Egg Incubation for the Poultry Keeper - A Collection of Articles on the Methods and Equipment of Natural and Artificial Incubation

By Read Books Ltd.

"Egg Incubation for the Poultry Keeper" is a complete guide for poultry keepers, containing information on the methods, equipment, general management, housing, health and ailments, and much more. It is intended to illustrate the main aspects of egg incubation and serves as a guide for anyone wishing to obtain a general knowledge of the subject and understand the field in its historical context. With simple instructions and a wealth of invaluable information, “Egg Incubation for the Poultry Keeper" is highly recommended for farmers and amateur poultry keepers alike. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on poultry farming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Jun 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781473391079

Book preview

Egg Incubation for

the Poultry Keeper

A Collection of Articles on

the Methods and Equipment

of Natural and Artificial

Incubation

By

Various Authors

Contents

Backyard Poultry Keeping. John C Taylor

Chicken Raising Made Easy. Paul W Chapman

Good Poultry Keeping. C. E. Fermor

Incubation and Brooding of Chickens

Management of Farm Poultry - With a View to a Profit.

Herbert Howes

Modern Poultry Management. Herbert Howes

Modern Poultry Practice. M Whalley Taylor

Pictoral Poultry Keeping. Denys De Saulles

Poultry. A. W. Richardson

Poultry Craft. Will Hooley

Poultry Farming. J. J. Bronkhorst

Poultry Farming for a Living. Cyril Grange

Poultry Keeping. Charles G. Stacey

Poultry Men’s Pocket Book - A Useful Manual for all Persons Interested in the Production of Eggs and Poultry for Market and the Breeding of Standard-Bred Poultry for Exhibition

Poultry World Annual and Year Book

Poultry-Keeping To-Day - Pictured and Explained

Practical Experience in Breeding, Rearing and Fattening the Common Kinds of Domestic Poultry, with and Interesting Account of Experiments of Artificial Incubation.

Joseph Newton

Profitable Poultry Keeping. H Clyde Knandel

The Flemish System of Poultry Raising. Madame Jasper

INCUBATION

ALTHOUGH the most common and easiest ways of either starting or replacing the small flock are by the three methods previously mentioned—namely, the purchase of day-old chicks, started chicks or ready-to-lay pullets—there is still a fourth way that some flock owners will find convenient. This is by incubation or hatching eggs produced by the small flock. Replenishing the flock by incubation will depend upon the size of flock and the amount of room available. Another important factor to consider is the neighborhood’s attitude toward crowing roosters. Where incubation is practiced with the small flock, it is necessary to have a male bird in the pen to fertilize the eggs. Only one male should be necessary in the small flock, since the common rule is that one male bird will be sufficient to fertilize the eggs produced from a flock of from ten to twenty females. There are two methods of hatching eggs, the natural method and the artificial method.

Natural Incubation

The natural method is the most economical when only a small number of eggs are to be set since this method does not require any expenditure for equipment. In general, when less than one hundred chicks are wanted in a season it is sensible to use natural incubation.

The natural method of incubation has very definite disadvantages, chief of which is the problem of securing broody hens for setting. No incubation can be done until the hen has indicated her intention of setting by remaining on the nest for two or three days. This means that only a few eggs can be incubated at a time as the hens do not all become broody at once. The result is a great variation in the ages of chicks, a disadvantage. The labor of caring for setting hens could be used more profitably and it takes a lot of time to care for setting hens. Using hens for incubation sometimes causes a heavy loss of valuable eggs as there is no assurance that a broody hen will not leave her nest before the hatch is over.

Procedure to Follow in Hatching With Hens

The hen used for hatching should be one of the general purpose breeds such as Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte or Rhode Island Red. These breeds make the best mothers as a rule, and there is less danger of them leaving the nest before the hatch is over. In no case should a Leghorn be used for hatching. The time of setting the hen will depend entirely on when the hen goes broody. The natural season will be from the middle of April throughout the summer. It is not advisable to set a hen before the middle of April, for any hen that is broody before that time will not continue for the entire hatch.

