Isaac Raises Chicks with a Broody Hen

Isaac's design for a new Hennery

After designing an incubator from a wooden coffee box for his first flock of chickens, (See blog "Isaac builds an Incubator," 8/22/2013) Isaac went in search of fertilized eggs among his neighbors' flocks the following year, apparently not willing to depend on his own roosters.  Fortunately, the neighbors on whom he called were not at home, and the second day he found a farmer with more "Broody Hens" and fertilized eggs than he needed.  When a hen becomes "broody," she generally stops laying eggs, becoming busy enough setting the fertilized eggs she has laid.  Because too many hens brooding means reduced production of eggs, farmers are sometimes willing to sell the "Broody Hen" with her eggs and any other fertilized eggs he can spare to tuck under the hen.

 

Even with hens to hatch the eggs rather than the chore of using an incubator, Isaac found that raising chicks was not always easy.  On August 8, 1886, he wrote in his journal:  "Having 50 little chicks to attend to now, one hen tending 25 of them, many new-comed doing poorly, feeble & die in few days peeping round."

 

He also experienced another problem in October of that year.  "Skunks & coyote around trying at my chickens. Need an iron Hennery."  He had quickly learned that hens wandered off to nest in trees and hide their eggs from him, so he designed a proper hennery.  Even then the skunks continued getting at his hens.  "Last night a skunk in Hennery.  I after him with hammer.  He killed my young pet chicken of the whole flock..."  In an effort to foil the skunks, he added a new feature:  "I busy at Hennery to make it more 'skunk proof.'  Got 6' x 6' bin up by roosting time for them to feel more safe over nights."

 

Entries in his journal reveal that keeping the hennery snug and the chickens safe from skunks was an ongoing job for Isaac.

Isaac Builds an Incubator

On March 28, 1885, Isaac wrote in his journal:  "[Doc Dix]...brought coffee boxes down for making incubator."  It was the first of several entries in his journal about using the wooden boxes in which coffee was delivered for Dix's little store at their home, where the local post office was also located.  Finally, on May 9th, Isaac recorded:  "I up to Dix, put plaster into incubator."  From the entries, I assume he used the wooden box for the basic container, creating some sort of racks or trays to hold the eggs, and plastering the interior to allow use of a candle or some other source of heat to warm the eggs.  Perhaps the plastered box was placed on a shelf above the stove, but that seems less likely if Mrs. Dix were incubating eggs in late spring.  Unfortunately, Isaac provided no such details.



Eggs should be incubated at a temperature between 99 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit, with 99.5 considered the ideal.  It is unlikely that Isaac had the means to provide such specific temperature for his incubator.  In addition, eggs should not be kept in a tightly sealed container, for proper aeration and gas exchange between the embryo and the environment outside the shell are important.

 

Just the right size for 3-yr-old hands!

Chicks will generally hatch after 21 days of incubation.  During that time it is desirable to turn the eggs at least twice a day, more frequently if possible.  This will exercise the embryo and help avoid having the embryo stick to the shell.  It is preferable to incubate eggs with the pointed end down, so turning and tipping should return the eggs to that position unless they are turned more often.  When it gets close to hatching time, laying the eggs on their sides is preferable.  Of course, many modern incubators have mechanical equipment to accomplish the necessary turning, but surely Isaac would not have included such conveniences in his invention.

 

After 7 to 10 days the eggs can be examined to determine whether embryos are developing inside the shells.  The process involves using a bright light behind the egg in a dark room to get a shadow image of the developing embryo through the shell--or the absence of any such shape if no embryo has developed.  This is called candling, since a candle was the first method of providing the necessary light.  It is not unusual for about half of the eggs to fail to produce an embryo, depending on whether the rooster in the flock provided fertilization for the egg, as well as whether the incubating process has succeeded.

 

The easiest method for hatching chicks is to have a "broody hen" and let her do all the work of keeping the eggs warm and turned!  Eventually, that is the method Isaac relied upon, but his original flock was acquired by hatching chicks in his self-designed incubators made for himself and Mrs. Dix from wooden coffee boxes.