40 FIRST LE8SONS IN POULTRY KEEPING. 



Having returned to her nest once of her own accord, a hen may, as a rule, be allowed to 

 leave it at any time convenient for the attendant, and unless there is something wrong with the 

 hen or the nest, will generally go back within fifteen or twenty minutes, which is about as 

 long as it is safe to have the eggs uncovered in cold or very cool weather. On bright warm 

 days hens may remain off the nest half an hour to an hour without the eggs .being any the worse 

 for it. Indeed, the general rule is that the colder blooded hens stick closest to the nests, while 

 the hot blooded ones give so much heat to their eggs that the nest gets uncomfortably warm, 

 and they leave it for their own comfort, and instinct seems to prompt them to let their eggs 

 cool longer than the cold blooded hen does. 



When Many Sitters are in the tiame Room it might cause trouble to release them all 

 at once, especially if they came from different flocks. There are several ways of keeping things 

 working smoothly. , 



If the hens were all set at the same time, and all, or any considerable part of them, are so shy 

 that it is advisable to let them off late in the day, the attendant can watch them while off, and 

 interfere if they go to fighting. If he does not wish to watch them daily he can, within a few 

 days, arrange to let them off at different times in pairs or small squads, leaving the more 

 troublesome ones to the last. 



If, as is the case on most small plants, the hens set in a pen are set a few at a time, they are 

 broken to return to the nest in the order in which they are set, and when new hens are 

 set the others can be released at intervals earlier in the day. 



On a larger scale of operations, if several rooms or pens are required for sitters, they can 

 be prepared at the same time, a few hens set in each, then a few more, and so on until filled. 

 This admits of gradually breaking in a large number of sitters to the desired routine without 

 having to watch them when off the nests. Thus it is possible to establish a routine of releas- 

 ing sitters which will enable one to do all the work of caring for them as he goes about his 

 other work, yet take so little time for it that he never feels it as a burden in fact, hardly 

 notices it. 



The routine just described will apply when up to twenty or twenty-five hens are sitting in 

 the same place, but with larger numbers together, as there often are when nests are several 

 tiers high, it becomes necessary to let many hens off at the same time, watch them to some 

 extent while off, and return them to the nests after a sufficient time off has been given them. 



Importance of Confining Hens to Nests. 



I have always had better hatches, on the whole, when I kept nests closed except when the 

 hens were off for food, etc. By doing so, one is sure that no nest is uncovered too long, and no 

 serious interference of hens going on without his knowledge. Making this the rule insures 

 against the most common causes of spoiled eggs. It is one of the little things that it pays to do, 

 and the rule should be broken only in emergencies. 



Keeping Sitting Hens' Quarters Clean. 



General Cleanliness. The dung of the sitting hen has a peculiarly strong and offensive 

 odor, hence the importance of removing it daily. If it is not removed promptly from a pen in 

 which there are many hens sitting the place soon gets very dirty. When hens are set in tiers, 

 many in a small room, some poultry keepers as they watch them remove the dung, which is 

 voided in large lumps, at once. If they did not do this the floor would soon be filthy, though 

 cleaned daily. 



Keeping the Nests Clean. Absolute cleanliness irt the nests is a condition of good hatching. 

 If a nest is fouled, or if eggs are broken in it, it should be cleaned, the eggs washed in luke- 

 warm water, the soiled nest material removed and the nest made new as soon as possible. 

 Generally it will do no great harm if a nest goes for twenty-four hours uncleaned, but it should 

 not go longer. There is some excuse for that much delay because it is not advisable to disturb 

 the hens to inspect the nests. The inspection of nests should be made as the hens come off to 

 feed. If the nest is in very bad condition it should be cleaned up at once. If not very bad note 

 should be made of it, and all nests which need cleaning cleaned as soon as the attendant can 

 conveniently do so. 



