week or incu-
baton. In many cases they viii hatch
, every egg. This method not only saves
two weeks OF the hens time. an item OF
! Ni',' IMPORTANCE on the egg farm. bu
+. ais, enables the poultry Keeper TO
, commence his Matching two weeks
earlier than II lie hrst waited for the
hens To- become broody. Furthermore
. save, the loss Of time incurred by
the hens sitting on infertilc eggs or
those which are too weak to develop
When the eggs have been kept IL the
Incubator until the eighteenth and min
,oca,h day the results in chicks Matched
uudcr hens by this plan have been very
| sat. factory Generally the natcneS Sc
cured from three hens make comfortable
hroods Tor tvo hens, w%hereupon he re
naming broody hen Is made to ST over
agau on another lot or ler''Ies iron
the Incubator.
, Il Is not necessary to start with the
incubator filed with esgs. They may he
placed in the machine in units ~ about
| twenty. or whatever number Is thought
Will produce Inc correct unlis FOR the
herS after the infer,,le eggs n dead
gut, haNc been removed. E3rh u.l;,
OF course. should lie marred - d'stiu-
~ i, II from the others, This p~ractic.
OFFERS an advantage 10 the p~"uliry'na'
HAVING n small Nock, inasmuch ~ Nc can
, iucuiats A large number o: ,ss'. start
iu. them when they are fresh. withou.
holding them until he ha- enough t. MI
Lp m. machine.
S.ill another Advantage " ma
method l. is conceded that iii. crea'-
est losses IN artificial iucupation are a.
tr.hutcd to chicks which are almost ful!l
developed dying IN the shell, Inc correct
anoun' OF mos urs, eva Iorhi'uu and
Ventilation are all essential 10 successful
incubation. and they are all very closely
allied, 4 circulation OF frcsh air Is Nee
essiry or the embryo would lie without
! su'Iicient xygen Dn the other hand
excessive NehliiitloH VIII cause uhuGe
evaporation unless the moisture il re-
stored in some a These elements are
imuortant NJ the beginning of "A hatrh,
hu' ,hcy seem To take care Of ihemsclNss
more 81 less automatically for the frs,
week. or .cn days in the las, week, and
especially the last few days, they SHOULD
receive very careful attention.
In the natural process Of incubation
the hens body provides the correct con-
dit,ons. Air circulates about the eggs
through the hens feathers, yet the hea,
from her body throws on sufficient
moisture to prevent excessive evapora-
tinn. Moreover. this moisture Is charged
with cai hon dioxide. which causes tn.