The setting hen should be given a secluded spot so she will not be disturbed by other birds. The nest should be large enough and low enough so that there is no danger of the bird breaking the eggs when she gets on and off the nest. A barrel placed on the ground and braced so it will not roll makes an ideal nest for a setting hen. Use oat, straw or hay for nesting material and shape the material so that the eggs will not roll out. Before setting the hen should be treated for lice. This should also be done twice during the. incubation period, and any commercial lice powder can be used for this purpose. In feeding keep a supply of scratch grain, grit and fresh water available for the hen. If any eggs become broken during the hatch the nest should be thoroughly cleaned and the remaining eggs cleaned. Before putting the eggs to be hatched under the hen, move the hen to the new nest at night and place a half dozen china eggs under her. If the hen settles down and stays on the nest a few days it is then safe to give her the hatching eggs to incubate.

Artificial Incubation

Almost all incubation of eggs is now done with incubators. Artificial incubation has several advantages over the natural method of incubation. Hatching can be started at any time with incubators and the labor involved is considerably less with incubators than with the hens. Where a large number of chicks are to be hatched, it is the cheaper method.

Operation of an Incubator

Very little can be said as to the detail operation of an incubator as conditions under which incubators are operated vary so that it is a matter of time and experience to operate an incubator well. Only a few general principles can be stated that apply to mostly all incubators. The first and most important of these general rules is: Follow the directions furnished with the incubator.

The room in which the incubator is operated should provide a uniform temperature of about from sixty to sixty-five degrees. A cellar is generally the most satisfactory place for the incubator under farm conditions. Before any incubator is started for hatching it should be thoroughly checked to see if all is in working order. Thermometers should be checked as one or two degrees variation will seriously affect the hatch and the incubator should be operated for three days to a week before the eggs are placed in the machine. This will show up any defects and will thus save the eggs that otherwise would have been lost. Testing and turning the eggs should be followed as suggested in the directions of the manufacturer. In some machines testing the eggs to see if they contain live embryos is done several times and in others only once. Cooling the eggs during the hatch was a common practice in the past, but recent experiments now show that cooling is no longer essential.

Cleaning the incubator after the hatch is a very important step in successful incubation. A thorough cleaning each time a hatch is removed reduces the danger of disease to a minimum. All portable parts, such as hatching trays and egg trays should be removed and the down and dust removed. The trays should then be washed in disinfectant. The interior of the incubator should be cleaned in the same manner as the trays. A two per cent solution of creolin or genoleum is a very satisfactory disinfectant. After the hatching season is over the incubator should be cleaned as described above, and in addition the heating unit should be thoroughly cleaned.

PERIOD OF INCUBATION

Eggs for Hatching

There is an old saying among poultrymen: Given a good egg, almost any incubator will hatch it. There is a lot of truth in this statement. Unless the hatching eggs are produced by strong, healthy breeders and properly cared for before being placed in an incubator, there is little prospect of a good hatch. It is generally agreed that the care of hatching eggs is probably the most important part of incubation. Following are listed six points that should be closely followed in the care of eggs for hatching.

1. Collect eggs twice a day; three times during cold weather.

2. Hold at a temperature of from fifty-five to sixty degrees.

3. Turn eggs once a day.

4. Do not hold eggs longer than ten days.

5. Save only uniform eggs; size, shape and color to be considered.

6. Set nothing less than a two-ounce egg.

INCUBATION AND BREEDING

INCUBATION and breeding are important jobs in poultry production. As a rule the home-flock owner will save time, labor, and—in most instances—expense by buying from commercial hatcheries. There are, however, small-flock owners who prefer to hatch their own chickens. Poultry breeding is creative work; it may be made a profitable business or a fascinating hobby.

INCUBATION

There are two methods of incubating eggs, and both have a place in the industry. Natural incubation is the setting of eggs under a broody hen; artificial incubation is the hatching of eggs in incubators.

Natural Incubation: Nature’s way of hatching eggs is satisfactory if only a few chicks are desired. But the poultry industry could never have been brought to its present state of development without a more rapid means of multiplying the species. If only 25 or 30 chicks are wanted, 2 hens will hatch and care for them. This plan saves the expense involved in providing an incubator and brooder.

The general-purpose breeds, such as Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks, make good mothers. They can hatch about 16 eggs. Leghorns are nonbroody—that is, the mother instinct is not highly developed in them and the hens cannot be depended upon to do a good job.

