No. 615] 



221) 



the factors influencing egg production. In general, with 

 the onset of the first broody period, the monthly pro- 

 duction falls off 40 per cent, of its former rate. Brood- 

 iness, however, as met with in the laying hen, is to some 

 extent an artificial condition. In a free state a hen be- 

 comes broody after she has laid a clutch of eggs, incubates 

 them, and rears a brood of chickens. Altogether she is 

 not producing eggs for a period of some ten weeks or 

 more. After this she may again lay a clutch and repeat 

 the process. Egg production under such conditions re- 

 mains at a relatively low ebb. It is a matter of common 

 knowledge among poultry keepers, however, that by 

 various means the broody lien can be "broken up." That 

 is, she can be induced to discontinue manifestations of 

 broodiness and after a period varying from a few days 

 to several weeks will begin to lay again. As a rule, how- 

 ever, only a few— ten or twelve— eggs are laid before a 

 hen goes broody again. The process may be repeated 

 indefinitely. 



There is a considerable variation in the number of 

 times a hen goes broody in a year, the length of the broody 

 periods, the trouble required to break her up and other 

 characteristics of broodiness. 



The age at which the first broody period occurs de- 

 pends in part upon the time a hen begins to lay. In the 

 vast majority of instances egg production precedes brood- 

 iness. At least 15 to 20 eggs are laid before a hen be- 

 comes broody, though it may be many times that num- 

 ber. Age incidence in the first place depends upon the 

 age at which the hen lays her first egg but after that it 

 depends upon other circumstances, which have not been 

 determined. Thus, the age of a bird at her first broody 

 period may vary from eight months up to the end of the 

 second year. Usually, however, the first broody period 

 comes on when the bird is from 11 to 15 months of age. 

 After the first broody period, the periods recur about 

 once a month, if the hen is promptly broken up. There 

 are records in our files of a few Ehode Island Red hens 



