POULTRY FOR PROFIT 47 



long distance it is usually considered necessary to 

 let them rest for a day before putting them under 

 the hen. 



Fertility and Hatchability 



An egg may be fertile and yet not hatch. A chick 

 may hatch and still not live. This is one of the 

 problems of poultry culture. Certain things, such 

 as the health and vigor of the parent stock, the care 

 they receive, their food and exercise, the age and 

 size of the male bird, and the number of hens he is 

 mated to, are known to affect fertility, but the rela- 

 tion between fertility and hatchability is not so 

 easily understood. It is enough for us to know that, 

 other things being equal, the more perfect the physi- 

 cal condition of the breeding stock the stronger will 

 be the germ and the greater the likelihood of a good 

 hatch. 



HATCHING WITH HENS 



No better hatcher has yet been devised than the 

 stupid hen. To be sure she breaks eggs and tram- 

 ples on baby chicks and our patience sometimes be- 

 comes pretty threadbare when we struggle with her 

 disinclination to settle down on a new nest; never- 

 theless, when all is said, she is the best there is. 



Success with sitting hens is largely a question 

 of patience, sympathy and imagination on the part 

 of the caretaker. He must be able to "put himself 

 in her place," for the comfort of the sitting hen is 

 of the first importance. Is she too warm? Broken 

 eggs will be the result. Is the nest too shallow so 

 that she must keep a strained position or else rest 

 her weight upon the eggs? Again, broken eggs 

 will result. Has she more eggs than she can cover 

 properly? At hatching time some of the chicks 

 will get under her feet and perish miserably. Is 



