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that egg production will be greatly reduced if these hens are 

 not looked after carefully. Many poultrymen make a great 

 mistake by allowing the hens to sit on the nests two or three 

 nights before placing them in the broody coop. By visiting 

 the poultry house every evening at dusk, those found on the 

 nests can be placed in the broody coop and kept there for three 

 or four days. It is a good plan to let the hens out of the coop 

 when the flock is fed in the afternoon or evening. Those that 

 go back to the nest should be again placed in the broody coop 

 for about three days more. About 85 per cent will be broken 

 up in three days, but there are some in which broodiness is so 

 strongly developed that it requires from six to eight days, and 

 occasionally longer. If, when the hens are released, they go on 

 to the roosts at roosting time, instead of the nests, their broody 

 spell is broken. Many people think it is necessary to starve 

 broody hens in order to break them up quickly, but this is an 

 erroneous idea. The aim of the poultryman is to bring them 

 back to laying as soon as possible; therefore give them plenty 

 of water, mash, grain, green feed, and if there are any feeds 

 that are especially palatable or tempting, give them to the 

 broody hen. The sooner they are broken up and begin laying 

 the sooner they become a source of revenue. 



Responsibility. 



In order to have hens do well it is necessary that they be fed 

 and watered regularly, and that the house be kept in a sanitary 

 condition. I am sure that in a family of four or five, no one of 

 which has a definite responsibility in regard to the care of the 

 flock, the hens will suffer, with a consequent decrease in egg 

 production. Therefore we highly recommend that the re- 

 sponsibility of the care and management of the flock be defi- 

 nitely placed. It does not mean that any one member of the 

 family must assume this all the time, but if the work is to be 

 divided, it should be definitely understood just what portion each 

 must do. Of course it is better to place the management of the 

 flock in the hands of one person, but if this cannot be done, the 

 work can be divided so that one member of the family can do 

 the work in the morning and another in the evening, etc. 

 Division of responsibility usually means neglect or trouble of 

 some kind. 



