65 



The comfort of a sitting hen 'should be scrupulously looked 

 after. Before she is placed on the nest she should be thoroughly 

 dusted with some good insect powder and again just before she 

 brings off her brood. She should be taken off the nest, fed and 

 watered and given a chance to dust herself every day. Sitting 

 hens should be fed on whole corn, as that is slowly digested and 

 is a heat-forming food. 



TESTING THE EGGS. 



While it is essential that the sitters be kept as quiet as possible, 

 yet it is important that the eggs be tested once or twice during 

 the period of incubation. Egg testers can be purchased at a low 

 price from the manufacturers of incubators or at poultry supply 

 stores. Eggs must be tested in a dark room or at night. The 

 first test should be made at the expiration of seven days. If thp 

 egg, when looked at in the tester, is clear, it is infertile and should 

 be removed from the nest. If the egg when looked at is cloudy 

 or dark, with a well defined air space at the big end, incubation 

 has begun. The water test, described in the next section, should 

 be made on the iQth day, and eggs with dead germs in them taken 

 out. 



THE WATER TEST. 



Where a sitting hen does not have a chance to get out doors, 

 her owner should supply moisture to make good the loss to the 

 eggs by evaporation. Eggs should be sprinkled on the 7th and 

 on the "i4th day. Remove the hen from the nest and with a whisk 

 broom sprinkle the eggs thoroughly with water of a temperature 

 of 95 degrees. On the iQth day the eggs should be given a bath. 

 Fill a pail with water of the temperature of 95 degrees, and after 

 it has become still drop the eggs in it one by one, letting them 

 remain frotn one to three minutes. If there is a lively chick in 

 the egg in a minute or two it will begin to bob up and down as 

 a float does on the water when a fish is nibbling at the bait below. 

 Take the egg out and put it back in the nest, wiping it with a 

 towel if it is winter but letting the surplus water remain if it is 

 summer. In case an egg does not show any movement after 

 being in the water three minutes if it does not "jump" you 

 might as well throw it away, as it will not incubate. Chicks from 

 eggs treated in this way come out strong and clean' and make a 

 surprising growth. 



