POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 23324, 21 July 1939, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

INCUBATION. Shortly many poultry farmers will be occupied with the running of incubators. There are so many different types of incubators on the market that the inexperienced prospective purchaser may find difficulty in deciding which to buy; but there is really little difference' between the : majority of them, except in price and capacity. Once a _ fully reliable incubator has been obtained and the, heating proved to be efficient, the question of moisture and .ventilation is the next considera- . tion. In this matter experience goes a long way towards securing the most satisfactory results. The best incubator may give disastrous results through lack of experience and insufficient attention. Beginners, however, often have the.luck of bringing off excellent results with their 'first attempt. * The novice is as a rule full of enthusiasm, and spends a good deal of time watching the process going on inside the ! machine, and in this way he gains experience of great use to him later.' When an unsatisfactory hatch comes off the attendant must draw on his knowledge and find out what is the true cause. Possibly the thermometer has no been registering correctly, because it has not been properly tested with a clinical thermometer before the starting. Again, proper allowance may not have been made for the variation of external temperature and weather, and these factors have a decided effect on the hatching of the eggs. .Hot water machines particularly need to be carefully .watched, and when the drawer iS open to cool the eggs the lamp should he'removed or turned down. The operator will find that the damper over ■ the lamp chimney is generally slightly raised when the machine works pro- , perly, and that it rises considerably when the hatch is nearing the end. This marked increase is_ due to the heat generated by the living chicks in the e? *\Vhen the drawer is opened the egg chamber cools, and the clamper, falling, rests- on the lamp chimney, with the result that all the heat circulates through the incubator and makes the water hotter. When the drawer is closed the damper rises so high that in some instances the capsule is damaged or burnt. The only way to avoid this is to either turn clown the flame of the lamp or to remove d! until the drawer has been replaced. There arfc differences of opinion as to the amouflt of moisture and ventilation required for successful incubation. * Water is absolutely necessary, and there should he a certain amount of damp cloths in the machine room from which the air can draw its moisture. The

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amount necessary can bo gauged fairly well by observing the appearance of the air sac in the shell at the time of testing. ' The beginner will, of course, follow the maker’s instructions implicitly at first, but as he goes on ho may find that local conditions necessitate variations in regard to moisture and ventilation. THE CHALAZAE. If you open an egg carefully you will notice that there appears to be within tho “ white ” two twisted portions of rather white substance. You may notice that an end of each of these objects rests against the yolk, while tho remaining portion travels towards the adjacent pole of the egg. These structures are the chalazae. The embryo does not develop out of either of these portions of the egg. If you doubt this statement, open the egg after 24 hours’ incubation and you will find that the chalazae are unaltered, yet the embryo has already appeared in quite another part. The chalazae, in fact, contain no germ cells whatever. The male germ cell never comes in contact with them, and, of course, they cannot produce the embryo. The primary function of the chalazae is to act a~s a sort of spring or support to reduce to a minimum the vibrations of the yolk (to whose surface the vital germ area is attached) and to support the yolk. The chalazae do not, and cannot, play any desired part in the formation of the chick embryo. They contain neither male nor female germ cells, and they are. in fact, formed after the vital germ cells (from which the embryo is to spring) has been completed and “closed” to all external communication. i INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE IN INCUBATORS. This is tho verdict of the Cornell (U.S.A.), Experimental Station, which has recently concluded careful research on the influence of temperature'during incubation. These investigations were carried out in a large cabinet incubator. The normal heat was 99.5 deg Fahr, Three thousand two hundred eggs vyero experimented on, and it was discovered that a larger number of organically defective and abnormal embryos were found when extreme high or low temperatures were used than when the eggs were held under a temperature near to normal. Post mortem examination of the dead embryos showed that-a ruptured yolk sac was always found when too high a temperature was used, and the sticky appearhnee of the egg was found with low temperatures. Malpositions and hsemorrhages were tiot a specific symptom of either high or low

temperatures. but were discovered under both extremes of temperature. It was further proved that mortality was less during the early stages when a slightly higher temperature was- employed, and during the last stages, when the temperature was allowed to become lower. This being the case, it was recommended that an increase in the temperature of about ideg be used during the first stage and a drop of Ideg or 2deg during the latter part of incubation. LATE-HATCHED CHICKS.

Successful incubation should nob be regarded in tho light of the number of clucks hatched, but rather by their quality. There are many who still attempt to increase their percentage by helping out chicks which are slow in breaking through the shells. Tho strongest chicks are those which get out to time.

It sometimes happens, through a mishap, that all the hatch is late, and in such cases the chicks can usually be reared successfully. Running a machine at too low a temperature, too prolonged cooling, or leaving the drawer of eggs out too long can cause delayed hatching. On the other hand, if the hatch is to time and there are plenty of chicks out on the twenty-first day, one need not worry much about those not out after the next morning. Those few which scramble out late, after the others have hatched normally, aro accepted weaklings. and .they arc not worth attempting to rear. THE HEN AS AN INCUBATOR. Mr L. Robinson, writing in 1 Eggs ’ (England), considers that there can be no doubt but that hens as hatchers and rearers can be made to play a very useful part on the poultry farm, providing the work is properly organised. A CHICK LITTER POINTER. If you are observant you will notice that chickens always sleep in the same corner of their “ cold ” houses, and after a day or two the litter here will become foul and dampish, whereas probably it is quite clean in, sa ( y, the opposite corner—that is to say, if left alone. Because of this, however, interiors should be inspected every morning and the litter well stirred up and distributed the litter covered on the'previous night being scattered with the rest. At tho same time, move the house (if of this type) to a fresh patch of ground, studying the wind meanwhile and arranging it to back the latter. FOR SALE, 18 Ancouas; also few Rhodes and White Leghorns, one-year-olds. —Apply 430 Cumberland street.