BROODY HEN COOP 



141 



nests should be built so that it is convenient for the caretaker 

 to remove any setting hens. In the brooding season, especially 

 on the commercial egg farm, it is necessary to go over all the nests 

 every night and remove all hens showing any broody inclination. 

 Therefore, unless the nests are suitably arranged, this detail in 

 the day's routine will consume a great deal of time and is likely 

 to prove a severe tcix on one's patience. 



Broody Hen Coop. — On farms where incubation and brooding 

 are entirely artificial, the hen is not made responsible for the rear- 

 ing of next year's pullets, hence her maternal instincts should 



(Courtesy Purdue Experiment Statton) 



Fig. 99. — The elevated walk in front of this house, under which the birds 

 pass to gain entrance to the yards, enables the attendant to observe the dif- 

 ferent pens without entering the building. 



never be allowed to develop. When a hen has laid a series or 

 clutch of eggs, a rest period follows before another clutch de- 

 velops, and at certain seasons of the year this dormant period is 

 usually accompanied by broodiness. This condition must be 

 broken up at once or there will be a heavy falling off in the egg 

 yield. When a hen is allowed to remain on the nest she eats and 

 drinks very little, draws heavily upon her internal storehouse for 

 sustenance, and in a few days she becomes thin and emaciated. 

 For economical reasons alone it is imperative that this self- 



