I do not propose here to give my experience, together with the many
experiments made during the last twenty years, but shall aim to give
the reader simple instructions for hatching and growing ducks for market
and selection of breeding stock. I would say here that the first thing
for the operator to learn in turning the eggs is to do it carefully and
well, without breaking or unnecessarily jarring them; and then, to do it
as quickly as possible, especially if done in a cold atmosphere, so as
not to derange the heat in the egg-chamber. The next thing is to
maintain as even a temperature as possible during the hatch. I do not
think that a variation of one degree is at all detrimental. But
different people have different ideas of regularity. A man who did not
have a first-class hatch, wrote me that he had kept the machine right to
business, as it had run between 90 and 110 degrees during the entire
hatch. Another man wrote that his machine had been as low as 100
degrees, and once up to 103 degrees, and wishing to know if I thought it
would be fatal to his hatch.
There is no such thing as accuracy in the composition of some men,
things are run "hap-hazard," failure and misfortune are always
attributed to conditions, circumstances, or hard luck,--never to
themselves,--and in case of a poor hatch, always the incubator.
Instructions go for nothing with them. An enterprising incubator maker
told me one day that he believed that the world was composed of cranks
and fools (at least the poultry part of it). The one-half did not know
anything, while the other half had all that was worth knowing and
despised all instructions and common-sense.
In running your machine, the first step is to set it level and see that
the glasses register alike in both ends of the machine. Next, procure
good oil, 150 test (as poor oil will necessitate frequent trimming,
besides crusting the wick). Do not use more flame than is necessary, as
it will only be a waste of oil, and with some machines will increase
the ventilation, and at the same time decrease the moisture. Be regular
in both filling lamps and trimming them, as irregularity frequently
involves forgetfulness, and that sometimes means disaster to the hatch.
In trimming, it is well to turn on the same amount of flame in
relighting your lamp as it had previously.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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