.V; THE TK.VP NEST TEXT BOOK 



What fat they had was out of sight. On the other hand some of my 

 non-sitters have been very fat. 



Plucking feathers from the breast, (not always done,) long contin- 

 ued contact with the nest, and the persistence of lice, may cause a 

 superficial inflammation that is at once noticed when the hand touches the 

 breast of the bird. This gives rise to the assumption that, a "broody 

 fever" is present and that, in order to break her up, the bird must be 

 "cooled off." 



"While I cannot deny that some broody hens show an apparent fever. 

 I am forced to admit that some broody hens do not. Natural skepticism 

 may account for a trace of suspicion that the so-called broody fever is not 

 wholly due to broodiness, but may be caused by external conditions that 

 commonly surround a broody hen. Certain it is that procedures that 

 would naturally increase a fever will cure broodiness. 



A physician's thermometer carefully placed under the wing, with the 

 bulb touching the skin, will, when tried with a sufficient number of 

 broodies and non-broodies, give the average temperature of each class. 

 If the birds are tame enough so that they will not become excited when 

 handled, their heart action can be compared. It would seem that these 

 tests should reveal any fever that might be present. 



The simplest, easiest and most humane way to break a broody hen is to 

 distract her attention from the nest. Induce what mind she has to con- 

 sider other things; "to run in a different channel." 



The "breaking' up coop'' constructed of laths or slats and hung on the 

 wall or suspended from the ceiling is all right if the confined birds have 

 plenty of room, food and water, and are kept clean, cool and comforta- 

 ble. But all too often they are sadly neglected in these coops and their 

 future usefulness impaired. Their dearly-loved nests and other familiar 

 objects may be in plain sight and cases have been known where birds 

 so treated died, apparently from "a broken heart." 



The earlier the approach of the broody condition is noted the more 

 easy it will be to prevent its culmination or shorten its duration. "When 

 trap nests are used, the first signs of threatened broodiness will be ob- 

 served sometime before laying ceases. All that we can do then is to 

 keep the bird moving and see that she is on the roost at night. This 

 will completely abort the broody tendency with some liens and laying 

 will not be appreciably interrupted. 



My first move, when broodiness has stopped egg production, is to lock 

 the, bird out of her favorite nest — if she bus one. 



If her fruitless attempts lo enter that nest do not discourage her, and 

 she goes into another. 1 place her in another pen with strange mates 

 and surroundings. Should Ibis fail and I find her on a nest in that pen 

 I place her outside of the house She will not wander off or oof j n f 