Hens must be broody before they can be trusted with a setting of eggs. This condition can be induced as follows if it does not develop naturally: Fasten the hen in a dark nest for 24 hours without feed and water. Let her out for feed, water, and exercise the second day. After a short time, put her back in the dark nest with 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs and 2 or 3 chicks. Feed and water the chicks several times a day and the hen once or twice. After 3 or 4 days, the hen will be broody. If the chicks are not used a longer period is required to produce broodiness. The eggs are boiled to prevent a restless hen from breaking them.

Sitting hens must be free from lice and mites. Nests should be 16 inches square, contain about 6 inches of nesting material, and be located in a quiet, protected place, away from direct light.

After the eggs for hatching have been placed under the hen, do not disturb her more than is necessary. Place water and feed—a mixture of grains—conveniently close. Mark the eggs so they can be identified in case another hen should lay in the nest or someone gather the eggs by mistake.

The incubation period is 21 days. The mother hen should be kept on the nest until all the chicks are hatched; some hens have a tendency to leave the nest as soon as the first few chicks have broken through their shells. To determine how many eggs will produce chicks, candle them on the 7th and 14th days. If a light globe is placed inside a small box or tin can and a hole cut in the side, it is possible to look through an egg held close to the light. If the embryo chick is forming, the development will be apparent—such development will show an outline of the growing embryo; whereas, fresh or infertile eggs are quite clear. If the embryo is dead, it will appear as a dark spot.

After the chicks are hatched, the hen and her brood may be confined to any small house or enclosure. No artificial heat is required. A barrel or small boxlike structure no larger than a typical dog kennel will prove satisfactory. A run or yard, made of poultry mesh somewhat like the sun porch recommended for the small outdoor brooder is desirable. The hen should be confined to the brood coop and yard as long as the chicks need her care. The brood coop should be placed in the shade, and, so far as possible, in a secluded location. The chicks should be fed broiler mash in hoppers, as in brooding previously discussed. The mother hen should have access to this mash and to whole grains as well.

85-EGG INCUBATOR OPERATED BY ELECTRICITY OR KEROSENE

Artificial Incubation: Long before the invention of thermometers, Chinese and Egyptian poultrymen were hatching eggs artificially. Proper temperatures were maintained through a sense of touch, and the secrets involved were kept within families and passed on from one generation to the next. But artificial incubation by mechanically controlled methods, like those employed today, is a recent development.

A hundred years ago, an incubator was such a curiosity in England that it was a public attraction comparable to the freak show with a circus. It cost a shilling to see it, and for another shilling, one could break an egg at any stage of development. Or, for the payment of a stipulated sum, the operator would hatch the egg of any bird from a wren to an eagle. A special concession was made to biological scientists, who, by paying a certain sum, were allowed to visit the incubator each day and break an egg to observe chick development.

A. M. Halstead, of Rye, N. Y., built the first incubator in the United States in 1847. But no practical model was perfected until 1887; even the most progressive poultrymen did not accept artificial incubation until after 1900.

Modern incubators vary in size from a 50-egg capacity to the mammouth machine in which approximately 80,000 eggs may be placed at one time. Costs range from $6 to several thousand. A machine holding 100 or 200 eggs is large enough for any home-flock enterprise.

Some incubators are mechanically controlled to such an extent that all the operator has to do is to set the eggs and take off the chicks. The eggs are turned automatically every 3 hours; temperatures remain constant; moisture is added as required. Small incubators, like the sectional oil-heated type, require more attention by the operator. Operating procedures, as given by the manufacturer, must be followed carefully.

In still-air, sectional-type machines, temperatures taken at the top of the eggs should be from 101° to 103°—never below 101°, never above 103°. In forced air-circulation incubators, temperatures of 99° or 100° should be maintained.

Eggs in any type of machine should be turned several times a day for 18 days to prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell. Good hatches can be obtained by 3 or 4 turnings. In some machines this means handling each egg; in others several hundred are turned at once with the aid of mechanical devices. Turning should be discontinued on the eighteenth day.

Moisture should be supplied during incubation. In some machines this may be done by placing damp cloths, pans of water, or wet sand in the incubator. If humidity is low, too much evaporation takes place; if too much moisture is present, too little evaporation takes place. Eggs should lose from 4 to 5 per cent of their weight each week. Chicken eggs require 21 days for hatching. It has been found that a little extra moisture is helpful during the last 3 days of incubation.

