20 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
managed with the covered box. Where a miml)er of sitting hens are to be accommodated, boxes with the 
bottoms and one side knocked out, placed completely over the hens, is a good method. The nests can be 
hollowed out of the earth against the wall, with a couple of bricks placed to prevent the straw from being 
scattered about, and covered with the boxes ; these should have holes bored for ventilation at sides and top 
(see Figs. 17, 17A). The advantage gained by this system of managing a number of hens is very great. Tiie 
attendant can let off one hen at a time to water and feed, and, if a fairly large shed or house is available, a 
large number can with safety be managed. This plan we have seen in operation, and, where an attendant 
can devote an hour or so each, night or day, minimises the room required considerably. In handling a 
number of hens, if the dates of setting two or more correspond, and some of the eggs on testing are found 
sterile, the fertile eggs can be given to one and a fresh lot substituted to the other. On careful examination, 
the attendant will be fortunate if none of the fertile eggs are cracked ; if found to be slightly cracked, a strip 
of gummed paper placed over the damaged portion will often avert disaster, and the chicken hatch all right. 
For common eggs it is scarcely worth the trouble, but for eggs which are valuable, if this is done within a 
reasonable time, the chickens will safely hatch. Many hens, when some of the chickens are hatched, raise 
themselves up off the eggs just chipped, and this retards their progress ; in a case of this kind it is best to 
remove the chickens from the hen for a few hours, placing them in flannel in a basket or box by the fire, 
when, in most cases, the hen will give the proper attention to the eggs left. Some hens are very careful of 
the chickens, and this causes them anxiety, with the result that often, if the chickens are left with her, the 
other eggs on the point of hatching get cold and, failing to receive the necessary warmth at the critical time, 
Fig. 17. — Nest Box, with holes bored for ventilation, for setting hen. Fig. 17A. — Nest Box, showing arrangement of Nest. 
die in the shell. The chickens taken away can be returned to the hen at night, and will be found bright and 
lively in the morning. Rats have a decided liking for eggs and young chickens. Instances have come 
under our notice where whole batches have been taken from under the hen, a few at a time, by these vermin. 
If once a rat tastes an egg while a hen is sitting on them, there will be a poor look-out for any chickens. If 
present in the Poultry-yard, they should be exterminated by poison or trapping. 
The eggs from the major portion of the different breeds of Fowls require 21 days to hatch, but this is 
not absolute, much depending on the hen. If she is a close sitter, 21 days will generally find that the 
chickens are hatched, but in cold weather it will often take 22 or even 23 days to bring about the desired 
result, and it also takes stale eggs, such as a fortnight to a month old, longer to hatch than perfectly fresh 
ones — that is, from one to four days from date of laying. Game Bantams' eggs invariably hatch on the 
nineteenth day ; turkey eggs, from 26 to 29 days ; duck eggs, 28 days ; goose eggs, 30 days. 
It is as well to test eggs a day or two before hatching (this can be done with safety, and will prove of 
marked benefit to the eggs), by placing them in a bucket of water heated to 105° Fah., when in a few 
minutes those containing living chickens will commence rolling and bobbing about in a peculiar manner, 
caused by the movements of the chicken within the shell. Those that are dead in the shell can easily be 
discovered and taken away at once, as they only hamper the hen. We have found that eggs treated in this 
manner hatch remarkably well, and have noticed many chickens chip the shell while in the water. Should 
the eggs, by accident or otherwise, get cold or chilled just before hatching, or if the hen, from any cause, 
should have left them at this critical time, by placing the eggs in the warm water as directed the life can be 
brought back much quicker than by the warmth of the hen's body ; and, if another hen is procured, many a 
valuable chicken may be saved by this means. 
