The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1917-05-08
MeDACKYARD.
0 FARMTR5.
VI PP0T INUI ARD HlIT
THE SETTING HENS SECRET.
. PROT. J.WHLARD DOLIE
Wopyrlght. Western NEWSPAPER Union,


The setting hen has secret that
has baffied mankind since the time OF
Pharaoh The fact that she does not
know her own secret has no bearing
upon its solution, because she could
not tell 1t If she knew.
Ever since the days Of ancient
Egypts glory, men have been trying
to hatch eggs artifcially, and to get
as many strong lively chicks from he
same number of eggs as the hen, but
she is still in the lead, and seems
likely to remain so. This does not
mean that artificial incubation is .
failure because good Tcubator prop
erly managed, will do almost as well
as hens, and its economies place II
far in the lead as financial PROPOSE.
tion.
But we would like to know why hen
hatched chicks are little greater In
number, why they hatch out a little
stronger and live little better than q
machine hatched brood One thing Ia
her favor is the fact that her temper
ature does not vary, and the eggs
are properly warmed at all times, ex-
cept when she leaves the nest. Ven
tilation Is another great factor In sue
cessful incubation, and no incubator
has yet mastered 1t perfectly The
heat from the hens body is applied
by direct contact to the eggs, while
the incubator heats them with cur.
rent of warm air The result is that
the incubator eggs dry out too much,
the shell lining gets tough, and the
constant removal of carbonic acid gas
takes away its beneficial action In de-
composing the eggshell so that the
chick can break the shell easily
1t is hard TO determine which draw
back Is the most serious, and some au-
thorities believe that the hens meth
cd Of turning the eggs accounts for
her superior hatches. Incubating
eggs must be turned over from time
to time to prevent the germ from ris-
ing to the top and sticking to the
she'll This is done twice day with
the incubator, but the hen may turn
her nest Of eggs three or four times
a day, as she Is constantly working at
them with legs. feet. wings. breast
and beak.
All things considered, 1t is better to
use hens for Matching and rearing the
chicks unless the poultry keeper has
sufficiently large flock to require
the Matching Of at least one hundred
chicks each year
1t is nc small trick to hatch chick.
ems with hens. though, and few SIM
pie rules to follaw are mighty handy.
Trust 10 hen until y0u have tried her.
The brcody hen viii he found on the
nest at night. after The others have
gone to rOost. Remove her to shall
low concaye nest Iii secluded spot.
put some dummy eggs under her, and
cove. aer with box Let her on the
nest at dusk the next day to eat and
drink II she returns TO the nest and
stays there all of The lext day, It will
be safe to put the good eggs under
her
The hen should be well busted with
insect powder when placed on the
nest. and again in two weeks. Keep
Whole corn and water and dust bath
handy and then let her alone II sev.
efal hens are setting Ia the same
room be careful to see that they 20
back 10 the same nests after eating,
as two win frequently get on one nest.
Investigate each nest for broken
eggs once II week If any are found.
remove the whole eggs to a new nest
after washing them in warm water
\ nest which is too deep. causes the
hen TO break eggs in stepping In. One
IN too dry 2 place dries out the eggs
dndulv and if the nest corners are
not tlled in, some eggs are liable to
roll out into them =. 1 become chilled.