HATCHING AND REARING CHICKS 



large ones are to be avoided, as the eggs will roll 

 around in such nests. Excelsior makes the best 

 nesting material; straw and hay arc usually too 

 coarse and stiff. 



I always keep a little slip of paper attached to 

 each nest box occupied by a sitting hen, and on this 

 is written the date when the hen was set and when 

 she will hatch. Some other people I know of write 

 on each nest box with chalk, as this can be erased 

 at the completion of each hatch. Certainly some 

 such method should be followed, because serious 

 mistakes are often made when one trusts the 

 remembering of dates to his memory. 



Whenever possible sitting hens should be located 

 where they cannot be disturbed by the members of 

 the main flock, as this will often prevent broken 

 eggs and deserted nests. If an egg should happen 

 to become broken in the nest, always remove the 

 soiled nesting material and replace with fresh and 

 wash all soiled eggs, or otherwise the pores will 

 become closed and the ventilation of the chick will 

 be interfered with, and a foul smell be present in 

 the nest. 



Ordinarily, the less a sitting hen is disturbed the 

 better. I never sprinkle the eggs nor indulge in 

 any of the other unnecessary and often harmful 

 practices sometimes advised. Briefly, the best way 

 to care for a sitting hen is to let her alone; she 

 knows her own business. 



