The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-06-17
BrOken-dOxYn EoMIs.

The worst of all the unsightly objects that
appear IN poultry yards, is hen that is COM
pletely broken down behind, making her
waddle around in an upright position, some
what resembling tie penguin's mode of loco
motion. Most people looking at such an OBJ
gect wonld condemn her to the butchers
block at once, without farther thought.
where the bird is of no value as a breeder, it
would De by tar the best plan !; but if she be
valuable specimen, do not be quite so hastv.
1t would be well to consider the cause of the
trouble. La the first place it will be noticed
that case of this kind is of rare occurrence
among the common mongrels that most far
mefs keep, but is something that comes in
with high breeding and high feeding. Be-
cause the dollars and cents are what we are
all STRIVING for, and it would not pay to set
hen that lays an egg worth twenty-five cents,
therefore she is kept laying as much of the
time as possible, and by little forcing she is
made to lay in eight or ten days after want
ing to sit. This continual stuffing The feed
into them draws on the vital force unnatur-
ally, and this is in almost every case the
cause of the wreck.
When you see symptoms of the weakness,
cut off half the food, and make the fowls
roam around all day if you can, which will
usually effect cure. But where thew are
completely broken down and nothing else is
the matter they will lay out their litters and
then want to Sit This is the time to doctor
her, as she will sit as well as any sound hen.
Give her some eggs; not too many; also set
announcer hen at the same time to take the
chlcks when they are Matched. Reset her
again twice more if she will continue to at
tend to her business. ANY of the Asiatics
that are year old will sit ten weeks without
any trouble. If she is inclined to be FESTIVE
put small chick under her for an hour or so
and she will give no trouble. In almost every
case SIX weeks will straghten up the worst
case: but nine weeks are better as thew are
less liable to return of the weakness, Let
the hen run with her last chicks as long as
she will, and by the time they are ready to
wean she will be fully recovered and no more
liable than any other fowl that has not had
the trouble.
Now it sometimes happens Though not
hal1 so often) that some of the nOn-sitters are
affected in this way, and it is very much
more difficult matter to cure them, though
Dy patience and good deal of trouble you
eau usually effect cure by coping them up,
a anu putting them on very spare Diet In
.IE nIst pace stop them from laying, as you
WIN neser eject cue otherwise Reduce
tne nes1' 80 they are quite scrawny, and
Snen ie9u tnen Oh food that is not fattening.
Give all the green food they will eat as If
will not hurt them, and will tend to reonIate
matters. The most essential part is to nave
the coop made in such manner that The
bird is obliged to sit down all the time for at
least six weeks; then she can have more
liberty. Under this treatment most cases
WI be all right in from ten to twelve weeks.
Inc expense OF treating non-sitter is good
zeal, ana usually costs more than the bird is
worth, even if it be very valuable ONE
Country Gentleman.