Space in the _Rural_ is valuable, and so important a subject as
artificial incubation cannot perhaps be made entirely plain to a
novice in a few articles; but as interested parties have written for
additional information, it may interest others to answer them here.
Among the questions asked are: "Does the incubator described in the
_Rural_ dispense entirely with the use of a lamp, using at intervals a
bucket of water to maintain proper temperature? I fear this will not
be satisfactory unless the incubator is kept in a warm room or
cellar."
All incubators must be kept in a warm location, whether operated by a
lamp or otherwise. The warmer the room or cellar, the less warmth
required to be supplied. Bear in mind that the incubator recommended
has four inches of sawdust surrounding it, and more sawdust would
still be an advantage. The sawdust is not used to protect against the
outside temperature, but to absorb and hold a large amount of heat,
and that is the secret of its success. The directions given were to
first fill the tank with boiling water and allow it to remain for 24
hours. In the meantime the sawdust absorbs the heat, and more boiling
water is then added until the egg-drawer is about 110 or 115 degrees.
By this time there is a quantity of stored heat in the sawdust. The
eggs will cool the drawer to 103. The loss of heat (due to its being
held by the sawdust) will be very slow. All that is needed then is to
supply that which will be lost in 12 hours, and a bucket of boiling
water should keep the heat about correct, if added twice a day, but it
may require more, as some consideration must be given to fluctuations
of the temperature of the atmosphere. The third week of incubation,
owing to animal heat from the embryo chicks, a bucket of boiling water
will sometimes hold temperature for 24 hours. No objection can be
urged against attaching a lamp arrangement, but a lamp is dangerous at
night, while the flame must be regulated according to temperature. The
object of giving the hot water method was to avoid lamps. We have a
large number of them in use (no lamps) here, and they are equal to any
others in results.
With all due respect to some inquirers, the majority of them seem
afraid of the work. Now, there is some work with all incubators. What
is desired is to get rid of the anxiety. I stated that a bucket of
water twice a day would suffice. I trusted to the judgment of the
reader somewhat. Of course, if the heat in the egg drawer is 90
degrees, and the weather cold, it may then take a wash boiler full of
water to get the temperature back to 103 degrees, but when it is at
103 keep it there, even if it occasionally requires two buckets of
boiling water. To judge of what may be required, let us suppose the
operator looks at the thermometer in the morning, and it is exactly
103 degrees. He estimates that it will lose a little by night, and
draws off half a bucket of water. At night he finds it at 102. Knowing
that it is on what we term "the down grade," he applies a bucket and a
half (always allowing for the night being colder than the day). As
stated, the sawdust will not allow the drawer to become too cold, as
it gives off heat to the drawer. And, as the sawdust absorbs, it is
not easy to have the heat too high. One need not even look at the
drawer until the proper times. No watching--the incubator regulates
itself. If a lamp is used, too much heat may accumulate. The flame
must be occasionally turned up or down, and the operator must remain
at home and watch it, while during the third week he will easily cook
his eggs.
The incubator can be made at home for so small a sum (about $5 for the
tank, $1 for faucet, etc., with 116 feet of lumber) that it will cost
but little to try it. A piece of glass can be placed in front of the
egg drawer, if preferred. If the heat goes down to 90, or rises at
times to 105, no harm is done. But it works well, and hatches, the
proof being that hundreds are in use. I did not give the plan as a
theory or an experiment. They are in practical use here, and work
alongside of the more expensive ones, and have been in use for four
years. To use a lamp attachment, all that is necessary is to have a
No. 2 burner lamp with a riveted sheet-iron chimney, the chimney
fitting over the flame, like an ordinary globe, and extending the
chimney (using an elbow) through the tank from the rear, ending in
front. It should be soldered at the tank. The heat from the lamp will
then pass through the chimney and consequently warm the surrounding
water.--_Rural New-Yorker._
[For description and illustrations of this incubator see SUPPLEMENT,
No. 630.]
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