86 EGGS AND POULTRY 
are often known to die on the nest, literally 
murdered by lice. 
If you set three hens the same day, two 
will be able to care for the resulting hatch 
and the third may be broken up and started 
laying again. 
Give the brooding hen and her chicks a 
roomy, dry house with some litter on the 
floor, but not too much while the chickens 
are very young. Keep the house clean. Lock 
or close up the coop at night to prevent 
enemies getting at the brood. Let them out 
during the day and it will be a sight to warm 
your heart as you watch her show her little 
ones what to eat. If you have a vegetable 
garden your heart will warm in another way 
as she shows them how to scratch. 
Not every good setting hen makes a good 
mother, as some hens treat their broods in a 
far from motherly manner, picking them and 
otherwise ill-treating them, so that losses 
among hen brooder flocks are sometimes 
heavy. 
If you have more than one hen hatching 
in the same coop you will have to watch them 
to prevent one hen from leaving her nest and 
setting on the nest with another of the hens. 
Setting hens may leave their eggs at any 
