PRACTICAL FEEDING OF POULTRY 



MANAGEMENT OF BROODY HENS 



Broodiness in laying hens wastes a lot of valuable lay- 

 ing days throughout the year, especially in the spring and 

 early summer. Hens which are not desired to use for 

 hatching and rearing chicks should be removed from the 

 laying nests just as soon as they start to become broody 

 and their desire to sit broken up by confining them to a 

 broody coop. Indications of broodiness in hens are : stay- 

 ing on the nests all day or for long periods, the ruffling 

 up of the feathers and a screeching or clucking noise and 

 an attempt by the hens to keep from being touched when 

 they are approached. 



The hens are broken of their desire to sit by being 

 confined to well-ventilated coops which have slat bottoms 

 or to small pens in which there is no place for the hens to 

 make a nest. Placing a vigorous young male bird in the 

 coop or pen and feeding the hens on mash without any 

 scratch feed, aids materially in breaking up broodiness 

 promptly. These hens should always have plenty of 

 water. Starving the hens for several days, although it 

 does to some extent help to break up broodiness more 

 quickly, is not advisable because it puts the hens in poor 

 condition to start in laying again, while the free use of 

 mash gets the hens into laying condition quickly. Re- 

 moving the hens from the nests just as soon as they start 

 to go broody is the most effective way to shorten the 

 broody period. Hens do not lay any eggs while broody. 



The time required to break up broodiness varies with 

 different hens and with the seasons of the year. It 



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