234 MY POULTRY DAY BY DAY 
also to place her in full view of the other hens, so that she may see 
them eat and generally enjoy themselves. Do not feed the broody 
at the same time. Feed her afterwards. She hates to see all the 
flock feeding while she herself is fasting. It will make her more 
uneasy and give her less desire to sit. 
Whether to feed her well or starve her is often debated, but I 
do not think it will pay to starve her. On the contrary, I am in- 
clined to think a very low diet encourages her in her broodiness. 
In any case if you starve her and cure her of her broodiness as well 
she will be in no condition to lay eggs for some time. A hen must 
be well fed and in good condition to lay. On the whole, it is better 
to feed her moderately well, and when she is liberated she ought 
to be laying again within a week. 
The most important thing is to get the hen away in the first 
stages of her broodiness. If this is done, three to five days of 
isolation in the coop should cure her. If, however, she is allowed 
to sit for a week it may take another two weeks to cure her. All 
sorts of rough and ready remedies have been tried to cure'a hen of 
broodiness, but the cool, uncomfortable coop is the most effective 
of all. 
In recent laying competitions the practice adopted was to re- 
move a bird at once on signs of broodiness into a spar-bottomed 
coop set in the gangways of runs close to the ground. In these 
coops, open at front, sides and bottom, the birds were fed with 
the same foods as those in the pens, and encouraged to feed, so that 
there should be no loss of condition during the period. The length 
of time taken by birds varied from three to ten days and averaged 
about five days in the coops. 
The poultryman, by his constant visits to the trap-nests, is at 
once aware of the broodiness of any bird and can take steps 
accordingly. His object must be to overcome the tendency so 
that the bird may as soon as possible return to the productive 
stage. By suitable treatment and the use of separate coops the 
length of the broody period can be very considerably reduced, and 
the question of management and feeding during this period is 
therefore important. During the ten months the number of 
