13 

 Collecting Eggs. 



All eggs should be collected daily. On no account should they 

 be allowed to remain in the nest at tiight, for they induce the hens 

 to become broody. A cool cellar or some similar place should be 

 used for the storage of eggs. They should be placed in racks 

 with the small end uppermost. 



Methods of Hatching. 



We now come to the hatching of the eggs, and in this matter it 

 is well to follow nature as closely as possible. 



First a shed facing the east should be built, 2ft. 6in. high and 

 2 feet wide, allowing a 2ft. 6in. compartment for each bird with a 

 separate door to each, the length of the shed to be according to 

 the number of nests required. By adopting the above plan the 

 hens are protected from pests, such as foxes, &c., found in country 

 districts. Each pen should be numbered so as the due dates of 

 hatching can be easily recorded. This shed should ' be built on 

 ground with as much fall as possible to protect the nests from 

 flood water. The nests should be made on the ground by removing 

 sufficient earth so as to form a natural nest with the addition of a 

 little straw or dry grass. To prevent vermin the nest should be 

 sprinkled with powdered sulphur or carbolic. About three days 

 before hatching sprinkle the eggs with warm water. After the 

 hen has settled down to the nest she should be allowed out daily 

 for a run and feed. 



The best sitters are hen turkeys which can be made to set at 

 any time, without being broody, by giving them a teaspoonful of 

 port wine before placing on the nest. They will each cover 

 twenty eggs, and bring out three to four clutches without leaviijg 

 the nest, the chickens being removed to foster-mothers or ordinary 

 hens (which have chickens of the same age), and a fresh setting 

 of eggs supplied to the sitting turkey. Barn-door hens selected 

 for brooders should be of a moderate size. Incubators can be 

 used to advantage, but require more attention and are not so 

 reliable as the natural bird. 



