Starting a Flock 51 



of which has its own advantage, according to cir- 

 cumstances. We can set the hens and let them 

 care for their own broods, we can have incubators 

 and brood the chickens by artificial heat, we can 

 buy day-old chicks and put them under mechani- 

 cal brooders, or we can have our eggs hatched in 

 custom incub9,tors. The attempt to buy chicks 

 and get broody hens to care for them is n\)t prac- 

 ticable. We know just what a mechanical brooder 

 will do, but what a bunch of broody hens will do is 

 sometimes more than an oracle could foretell. 



Hatching under Hens. — Hatching under hens 

 has many advantages for busy people who must 

 come and go. The mother is always on hand to 

 guard her flock, to keep the chicks warm, and 

 nurse them carefully during the days when a chilly 

 hovtr might be fatal. It is a great comfort to know 

 that if we are late home, the chicks will be tucked 

 under the feathers safe and warm till morning. 



Hatching in Incubators. — If we can be at home 

 at regular hours, hatching by incubation is de- 

 cidedly worth while. We know just when it will 

 "set" and if we plan to start hatching in March, 

 we do not have to wait till.April for lackof broody 

 hens. Every two or three years there is a scram- 



