HATCHING AND BROODING WITH MOTHER HEN 



39 



stance, when a hen was raising her brood alone, out in 

 the fields, — a bird of the Leghorn or Game type, which 

 would fight fiercely for its young, might prove better 

 than a bird of the more sluggish breeds. And there are 

 some kinds of eggs, notably those of pheasants, for 

 which a light-weight sitter is usually considered very 

 superior. The Bantam breeds are sometimes thus used. 



Rose-Comb Brown Leghorn Chicks. A Nervous but Sprightly Breed 



The "apartment house" for the sitters does not 

 need to be made to order, if it have natural advantages. 

 Early in the season, it needs to be, though warm, well 

 ventilated. Later, it needs to be cool, and even better 

 ventilated. The loft of a barn, or an airy cellar, may fur- 

 nish good conditions early in the season. Later, they 

 may become, the latter too close and the former too hot, 

 even to the extent of ruining the hatches. I often use 

 the second floor of the barn for early hatches, although 

 it is not very convenient ; the main floor or the barn 

 cellar does very well for the later ones. If no such 

 good, secluded place is ready to hand, one may then, 

 with a clear conscience, spend a little money to prepare 

 a special room for the sitters. Such a room, at its best, 

 is so placed that it will be sheltered from the heaviest 



