112 



CANARIES, HYBRIDS, AND BRITISH BIRDS 



tlicnisclves. Iiulced. this is not imfrc- 

 (luently the case even when tlie liens are 

 fed on |)lain seed diet while ineuliating 

 the CLtn's. 



(ireen liiod. il' oi\-cn diu'ini;' ihis period. 

 is apt to eanse inflannnatiim ol' the bowels 

 and diarrhira. a condition which every 

 breeder is always anxious to avoid. The 

 advantajife of feeding sparingly and [tlaiidy 

 Avhile the hen is sitting is thus evident. 



The hen will leave her nest occasionally 



to feed, but alter cracking a few gi'ains 



1)1' seed, and taking a fly 



The CocK's ,.,,,,1^(1 the cage to stretch 

 Duties. '^ 



her wings and legs, will soon 



hop back on to her eggs. Where the cock 

 is left with her he attends to her needs, 

 carrying food to her as she sits on her 

 nest — a duty in which he never Tails. 

 Indeed, during the whole jieriod of incu- 

 bation, his life is one incessant romid of 

 attentions to his mate. During line weather 

 the luxiuy of a halh may also l)e indidged 

 in, and though the hen may sometimes 

 appear to remain olT her nest longer than 

 prudence might suggest, we have never 

 known any but good results attend a 

 free use oT the bath. 



There is. as we have already suggested. 

 a marked dilTerence in the temi:)cramcnt and 

 disjxjsition (A' hens and their <le- 

 |>oi-lm(iit during the time the\- 



Restless 

 Hens. 



ai'c sitting. Some, nothing seems 

 todistni'l) ; they are like brood\' fowls, and 

 it at .-my t i me an inspcci ion oT I he nest ma\' 

 be necessary. tlu\ i-((|uirc to be lifted olT b\- 

 j)utting 1 he liiigei- under I he bi'east . and cncii 

 then will orteii do no moi-c than st.ind up 

 or. a I the most , hop on I o I lie nearest pcreli. 

 ami wail I lie IllNl moinilil to settle down 

 again on I lie |)reeiolis eggs. ()lliers ;ippe;ir 

 to be sulky, and it disi ni-bcd will not i-el ni'ii 

 to the nest so long as they .'ire watched. 

 'J'liey will sit on the edge ot the nest, in 

 the x'ery act ol' hopping into il. lint .-ts 

 iMgid as ir sInlTed, and not a hair's breadth 

 will they budge imlil the\' ai'c alone again. 

 Others arc I'cst less and fidgety, cs])eeially 

 it the cock has Ikcii remox'ed. .-ind are 

 e\'erlast iiigly leasing the ni st wilhonl aii\ 

 apparent reason, really seeming to spend 



as much time in looking out of the windows 

 as in maternal duties. The remedy in this 

 ease is to " draw down the blinds." by tack- 

 ing a strip of brown [lajjcr in Front of the 

 cage, just where the nest hangs, so that 

 the lien cannot see out of her cage without 

 leaving the nest: a couple of drawing 

 ])ins will keep the pa])er in position, and 

 it can easily be removed when not required. 

 This will often keep restless hens quiet, and 

 closer to their nest and eggs. ^lany 

 breeders adopt this plan in every instance, 

 especially when the arrangement of the 

 cages is such that the birtls in some of the 

 compartments can see those in others. 



We, however, only recommend that 

 the cage should be covered where a hen 

 is found to be restless, and is continually 

 leaving her nest. 



Such, we think, are the ]n-incipal features 



to be noticed during incubation, which we 



will assume has gone on for 

 Fertile and jj^.^ ^^. ^-^ ,,.,^.^_ .^^. ^j^^ 



Non=fertile ." • , , 



£ggg exjnration ol this period the 



eggs may be examined, to 



see how many are fertile, for it sometimes 



happens that it may be foiuid necessary, 



with a \ ii'w to sa\ing time or obtaining a 



linal nest late in the season, to combine 



two nests, due at the same date, into one. 



\\c do not, however, recommend this 



|)roeedui'e for the mere sake of getting an 



extra nest from a hen, h)r experience has 



long ago taught us that an o\crworked 



hen will as a rule do litlk' or nothing in 



t he next breeding season. I 'nlcss. therefore, 



another nest is desired for some special 



|iui'pose, we would recommend thai a 



hen shonhl be allowfd to sil through the 



lull |iei'iod of ineul)ation even on a nesi of 



unfertile eggs, as Ihis will ])i'e\eiit her 



ne\l eliileh ol' eggs coming along too 



ipiieklw It is a ('(Mumon thing when a hen 



is not allowed to sil I he I'ull ])criod of 



ineiibal ion I'oi' hei' ne\l ehiteh loin- imrer- 



t ile, too, due to her ha\ iiig been I'oi'eed to 



lay again too (|ui<'kly. 



A practised eye can detect at a glance 



Ihe I'erlile trom the nnl'erlile eggs, without 



taking lliein in the !iaiid ; !)iit if they be 



held lip to the light the former will be 



