50 THE PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPER. 



and trust that all would probably be right. We have 

 had hens repeatedly absent more than an hour, which still 

 hatched seven or eight chicks ; and on one occasion a hen 

 sitting in the fowl-house returned to the wrong nest, and 

 was absent from her own more than five hours. We of 

 course considered all chances of hatching at an end ; but as 

 the hen had been sitting a fortnight, concluded to let her 

 finish her time, and she hatched five chickens. We have 

 heard of a few hatching even after nine hours' absence, and 

 therefore would never, on account of such an occurrence, 

 abandon valuable eggs before the end. 



The chickens break the shell at the end of the twenty- 

 first day, on an average ; but if the eggs are new-laid it will 

 often lessen the time by as much as five or six hours, while 

 stale eggs are always more or less behind. Small breeds 

 generally hatch a day or two earlier. If the eggs were 

 fresh, and proper care has been taken to preserve moisture 

 during incubation, no assistance is ever needed at the actual 

 hatching. When there are chicks alive which cannot break 

 the shell, they may sometimes be saved by careful extrica- 

 tion, 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 

 eggs twenty-four hours before hatching by immersion in a 

 pail of water at 106. After a few minutes the " live " ones 

 float and bob about in a curious manner ; but they must be 

 watched patiently, for sometimes 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. 



For nearly twenty-four hours after hatching, chickens 

 require no food, and though we do not think it best to 

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



