HATCHING. 41 



When there are chicks alive which cannot break the shell, 

 they may sometimes be saved by careful extrication, keeping 

 the egg in warm water at 100 the while, all but the point of 

 the beak. These cases usually arise from want of moisture, 

 and it is some preventive to " test " the egg twenty -four hours 

 before hatching by immersion in a pail of water at 106. 

 The " live " ones float and bob about after a few minutes in a 

 curious manner ; but they must be watched patiently, for some- 

 times they wait a while ; the dead ones should be rejected. The 

 soaking seems to do the eggs good; but it is not advisable 

 for absolute novices to fuss too much with these expedients, 

 which are not really needed in the vast majority of cases. 



With good eggs, a good hen, and good management, all 

 will go right, and there will be in due time a goodly number 

 of strong and healthy chickens, to the mutual delight of the 

 hen and of her owner. And with the treatment of the young 

 brood we will begin another chapter. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE REARING AND FATTENING OF CHICKENS. 



FOR nearly twenty-four hours after hatching chickens require 

 no food at all ; and though we do not think it best to leave 

 them quite so long as this without it, we should let them 

 remain for at least twelve hours undisturbed. We say 

 undisturbed, because it is a very common practice to take 

 those first hatched away from the hen, and put them in a 

 basket by the fire till the whole brood is out. When the eggs 

 have varied much in age this course must be adopted ; for some 

 chickens will be perhaps a whole day or more behind the others, 

 and the hen, if she felt the little things moving beneath her, 

 would not stay long enough to hatch the rest. But we have 

 explained in the last chapter that this should not be, and that 



