TESTING EGGS 



65 



weather, and period of incubation. A well- 

 known writer has stated that " at the earlier 

 periods of sitting the hen may be absent for a 

 prolonged time without injury, whereas a much 

 shorter neglect of her duties would be fatal 

 nearer the clay of hatching." Unless this state- 

 ment be confined to the first ten or twelve hours, 

 the exact contrary to it is the case, as testified 

 by the uniform experience of thousands. It is 

 during the first few days, up to the tenth day, 

 that the eggs are most easily addled by chill ; 

 after that the chicken keeps up more and 

 more heat by its own vitality, and is more 

 independent accordingly. During the last 

 week we have personally had a hen off nearly 

 five hours, and still obtained a half brood ; 

 and in one case reported to us, five chickens 

 survived even nine hours' neglect. However 

 we feared the worst, therefore, we would never 

 abandon valuable eggs until the full term and 

 somewhat more was completed. 



Another plan that may be recommended, 

 where a number of broody hens are sitting to- 

 gether in the open, is to adopt the method that 

 is widely in vogue among pheasant rearers in 

 many parts of the country. We refer to " tether- 

 ing." A stake is driven into the ground imme- 

 diately in front of each coop or sitting box ; to 

 this stake a string, having a slip-knot at its 

 unattached end, is tied. Commencing at the 

 first coop in the row, the attendant takes out the 

 hen, slips one of its legs through the loop at 

 the end of the string, and leaves the bird to 

 feed and water itself. By this method, it will 

 be seen, that when the hen has to be replaced in 

 its box the operation can be accomplished with- 

 out loss of time and with the minimum of 

 trouble. 



Many yards have a sitting-house, where 

 several hens are set at once. In this case it is 

 also safest to take them off, and see them return 

 one at a time (always taking them in the same 

 order), as two sitters often fight. They should 

 always be seen safely back again when thus 

 managed. But there is still another plan, which 

 we followed with much comfort when using the 

 building shown in Fig. it. We used then to 

 sit a single hen in one of the small pens marked 

 D D. Hens may generally be left entirely to 

 themselves in such single houses and runs, 

 seeing only to the dust-bath, and food and 

 water, and removing the daily evacuation. But 

 some hens would never come off if so left, and 

 we always preferred to remove them ; in such 

 small runs they never outstay the time, how- 

 ever, and may be left to themselves as to return. 



It is well to look every two or three days 

 to see whether any eggs are broken. .Shotdd 



such an accident occur, the first night after- 

 wards a bucket of water heated to 102° should 



be taken to the spot, and the hen 

 Broken Eggs, being lifted off, every ft^^ well 



cleansed in the pail, using a piece 

 of flannel. All dirty straw must also be re- 

 moved and the nest rc-made, quite clean and 

 comfortable. Should the hen's breast be soiled 

 by the broken egg, that also must be cleansed 

 thoroughly, or it may adhere to one of the eggs 

 and so repeat the accident. If this treatment 

 be neglected, hatching will probably fail alto- 

 gether. Sometimes valuable eggs may get 

 cracked within a few days of incubation ; in 

 many such cases the egg or chick has been 

 saved by pasting over the crack a small strip 

 of gummed paper, or, in the case of Bantam 

 eggs, of goldbeater's skin. Cases of perforated 

 metal large enough to contain an t^^ are some- 

 times used in such instances, and may be useful. 

 We have seen another form, in some respects 

 better, the metal being thinner and enamelled 

 white, and furnished with small perforations 

 all over. These egg-cases, or protectors, may also 

 be used to contain insecticides or disinfectants. 

 At the expiration of from six to eight days 

 the eggs should be examined by candlelight, 



as the unfertile ones can then be 

 Testing Eggs, easily detected, and if the greater 



part be sterile time is saved, as 

 the same hen may be at once set attain. A 



-laid 



as is well known, appears clear 



and translucent when held between the eye and 



Figs. 31 and 32. — Testing Egg5. 

 Barren Ejg. Ferlile Egg. 



a candle. Barren eggs appear so still (as shown 

 in Fig. 31), even after being sat upon a week ; 

 but the eggs which contain embryo chickens 

 then have a dark shadow in the centre, shading 

 off to more transparency at the edges. The 

 amount of shadow will vary with the time of 

 incubation and size of the eggs, and perfect 

 opacity will not be found till nine or ten days 

 have elapsed, even with good-sized eggs ; but 

 after a few experiments, enclosing the egg 



