Poultrology; A Complete Description of the Yesterlaid Unit Method of Egg Farming (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 Excerpt: ...nature is dominant; and so the chicks hatched from these eggs would show a tendency to lay eggs of poor shape. Then, too, eggs that are of different sizes and different thicknesses of shell do not respond to the heat of the incubator so evenly as eggs that are more uniform in size and shell. Care of Eggs Previous to Incubation. It has been stated above that eggs should not be held for any great length of time, so that there is little to be said under this heading. However, if it is found necessary to hold the eggs from a week to ten days, or in extreme cases, which is not at all advisable, two weeks, the eggs should be kept in a dry, cool place, free from excessive circulation and should be moved about occasionally. That is, if they are kept on trays lying flat, they should be turned once daily, or if they are kept in fillers, they should be placed on the small end and the case moved once a day. The best results will be obtained if the temperature of the storage room does not fluctuate beyond the extremes of 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In another paragraph, under the heading "Which Eggs Should be Used," mention is made of incubating eggs of undesirable shape and shell. Where scientific trap-nesting is practiced for the sake of determining the dominance of certain characters it is often advisable to incubate eggs of poor shape and with such undesirable shells that they would be discarded if they were taken from a flock where trap-nests were not used. Before the advent of trap-nests selection was confined almost entirely to the character of appearance, and rightly, as explained in paragraph above referred to. However, by means of the trap-nest it is learned that an otherwise highly desirable hen may produce a very undesirable appearing egg, but th...