FIRST LESSONS IN POULTRY KEEPING. 39 



About Eggs For Hatching. 



The eggs intended to be incubated should be kept in a dry place at a rather cool temperature, 

 say 40 to 50 degrees. 



It is not advisable to keep them longer than two weeks before being incubated, and the fresher 

 they are when set the better chances of a good hatch and strong chicks. 



It is not necessary to turn eggs while kept in this way, nor does the position of the egg, 

 whether on the side or on an end make any difference. 



Only well formed eggs with good strong shells should be set. A great deal of the breakage of 

 eggs of which people using hens for hatching complain Is of thin shelled and imperfect eggs. 

 There is less breakage of such eggs in incubators than under hens, but it is doubtful whether 

 there is any real gain in hatching them. 



When eggs are bought outside and delivered by rail or wagon they should be rested for a day 

 before being placed under hens. This is to allow the contents of the egg, sometimes much 

 shaken up in transit, to regain their normal condition. 



When setting such eggs it is a good plan to divide each sitting, and under each hen used plan* 

 some of the boughten and some of one's own eggs. This gives a better opportunity to deter- 

 mine whether a poor hatch is due to poor eggs or to some cause for which the party from whom 

 they were purchased is not in any way responsible. 



Number of Eggs to a Hen. This must depend on the season, and on the size of the hen. 

 The usual number for an average sized hen in the spring is thirteen. The same hen set in 

 winter should not be given more than eleven. After the middle of May she would generally 

 take care of fifteen average eggs. 



If one is in any doubt as to how many eggs he- ought to give a hen he should err on the safe 

 side and give a number he is sure is not too large, for when too many eggs are given a hen 

 every egg in the lot is likely to be somewhat chilled at some period of incubation. 



Food For Sitting Hens. 



Nothing could be simpler and easier than the feeding of sitting hens. All they need is whole 

 corn and water. Though I have tried other rations the hens have never seemed to me either to 

 keep in as good condition or to hatch as well as when fed on corn alone. The condition of the 

 hen is not at this time normal. She needs food that will generate in her body heat to be trans- 

 mitted to her eggs, and whole corn seems to be the perfect food for the sitting hen. She can 

 eat a crop full in a few minutes. Being inactive, she digests it slowly, can get along on one 

 meal a day, and I have had a good many hens that would leave the nest to feed only every other 

 day, yet keep in good condition and make good hatches. 



Care of Sitting Hens. 



Assuming that the hens when set were confined to the nests, and they should be unless it is 

 certain that they will not leave them, (some hens are so quiet that there is practically no doubt 

 that they can be set anywhere, and from the first be trusted to come off to feed and go right 

 back of their own accord), they should have an opportunity to leave the nest within twenty- 

 four hours after being set, and if they do not come off of their own accord should be taken off, 

 for if they do not leave the nest and void their excrement now, they are almost certain to foul 

 the nests before the corresponding time on the following day, and during the first days of incu- 

 bation the change of conditions and food often produce a disturbance of the bowels, and for 

 awhile some hens will be loose and unable to retain the excrement as long as they will later. 

 Hence, even if a hen is not hungry, and eats little or nothing, it is important to have her off tbe 

 nest daily at first. 



Hens that are handled without any trouble may be let off the nests at any time convenient for 

 the attendant. With hens that are inclined to be shy, the easiest way to break them to return 

 promptly to the nest in a strange place is to let them off just long enough before dark to give 

 them time to feed. They will often return to the nest quietly at this time, when if let off early 

 in the day they would make a great fuss, and if handled roughly give the business up altogether. 

 At dusk hens that do not go back of their own accord are more easily caught, and settle down 

 quietly when returned to the nest. 