Do not open the incubator during the last 3 days; this allows moisture to escape. Provide more ventilation during the later stages of incubation than during the early ones.

Chicks should be dry and fluffy before being taken out of the incubator. The hatch should be completed before the end of the twenty-first day. After each hatch, the incubator should be cleaned thoroughly; any of the disinfectants recommended may be used. But to prevent the spread of pullorum disease the incubator should be fumigated during or after the hatch. When about 50 per cent of the chicks are out of their shells is a good time. Each manufacturer will give directions for operating and cleaning his incubators to each purchaser. Such directions will include a method of fumigating which will apply specifically to the make and size of incubator. In general, however, the following plan for fumigating will apply to all incubators: For each 10 cubic feet of air space, use 1 teaspoonful of formalin and 1/2 teaspoonful of potassium permanganate. Put the latter in a crock, jar, or earthenware vessel. Add the formalin. When the eggs are transferred to the separate hatcher, place the container in the machine and close the door. Leave at least 30 minutes.

BREEDING

A typical hen in the poultry flocks of America lays 10 times as many eggs as her remote ancestors in India, the country from which our chickens originally came. Eggs produced in America today are also much larger than those which nature provided for reproduction of the species. These improvements, while due in some measure to environment and management, have, for the most part been made possible through scientific methods of breeding.

It is difficult to realize that scientific breeding is a development of the present century. Actually, the principles of improvement through breeding were first announced by Mendel in 1866; but it was not until after 1900 that the significance of his discoveries were appreciated and applied. Consequently, all our progress in the scientific breeding of poultry has taken place within the past 50 years. The most rapid progress—if measured by increased egg production per hen—has occurred within the past decade.

Pedigreed Breeding: Someone has said that progress in any industry can be traced to some specific invention. In the poultry industry this invention was undoubtedly the trap nest. Trap-nesting makes it possible to carry on pedigreed breeding—that is, breeding from individuals of known production records. But to carry such a breeding program through one generation after another, hatching eggs must be marked with the leg band number of the dam (mother), to provide for the identity of the chick when hatched in the incubator, and to wing band the chicks when hatched. To identify chicks in the incubator, the eggs from each hen are placed in separate sacks before the shells are broken. Of course, the male parent of pedigreed chicks is known too, and has been selected on the basis of individual characteristics, egg-production records of his female ancestors, and other desirable traits.

Poultrymen engaged in pedigreed breeding are anxious to secure official recognition of their achievements. This may be done in two ways: (1) by entering pens of birds in recognized egg laying tests; (2) by participating in the National Poultry Improvement Plan.

American Official Egg-Laying Tests are conducted in about 18 states. They are managed, for the most part, by departments of poultry husbandry in state agricultural colleges and experiment stations. Any breeder in the world may send a pen of birds to any of these tests. A pen consists of 13 hens. The tests begin annually on October 1 and continue for 51 weeks. The birds are trap-nested. Monthly and annual reports are released by the managers of these tests, reports giving the number of eggs laid by each pen for period and the number of points credited to the pen. The same information is recorded for each bird in the contest. Points refer to egg weights. Emphasis is placed upon the size of the eggs produced as well as upon the number. Liveability is another characteristic recognized by these tests. Since no hens that die can be replaced during the tests, only the pens in which all the birds live can hope to win a place of distinction. The nation’s highest records are made in these official tests.

To encourage the more universal development of good breeding practices, the National Poultry Improvement Plan was developed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and leaders of the poultry industry. The Plan has resulted in the most rapid and gratifying progress ever made in the poultry business in a short period of time; the work is carried on through state organizations. The program of the National Poultry Improvement Plan is divided into 2 parts. The first part has to do with control of pullorum disease by producing hatching eggs from pullorum-free flocks. The second is concerned with general improvement through better breeding practices. There are several stages of grades of breeding work recognized under provisions of the program. Under the breed-improvement aspects of the work, commercial hatcheries selling chicks may be classified as Approved, Certified, Record of Performance, or Register of Merit. In each case the classification stage is preceded by the name of the state and the initials U. S. For example, Ohio U.S. Record of Performance, indicates that officials of the State of Ohio and the United States Government certify to certain facts relative to the quality of chicks sold by the particular hatchery. For the stage designated—Ohio U.S. Record of Performance—the following are among the requirements of poultry breeders supplying eggs to the hatchery:

a. Trap nests shall be of an approved type and in good working condition.

