THE BARN DOOR HENS. 



to fondle these for a week till she gets quite quiet 

 and steady, and you can handle her in any way you 

 please. Practise taking her up to accustom her to 

 the process. Put one hand under each wing (she 

 generally sits with her head turned towards you for 

 air), and lift her gently without touching the eggs. 

 When sitting upon real eggs, which are small, you 

 will often find that she has one stuck under a wing, 

 which, if she be lifted by a careless or inexperienced 

 hand, will drop back, and very likely crack some of 

 the rest of the sitting in falling. Therefore, before 

 lifting the hen, remember always to pass your hands 

 round, under and about both wings, to guard against 

 this catastrophe. Be sure, also, to have the requisite 

 number of hens quiet and settled down to their sham 

 eggs before you send for the real ones ; and 

 remember that, unless a hen is really quiet, she 

 invariably stands up in her nest before settling down, 

 and this chills the eggs, but if really tame they sit 

 down at once. Quiet hens are the real secret of 

 success in hatching, but too many keepers ignore this 

 important fact, and, if a hen does not absolutely kick 

 up a fuss, and attempt to bolt out of her box, too 

 many men are inclined to let her take her chance, and 

 trust to Providence. 



Do not feed your hens too high until they actually 

 commence sitting ; then be as generous as you please 

 in the matter of diet. If you want hens to lay and 

 not sit, feed them high, and give them hot meal and 



C 2 



