Livable Chicks—Not Numbers
In 1911, the readers of advertisements in the Poultry Magazines were confronted with the statement that a certain incubator was the only competitor the hen had. But, it is sad to state, there must have been some mistake, for this incubator could not live up to the claim in the advertisement, nor, so far as it is known, is there any incubator which approximates that claim. Some marvelous hatches are written of, but the question is not one of marvelous hatches, so far as it means the number of chicks which manage to come through the strenuous act of exclusion, but the real question of incubation is as to the number of strong chicks, capable of living and growing into an animal which will become a money maker for the man who hatched and raised it.
Many people stand in great awe of an incubator, no matter what its make, and have the feeling that to hatch a fair number of chicks in a machine is almost a miracle. The fact is, however, if the purchaser of any incubator will realize that the manufacturer knows more about the proper way to run it than Tom Jones, or Bill Smith, who may be neighbors, and will follow the instructions as given by the manufacturer, with good fertile eggs, it will be almost a miracle if he does not get at least a fair hatch.
There are so many different makes of machines it is quite impossible to write a chapter on incubation which will cover the needs of all phases of it. The above advice, however, if followed, will certainly be more apt to bring about successful hatches than anything else that can be done.
On The Corning Egg Farm the problem of incubation has been most carefully studied from the inception of the Farm.