Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-26
Hints on Chicken management
The Massachusetts PIoughnaon has
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THE SETTING HEN.

THE SETTING HEN.
After the hen has been setting seven or
eight days it is easy by careful exami-
nation of the eggs TO see if they contain
chickens. This is best seen at night.
Take a lighted candle, or other bright
light 10 the fowl house, and basket with
little straw to receive the eggs. Put
the hand gently under the hen and take
out an egg or two. Shade the eye from
the candle with the left hand, making a
ring 10y bringing the thumb and fore
finger together Hold each egg against
the ring, so as to allow the light to shine
through the center of the egg. Those
eggs that have chickens will appear per
fectly dark, except clear space at the
larger end. Those that are clear and that
look as if they were filed with melted
wax through which the light can shine,
are useless and should be taken away,
When all the eggs arc examined the good
ones should be Immediately placed undeF
the hen. Now the advantage of setting
two hens on the same day is that if
many of the eggs are clear,
the whole batch can be given to one and
fresh lot to the other. After the hen
has been setting twenty days some of the
chickens begin to chip the shell. On this
day the hen should not be disturbed. On
the twcnty-first day or three weeks after
the eggs are put under the hen, all the
eggs will be Matched. Some take away
those first Matched and put them in a
basket with flannel by the fire. This Is
very useless plan, as both hen and chick
ems had better be left alone. II not diss
turbed, the hen will not leave the nest
until Che twenty second day, and then al
the chickens viii be found quite strong
and able to run. On no account should
the chickens beScrammed with food until
they are about thirty hours old, since they
do not require any other nourishmeni than
the yolk of the egg from which they are
Matched This passes into the inside and
nourishes them until they are sufficiently
strong to run about and seek their food.
FOOD FOR CHICKENS.
The most suitable food for young
chickens consists of wheat grits or oats
coarsely ground, bat their diet should be
varied Us much as possible. Coarse oat
meal mixed into crumbly mess with
milk or water, chopped hard boiled eggs,
or curd, are very useful; but the food on
which young chickens make the most
rapid and healthy progress is the supply
of grubs and insects, small worms, ants
eggs, and other animal substances that
the hen obtains by scratching. Some say
that hens roam too much, when not
cooped. and weary the chickens, but if
the hen is well fed there is no danger of
her wandering so far as to tire the chick
ems. This is Ihe case with the Brahmas
and large breeds especially.
TIE Run FOR FOWLS.
Fowls never do so well as when al
| lowed to wander uncOntined over free
range of grass, or to scratch for their
food in straw or manure heaps. Under
these circumstances they obtain great
amount of food, and, consequently, cost
much less TO keep than when wholly fed
by hand. There is also the great advan-
tage that the variety of food obtained in
this way conduces to their health and con.
ditiOn. so that their hardihOOd is far SUI
perior to that of fowls kept in a confined
place. and the number of eggs proper,
tionally increased. Still fowls may be
| Kept Win HlNauJd-C III u COhlluCt IlACN'
provided the most scrupulous cleanli
ness is secured, the house cleaned out
daily, and the run often swept and gray,
elled. The great mistake usually com
mitted by people who keep fowls in q
small space, is that they attempt TO keep
three or four times the number that The
Mace will accommodate properly. a
cock and three hens should have a space
of at least six or eight yards. Then,
in order to supply the green food natura
to birds, all the waste garden stuff, sucl
as cabbage stumps, turnip tops, etc
should be thrown in for them TO scratch
and pick at A spadeful of mould, fql
of worms and small stones, should ottol
be thrown in, while the birds may be fec
with barely and all the house scraps, suci
as boiled potato parings, bones, crumbs
etc. In the space above indicated, eigh
! or ten fowls would be over crowded, aDC
they would all be likely to get out OF con
ditiOn, and would not do well.