RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



confined when necessary. If the slide is planned, all the bet- 

 ter, as the date of the sitter can then be marked on it. The 

 first thing is to prepare the nests. There is quite a knack in 

 this; indeed, success largely depends upon this one thing. 



The best material for this is soft hay or straw, cut six 

 or eight inches long, placed upon a soil bottom. The sides 

 of this nest should be packed hard, the bottom smooth and 

 slightly concaved, not too much, as the tendency then would 

 be to break the eggs if they crowded towards the centre. 

 There should be plenty of room in the nest for the bird's feet 

 and legs and the eggs too, so that she can turn at will with- 

 out danger of breaking them. A piece of tarred paper five or 

 six inches square, should be placed on the soil in the bottom 

 of the nest; the whole covered with a half inch of finely cut 

 straw. A few porcelain eggs should be placed in the nest, 

 and when a hen shows a strong desire to incubate she should 

 be placed upon the nest and the slide closed, giving the bird j 

 all the air she needs. I 



This removal should be made after dark as the birds are 

 always more gentle then. It is well to set a number of hens 

 at once, if they can be had, for reasons that will shortly ap- 

 pear. If the birds take kindly to the porcelain eggs they can 

 be removed the next evening and replaced with ducks' eggs. 

 As they are much larger than hen's eggs, nine or ten will be 

 enough in cold weather and eleven or twelve in warm ; pro- 

 portioned, of course, something to the size of the bird. I ' 

 always take the birds from their nests at a certain time every 

 day; they will learn to expect it. This should be done during 

 the warmest part of the day. 



Handle Your Hens Carefully. 



Now is the time to exercise caution. Take your birds off 

 carefully several at a time. If one should fly in your face, 

 break the eggs and spatter the contents over your person, and 

 you should feel like wringing her neck, don't do it ; you would 

 only be so much out. Take things easy, don't get mad; she 

 may do better next time, if not, replace with one that will. 

 When taking your birds off in cold weather cover the eggs at 

 once with a circular piece of heavy paper previously prepared, 

 and they will not cool perceptibly during the fifteen minutes 

 the birds are off. Be sure and return each bird to her own 

 nest, for if you have an uneasy sitter, though she may spoil 

 her own eggs, she should have no opportunity to spoil those 

 of others. 



Besides, if you do not, hens that have been sitting but 

 a day or two may be placed upon eggs just ready to hatch 

 when she will not take kindly to the young birds as they 



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