b. The inspector visits each breeder at least 7 different times during the year. During these visits he takes charge of trap-nesting, checks on records, pedigreeing, etc.

c. All records of each individual breeder are mailed into the office of the Association at the end of each month, where they are carefully checked for errors or fraud and summarized.

d. Birds entered as candidates for R.O.P. approval must be banded with permanent sealed leg bands.

e. Once trap-nesting starts, it must he done every day for 365 days and the official egg record is that produced by the bird in the 365 days.

f. To be an approved or qualified R.O.P. hen, a bird must lay in her pullet year 200 or more eggs that average 24 or more ounces per dozen. She must be a good specimen of the breed, free of standard disqualifications, and in the case of white-egg breeds must produce an egg free of tint.

g. Before a bird is approved she is handled by the R.O.P. inspector to check on the above points, in addition to having her egg records and egg weights carefully checked. Egg weights are taken at least 3 days every month.

h. An R.O.P. breeding pen consists only of R.O.P. hens mated to an R.O.P. male. Only individual matings (those with one male) are permitted.

i. An R.O.P. male must be hatched from an egg produced from an R.O.P. mating, must be individually pedigreed, and be handled, banded, and approved by the inspector.

j. R.O.P. chicks or eggs must come from R.O.P. matings and be individually pedigreed.

k. All R.O.P. matings are carefully inspected and checked during the breeding season by the R.O.P. inspector.

When such standards are maintained through state and Federal organizations and enforced by qualified inspectors, the public has a standard by which the quality and value of chicks may be determined, and also a state- and nation-wide basis for better poultry breeding. Every person who keeps chickens profits from the pedigreed breeding done by the men and women engaged in this important work.

Flock Breeding: Few flock owners will be interested in carrying on pedigreed breeding work. The majority who wish to produce eggs for hatching will merely want to set fertile eggs laid by their best hens. Since chicks, like other living creatures, tend to inherit the characteristics of their parents and grandparents, it is imperative that owners always breed from the best available stock.

The best hens are, in 9 cases out of 10, those that lay the most eggs. By applying the guides for culling, the best hens may be selected; these are the ones from which hatching eggs should be saved. When these hens have been selected they must be blood-tested for pullorum disease. County and home demonstration agents will be able to give flock owners names of local persons available for making such blood tests. These tests are very simple; anyone can learn the required procedures and techniques in a few minutes.

To produce fertile eggs, male birds must be kept in the flock. For the dual-purpose breeds, one male may be mated with 10 to 15 hens. Males should be placed with the hens a week or 10 days prior to the time that hatching eggs are to be saved. The males should remain in the flock as long as fertile eggs are desired.

Males should be of the same breed and variety as the hens. They may be of the same strain or family, but should not be too closely related. To avoid the possibility of too much in-breeding, new male stock should be introduced into the flocks every two years. Such new males should come from known breeding lines and possess egg records and other qualities which will improve the progeny. It is desirable to secure such males as baby chicks and grow them out as insurance against the possibility of introducing disease into the flock.

INCUBATION

Natural and Artificial. Hatching by the broody hen. Incubators large and small. Hot-water and hot-air machines. How to work the incubator efficiently. Treatment of eggs and the hatching chick.

HATCHING.

HEN eggs take twenty-one days to hatch out, duck eggs twenty-eight days to thirty days, turkey eggs twenty-eight days, guinea fowls twenty-five to twenty-six days, pheasants and partridges twenty-four to twenty-five days. Hatching by natural methods is not now practised on large commercial farms. This is probably owing to the extra labour entailed, the difficulty of getting enough broody hens as required, and also because it has been found out by practice that equally good results can, with careful management, be obtained by the use of the incubator. Where only small numbers of eggs are required for hatching the natural method is still used. Many will remember one successful breeder on a large scale doing all his hatching in recent years in this way. A broody hen is one that is showing signs of a desire to sit on or brood her