CHAPTER X 
HATCHING AND REARING CHICKS 
means business and is really in earnest in 
her apparent desire to sit; this is especially 
important if the hen has never before had similar 
experience. The strength of her determination 
Hatching may be tested by letting her sit on sev- 
with Hens eral spoiled eggs for a few days. 
If she is very fidgety and nervous she might as well 
not be set, as she will in all probability make a poor 
hatcher as well as a poor mother. 
Most hens that leave their nests after the end of 
the first week do so because of lice and not because 
of “‘ contrariness,” as is generally supposed. Mites 
and lice thrive better and multiply more rapidly on 
sitting hens than any other place I know of. And 
a hen afflicted with vermin cannot and does not 
ever rest well, nor can she hatch with any degree 
of comfort. Even under favorable conditions it 
is a tiresome and weakening task for a hen to sit 
steadily for three weeks. 
149 
Be setting any hen, make sure that she 
