POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19405, 13 August 1926, Page 7

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

EGGS FOR HATCHING. 1 METHODS 'OF HANDLING. HOUSING OF THE HENs] ; . by O.H. . r , ' Poultry-keeping is made up ,of details It is strict attention to these details—tin little things—thut make for success. Out of these essential points, often entirelj ignored, but generally neglected, is flu question pertaining • to eggs required foi incubation- purposes, apart from fertility : and the great 1 caro. necessary in collecting selecting, and storing such eggs in ordei to avoid Such contingencies as " dead ii: shell." Undoubtedly the most important reason for "dead in shell," especially in artificial incubation, can bo traced to wrongly constructed,. incubators, and faulty manage' merit, either in the running of the incubator or the more complex question ol mating and fedding of the breeding pens. But the care of the eggs themselves, plays a . very large part in many disappointing hatches, and often the poor results obtained' cannot possibly be attributed tc any other cause. In the early months of the breeding season especially, is it necessary to display care in the collecting of eggs for sitting, The germ—the life of the egg, the potential chicken—must be kept in norma! temperature. Sudden heat or cold will ldll the germ, so that in the winter and early spring any egg exposed to the open for any length of time on a frosty morning must surely die. It is usual to collect the eggs when the birds are being fed, but this must not bo dono where eggs are required for incubation. They must be collected as soon as possible from the nests, not exposed to the winds and the cold atmosphere, in a pail containing corn or meal It involves a little more trouble, perhaps, but the results will more than repay the little extra work. Where eggs have to be collected on a large scale, a pail cohtaining hay is the best means of doing so without any risk. Killing Egg Germs. i Sudden heat will causo the germs of ur egg to die. This is the best knowr method of preventing eggs sold for table purposes from highly round stock from being used for incubating purposes. (It ii necessary only to dip them for a secohd or two in very hot water, but not boiling, as it will break the shells. It docs not affect the eggs for selling in any way). Moderate heat must be avoided, or th< eggs will start to germinate, and, at a later period, on being changed to a 2o\vot ; temperature, will die off. | From the time eggs are laid until they 1 are placed in the incubator, it is absolutely essential . -that- the temperature should - be even throughput.. There must • be no great' boat, or warmth, neither must the eggs be exposed br/tftored ik a really , cold atmosphere. But do not store the : eggs any . longer. than you can possibly help.; ,• There is one point, on which all experts agree namely, that • the fresher the eggs are,-when they r are placod in the . i incubator, 1 ' the higher" percentage oi : healthy chicks, that will be obtained from the hatch. This ; is a most important ; point, and ono that we must thoroughly ] understand. It is a question of froshIhess... .It ,is possible to hatch chickens of' a sort -from eggs two to three weeks old, but neves." as strong as the chicks hatched from egga of two tofive days old. It is a waste of time to try and hatch chickens in an incubator from eggs ovfii a month old. Be Sure the Eggs are Fresh. When-" csjgs are ordered from fai i -away; 'sttonla(b : ithey-Are to be laic 'within - dftfe.-01, 4.1* ipatch. ' IV is obvltSus -thfit the'gtirmist>n: tained in an egg is stronger on the second or third day .than it would be ten or more days after the hen had laid it. But there is. also another matter that has tc , do with the hatchability; of an egg, and that 5s moisture. The question of moisture is continually cropping up from the time the egg is laid until the chicks are ! well feathered. When it is remembered • that the average tigg contains as much a; 66 per cent, of water (moisture), and thai nature intended it in such a quantity, and being absolutely essential for the producing of a chicken, it is obvious that ii this moisture is lost in some way or othei it will greatly affect the result, if it doci not entirely prevent it. . We can, to a large extent/ provent the evaporation before the eggs aro actually set by buying and sitting only absolutelj fresh ones. It is obvious that it if impossible to replace the moisture once it i 9 lost, no matter how carefully the moisture is distributed, once the eggs are in the incubator. The damage is ahead) done. Twenty per cent, less moisture is sufficient to prevent an egg from hatching and it is possible to lose this amount ir less than five days if the' eggs are stored in dry material and a general dry at ; mosphere. How Eggs Should be Stored. If, for some unavoidable reason, the eggs must be stored for several days, they must be kept in such a way as tc prevent : the moisture from evaporating to any great extent. The material must not snly be of such a nature that it will not absorb the moisture from the egg itself, but, if possible, will give to the egg any small amount of moisture it: may lose in other directions day by da'i. J have found tran to be good, £or, although it appears to be of a dry nature, it will not absorb the moisture. : When it is possible,'do not place egg; over three days old in an incubator. Ii is hot necessary to Btore tliem in any special material* but to keep them in or dinary felt-lined egg-boxes, and coverct by a sack or similar material. Noithet is it essential to turn them, as they wili rest better standing oh end. 1 " Eggs kepi fpr incubation ■ purposes oyer three dayi are best stored on their sides and turned once only. • ' ' . ■ * Kind ol Eggs to Select. 1 Now a word on selection of eggs fol latching. All eggs to' be ,'oscd for incubation purposes must be of normal size and shape. However difficult it may be to find enough eggs to fill the tray, do not. waste jnoney by keeping eggs that are small, very large— over 2J 02. crinkled,' uneven, or in any w.ay misshapen or unusual.. Get what money you can by selliiig these for the table. It is quite possible that you have some birds that lay Very fine large eggs, and you are anxious to obtain chicks from them. The eggs are too large for hatch* ing purposes under ordinary circumstances, and wo find from- experience that it is useless placing them down to' hatch. Where such is the case, there is onlv one way of obtaining chicks from such birds, and they are valuable. The eggs must be reduced in size, so that they Come under the This effect ej'&n bo- obtained" by widening the ration, say, to one in five, instead of the usual one in four for layers. The easiest, method of widening the ration is id feed rather more grain. About 2az. pet diem is excellent for breeders. As one passes through the various distrieits, and particularly countyy districts it is a common sight to see poultry huddled together in one shed, with an old rail or the bough of a. tree for a perch, or a get of pbrches ifi tiers oneabove the other. Many poaltiy are also permitted to perc!; on the roof rafters of the shed or bam. All three systems are wrong. In the first place, permanent or fixed perches harboui red mite and other pests, and particularly so when the bark is still on the boughs in use, arid Where the perches aro placed one above the other the birds all try to get on the top perch. The instinct of self-preservation seems t° prompt au fowls to try and gain the top or highest perch, and the scrambles for results in overcrowding, injured birds and lost -eggs (shell-less ones).