Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 57, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1918 — WELL TO SELECT BEST INCUBATOR [ARTICLE]

WELL TO SELECT BEST INCUBATOR

Hatcher Found to Be Successful Locally, Usually Most Profitable. MANY MAKES ARE RELIABLE Machines Most Popular In Vicinity Enables Beginner to Learn From Experience of Others—Size Is of Importance. If you are concerned now with the selection of an incubator, you have the choice of many .reliable makes. Since it is not advisable to recommend any particular machine, you would best study the types and decide for yourself. Wherever possible it is well to select an incubator which has given satisfaction in your locality, so that you may get the benefit of the experience of other operators near by. Some machines have become popular in certain sections of the country because they were advertised extensively in that section rather than because of adaptability to the climatic conditions. Don’t Buy Cheap Machine. Cheap machines are less reliable, require more attention and wear out much quicker than higher-priced incubators. As the value of the machine is small compared to the value of the eggs used during the normal life of the incubator, it la poor economy to purchase a machine that is not reliable. The details of construction and equipment of most incubators are so subject to change that it is impossible to state definitely the best kind of lamps, brackets, regulators and other equipment for the different Incubators. The lamp should have a bowl large enough to hold sufficient oil to burn at least 36 hours under average weather conditions; it should be easy to remove and replace and. set absolutely tight in position. The. incubator should be set so that the lamp is at a convenient height and the egg tray convenient to handle. , Size of Machine to Get The best size of an incubator to buy depends upon circumstances. It takes

about as much time to care' for a 60 as it does for a 300-egg machine, so that it is generally advisable to get one of at least 150-egg capacity, although special conditions -often exist which make smaller machines valuable. A small machine is often used in connection with a larger one, placing all the eggs in the large machine after the first or second test Incubators of from 800 to 400-egg capacity are generally used on those large farms which use individual lamp incubators. Many poultrymen believe that it pays to have an incubator capacity large enough to hatch tbs bulk of their stock la two

Or three batches, so that much time is saved in tending to the incubators and brooders, while the chickens are more even in size than those that are hatched when the incubating period extends over a longer time. A fair estimate for a poultry farm Is an Incubator space of one-egg capacity per hen v provided that about one-half of the flock is to be renewed yearly and no outside hatching is carried on. The larger machines cost less in proportion to their capacity than the smaller ones.