The Washington herald., 1919-03-16

On the tenth day give her another
busting, and on the eighteenth day.
without failure. give her her final
busting, so that she will be free
from lice before the chicks hatch.
Dusting at this period is a paying
investment
| The sitting hen is entitled to just
SO much care daily. A little bit
or attention goes a long way with
her.
For the first couple of days place
her food and water in front of the
nest SO that she will not be COM
pelied to leave her nest to eat and
drink.
| On the third day release her and
scatter her grain on the ground.
The following day take her Off at
the same hour so that she will be-
| come accustomed to leaving the
nest.
Five minutes is ample time for
her to remain of the nest during
the first FIVE days. After that she
may remain of longer, with safety
to the eggs.
| Whole corn is the proper food for
sitting hens. They should have green
food. grit, and pure drinking water.
A good plan is to provide dust
bath when possible, which may be
composed of equal parts of coal ashes,
land plaster. very fine sand, with
liberal amount of lice powder
Thoroughly mix these ingredients to-
gether and keep in a dry place.
What an extraordinary thing is the
egg!
Containing as 1t does the necessities
for existence-protection. nutrition,
and the vital principle, or germ.
Eggs for Matching purposes must
contain these elements to a high de-
gree, and the success of incubation de-
pends wholly upon the development OF
the egg as a whole and not as a part
To the parent stock we must look
for the vigor OF the germ. The breed
ing stock mustsbe strong, healthy and
vigorous, and every effort should be
made to develop these traitS In the
parent birds. Care and attention alone
give this result.
| When the parent birds lack vitality
the chicks are naturally week. not
worth raising and it is time, patience
and money thrown away.
The chick worth having is the chick
, that releases itself from the shell with
I vigor, life and vitality. that comes
| jumping, as 1t were, into life.
| The successful breeder never takes
| chances, he always wants to know.
The breeding stock. therefore. is
solely responsible for the quality of
the egg which is to produce the chick.
Eggs for Matching should be care
fully selected, well-formed, with good
shells, and kept in a temperature of
50 degrees to 60 degrees F.
The fresher the eggs are when used
| for Matching, the better, and eggs over
| fifteen days should be discarded.
Bear in mind that 1t Is the egg from
1 which the chicks are to come and the
more careful you are in these matters
the better are your chances for sue
cess.
After all, it is the little things that
count for the most in poultry raising.
Thirteen eggs, odd though 1t may
seem, is the usual number of eggs to
| put under the average sized hen in the
spring Matching.
1t never pays to put too many eggs
under any sized hens. Be sure the
hen you place on the eggs has only
what she can cover and do well with
| A tme-saving plan Is to set hens
in pairs and giving the chicks Matched
| from botn to one hen, allowing the
Clean eggs are the only kind to use
for Matching. Careless people, and
people who don't care, usually use the
other kind OF eggs and take their
! chances, accordingly.
If it is worth your while to set any
eggs at all, it surely is worth your
while to set the eggs worth while.
After the eggs have been under the
hen for six or seven days, thep should
be tested and all infertile eggs re-
moved from the nest.
I Should several hens be set on the
same day and the eggs test badly, 1t
Is good plan to give a full nest or
the fertile eggs as far as they will go,
| then reset the other hens with new
| eggs.
| Egg testers are to be easily had
from manufacturers and dealers in
poultry supplies. A homemade tester
Is simply made with a box, paper or
wood, of a sufficient size to hold a
lamp. candle or lantern, with a hole
| in top directly over the flame. In one
side Of the box cut hole, smaller in
size than an egg, directly opposite the
| flame. r,r ~.
I, All testing should be done in a
dark room or after night. Re-
| move the hen from the nest and
hold each egg against the hole in
the side of the box, between the
eye and the light.
An infertile egg is perfectly clear
| and should be removed from the
nest. A fertile egg shows a spider
like formation, having a strong
center. with thread-like veins rum
| ming in various directions. BY gent
ly turning the egg this formation
moves, or floats, as II were.
A weak or imperfectly fertilized
egg Is noticeable by an oblong or
| circular blood vessel which has
started. but lacking in vitality in
the germ, appears dead and notion
less. Such an egg should be re-
moved from the nest.
The hen as rule is a better
sitter than the pullet for the in
| cubation of eggs.
To successfully hatch chicks
great care should be exercised in
| the selection of the sitting hen. Any
old hen seldom does in these mat
ters.
Nervous, ill-natured or cold-bloodea
hens should never be, selected for
Matching purposes. Quiet tnonexcitable
and gently-inclined hens give the best
results.
Plymouth Rocks. Wyandottes. Rhode
Island Reds. and others Of the Ameri-
can class of poultry usually are the
best for Matching purposes.
.-ax- $3.50 -