The Brinkley argus. (Brinkley, Ark.) 1883-current, 1917-04-06

Proper Incubation Makes Big Flock,
But 1t Takes Much
Care.
By H. e. Dvorachek, College OF
Agriculture, Fayetteville.

Successful incubation commences
with proper storage of the eggs prior
to the time that they are put in the
machine. Eggs should be kept in a
cool temperature Of approximately
10 degrees and If this temperature is
not maintained 1t will die and cause
the egg to be culled out as infertile
at the first Gambling. 1t is recommend
ed that the eggs be turned daily and
for twelve hours before the hatch is
begun they should rest on end with
the large end up so that the air cell
may adjust itself A good cellar Is a
prerequisite of good hatch. 1t should
be one that is we'll ventilated at all
times, and the windows should be so
arranged that no direct sunlight falls
on the machine.
Very often we are asked the type of
incubator one should buy. During in
cubation there is probably very little
difference in the regularity of heat
maintenance of a hot water and hot
air machine. However, the latter is
more quickly heated up at any time.
The hot water machine has the advan-
tage in the fact that if the lamp should
Unexpectedly be extinguished the
heat will be retained longer On &C
count of the tank arrangement on this
kind of machine it is doubtful if It IS
as durable over period of years as
the hot air machine due to natural
rusting out.
Always run an incubator for at
least a day before putting in the eggs.
This enables the machine to thorough
| ly dry out 1t permits of correct tenn
perature adjustment and at the same
time gives the operator a knowledge
of the workings of his machine.
On the egg tray the eggs should not
be piled one upon the other The ma
chine should not be 80 crowded that
efficient turning can not take place. In
imitation of nature the eggs should be
turned regularly twice day, morning
and night, commencing on the even
ing of the third day.
Temperature may be recorded on
the eggs or by the thermometer in sus-
pension Immediately above the egg
tray. This latter method is unques-
tionably the better because It obviates
the danger Of the thermometer bulb
resting upon an infertile egg or upon
one in which the embryo has died. 1t
is recommended that the machine be
regulated at temperature of 102 de-
grees during the first week and 1903
degrees thereafter.
Gambling should be done twice dur
ing the hatch, on the seventh and
fourteenth days. On the seventh day
under the candle the live germ will
have the appearance of a spider due to
the network OF veins that are develop
ing. Infertile eggs will appear clear
and germs that have died will show
up with a semi-circular red line. The
purpose of Gambling on the fourteenth
day is to determine the size of the
air cell so that the operator may know
whether he is supplying sufficient
moisture. Dead chicks at this time
will have an immobile appearance
and the air cell will be hazy as COM
pared with the clear air cell of the
egg containing live chick. Infertile
eggs may be saved and boiled for tho
chicks; but they should not be mar
keted.
The greatest problem in artificial
incubation is the proper supplying of
moisture to the egg. 1t is fact that
from nine to eleven per cent Of the
total contents Of the egg may evapo-
rate during the hatch and moisture
must be supplied to compensate for
this loss. A big advance in the manu-
facture of incubators recently has
been the introduction of sand trays
which are kept puddled with water
during the hatch. These trays set i'm
mediately below the egg tray in the
machine. Some people have dishes OF
water in the bottom Of the incubator.
Others sprinkle the eggs with warm
water, using a whisk broom or an
atomizer, all of which methods are
good but it would seem that the sand
tray dIIdllScllltl 10 IllC DOoLJ DOLu
from the standpoint of labor and eff
cheney.
Regular care of the lamp during the
hatch is necessary. The charred por-
ton of the wick may be scraped off
with a match. When the lamp.is re-
placed in the machine after filling it
should not be turned up too high be-
cause smoking may take place All
accumulation of SCOT may result and
consequently the fame may go out
and ruin the possibilities of a good
hatch.
On the evening of the eighteenth day
the machine should be closed and not
opened again until Matching is well
over. The idea is that the chick must
not be disturbed Immediately before
Matching. The hatch should be en-
tireIy over on the evening of the
twenty-first day. If it takes longer ii
signifies that the machine has been
running at too low temperature and
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