INCUBATION 



89 



Box Nest. Nests for sitting hens can be made from 

 boxes from 14 to 16 in. square. A box from 9 to 12 in. 

 deep and from 15 to 18 in. wide and long has about the 

 correct dimensions. Deep nests protect the eggs from 

 the cold below. The entire box should be lined with 

 hay, as shown in Fig. 1. The nest, shown in Fig. 2, 

 should be sufficiently deep to incline the eggs slightly 

 toward the middle and flat enough to avoid crowding or 

 piling the eggs. Several nests like this can be placed 

 on the floor of a room with each nest occupied by a 

 sitting hen. When this is done, hens that are accus- 

 tomed to being together should occupy the nests, other- 



FIG. 1 FIG. 2 



wise, they will fight. If hens are strangers, their nests 

 must be enclosed to keep them from coming together 

 and the hens should be carefully watched when they 

 leave their nests. 



Hens for Sitting. Broody hens that are quiet and 

 tractable should be selected for hatching purposes. 

 Those that are wild and unmanageable are not suitable 

 for sitting or for mothers after the chicks are hatched. 

 The use of hens with scaly legs should be avoided, as 

 this ailment is liable to be transmitted to the chicks. 

 Hens that are to be set in the same room should all come 

 from the same flock. Before the hen is placed in posi- 

 tion, the nest should be thoroughly dusted with 'insect 

 powder and the body of the hen covered with it. The 

 powder should be well worked in down to the skin and 



