BREAKING UP BROODINESS 



345 



If the poultryman is not alert, the hen will steal a march on 

 him, for she is very persistent. The operator must thwart her 

 plans immediately, and frustrate them in such a way that she 

 is induced to continue to eat large quantities of food, and thus 

 maintain her appetite, keep her body well nourished and prolong 

 the life of her plumage, in which case she will continue laying 

 throughout the summer. 



Avoid Cruel Measures. — There are many ways of discouraging 

 broodiness, but, remem- 

 bering that the real rea- 

 son for so doing is to in- 

 duce further egg produc- 

 tion, any practice or 

 method that subjects the 

 hen to cruelty or pri- 

 vation will only defeat 

 the idea, therefore it 

 should not be tolerated. 

 The old-fashioned ideas 

 of inflicting some form of 

 punishment on the un- 

 offending biddy because 

 she responded to a nat- 

 ural impulse were wrong. 



Aside from humane reasons, to half starve or ill treat fowls, or to 

 keep them from water, invites further loss in eggs, since these cus- 

 toms are sure to bring about the very condition that should be 

 avoided — the reversion of the egg organs to a dormant state. 



Small Flocks. — Where the birds are kept in small flocks, a good 

 plan is to build a coop with a slatted bottom at the end of the 

 roosting compartment, having it well ventilated and easy of 

 access. See Fig. 221. Or an ordinary packing-case may be 

 converted into a broody-hen coop: Remove the bottom and re- 

 place it with slats, mount the box on legs that will keep it about 

 six inches off the floor, and then construct a simple wire-netting- 

 covered-frame for a lid. As the clucks are taken from the nests 



{Courtesy Kansas Expefimenl Station) 



Fig. 224. — "A "-shaped colony house covered 

 with tar paper. 



