THE INCUBATOR

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 93, 21 April 1933, Page 13

THE INCUBATOR

ADVICE AS TO CHOICE

A few would-be poultry keepers are getting ready for a busy season. They have used a pencil to work /out costs and returns, and know just how many eggs- must be set to get so many pullets; provided they have allowed five eggs for each pullet reared they will bo somewhere near the- mark. So, if you require more than 50 to 100 pullets you can see that you will need a goodsized breeding pen, and an incubator as well. Often it would pay' much better to purchase day-old chicks instead of worrying over breeders and incubators. But if you want to get right into the business, you will bo keen to hatch and breed your own stock; so that sooner or later you will require an incubator. Let it be big enough. So many buy a small machine, which will .do for one season, and then find that they need a bigger onp. Small machines are relatively far more expensive to buy than bigger ones._ If you can possibly afford a new machine it usually pays to get one, for then you have the maker % guarantee of satisfaction, as well as a machine that will sell well lator on. But if funds are low, and you think you can manage with a second-hand machine, now is the time to start making inquiries. Quito the best method is to go to a neighbouring poultryman, and offer him a small commission to locate and test a machine for you. He will know how to go about itj and if you look like a prospective customer for stud stock or hatching eggs ho might even set the machine up for you, and assist you with the first batch. Bewaro of that old type machine which is out of date and for which spare parts are unobtainable. Look for evidence of care of the appearance, for if the- outside has been kopt clean and polished, the inside has probably been well looked after too. Never buy a machine without the maker's book of instructions. All machines vary slightly in management, and the maker is the man who knows how best to.run his typo of machine. Home-made machines are seldom satisfactory or cheap. The electric types are ideal, but then how often can you depend on the supply of . power? Coal-gas machines aro very good indeed, but for general purposes the kerosene machine is the best, and tho easiest to resell. : There are at least two New Zealandmade machines which are as good as the best imported, and theso aro the "1.X.L." and tho "Kapai." A 200----egg machine may cost you £15, and that seems a big price, but it should last at least ten years, and once established the profit from the sale of dayold chicks to neighbours will soon repay the total cost of the incubator.