174 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



INCUBATION. 



IN hatching of poultry, as in most other 

 things, nature is the best guide ; and nature de- 

 signs that every hen shall sit upon her own eggs, 

 and hatch her own progeny. But the domes- 

 tic fowl is in an artificial state, and deviations 

 from the laws of nature are, therefore, to be ex- 

 pected. A wild hen will lay no more eggs than 

 she can conveniently cover, and her periods for 

 laying and for incubation will be fixed and reg- 

 ular. Some lay every day, or every other day, 

 for nine months out of the twelve, and rarely 

 evince a desire to incubate ; while others man- 

 ifest this desire, some at one period, and others 

 at another period. Among a flock of hens 

 these diversities will show themselves, and ad- 

 vantage may be taken of them with benefit to 

 their owner. 



It is well known that when a certain number 

 of eggs has been laid, the hen shows an inclina- 

 tion to sit. She has a peculiar sort of clucking, 

 and a feverish state ensues, in which the natural 

 heat of the hen's body is very much increased. 

 The inclination soon becomes a strong ungov- 

 ernable passion, which appears a blind instinct ; 

 for she will sit upon one egg or twenty,- upon 

 a piece of chalk or a stone ; and if fresh eggs 

 are supplied, she will sit for six weeks. In 

 this state she flutters about, hangs her wings, 

 bristles up her feathers, searches in every nook 

 and corner, evidently ill at ease, for eggs to sit 

 upon; and if she finds any, she immediately 

 seats herself upon them. In high-fed hens this 

 instinctive desire comes on sooner than in such 

 as are not supplied with food in abundance, and 

 it may be induced by stimulating diet, a little 

 raw liver, and fresh meat, chopped small, pota- 

 toes mashed warm, with milk and coarse corn 

 meal. 



By high feeding, some hens especially the 

 Dorking, Cochin, or Shanghai breeds, which are 

 sitters, and take the pre-eminence over all other 

 breeds may be induced to sit in October, espe- 

 cially if they have moulted early. Advantage 

 may be taken of this circumstance at the South, 

 and chickens may be obtained fit for the table 

 by Christmas not, however, without great care 

 and trouble. The incubation must take place, 

 and the chickens be reared and fed, in a warm 

 room, if necessary, kept at an equal temperature. 

 Generally speaking, spring chicken^ are more 

 desirable, which should be hatched in the latter 

 part of January or first of February, so as to be 

 ready for the market in May and June. They 

 require great care, but they return an ample 

 profit. 



The most usual time in which hens manifest 

 a desire to incubate, extends from March to 

 April, May, and June, and at this season chick- 

 ens may be reared without any extraordinary 

 precautions. 



A hen is generally ill to please in the choice 

 of her nest. The hen and duck, if left to 

 themselves, find some dry, warm, sandy hedge, 

 or bank, in which to deposit their eggs, form- 

 ing their nests of moss, leaves, or dry grass. In 

 this way the warmth is retained in the nest 

 for the few moments she devotes to her hurried 

 and scanty meal. When the determination be- 

 comes fixed there is no need to indulge the 

 first faint indications immediately let her have 

 the nest she has selected, well cleaned and fill- 

 ed with fresh straw or hay, underlaid with dry 

 wood-ashes or tobacco-stems, as they produce 

 the effect of destroying or preventing vermin, 

 by which they are apt to be infested at that time. 

 The number of eggs to be given to her will de- 



