Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1880-04-14
Nests ard sitting Hens.

words upon that subject? p
Perhaps he is right. don't know,
but | do know that tucking some eggs
under an old hen just where she takes
notion 10 bring family into this world
and setting hen properly in proper
Mace are different things altogether.
A great many people still cling to the
notion that a hen must be allowed to
sit lust whore she takes a notion TO-
Now always make my hens SIT in the
room lxcd expressly for sitting hens.-
Sometimes when broody lens are
scarce borrow, or SWAY q" hens win
my neighbors, and although tneSe
strange hens are not so tractapie as
mine. they soon como around to my
way of thinking. The neighbors say
at is wonderful how you contnve TO
make strange hens do just as you Ike!
It's all luck, 1 suppose"
There is no luck " about it. just
use little of the article called common
sense. The room where set my hens
is 1Oxl2, and can set thirty hens al
one time. The floor is covered Sin
inches deep with dry earth and gravel.
There is a platform, two feet vide anu
eiohteen inches from the floor all
around the room. One row oil nest
boxes is placed on this PLATFORM ana
another row under it. These nest
boxes are sixteen inches square with
strip six inches wide nailed across Inc
frort at the bottom. have them made
of smooth boards, but rough boaroS
would do, only they are not SO nice 10
handle, and it is more work to clean
them.
To prepare the nest properly, put
sod in the bottom Of the box, and then
put Ii, large handful of fine hay. As
a precaution against Matching more lice
than chickens, sprinkle sulphur or
carbolic powder in the nest, or better
still. use tobacco leaves or stems, mix
ed with the hay. The nest should DC
followed out a little in the middle
enough to keep the eggs from rolling 10
the corners of the box.
gin selecting eggs for setting, always
remember that the newest laid are the
hest and that those from the second
hitter are better than the first laying
Eggs from the first litter arc generally
smaller, contain less vitality, and are
not so likely to be fertilized as the later
rters. II you are one Of the wise peo'
pie who pretend that they can tell the
sex ofthe egg by its shape, OF course
YOU will set long eggs for ROSTERS and
and round eggs for pullets,' but 1t wont
amount 10 anything if you do. l have
set all round eggs, and all long eggs
and in both instances the results were
mighty unsatisfactory. Some expert
menter claims that eggs with wrinkles
ON the small ends contain The male
Germ. aud the smooth ends will turn out
nullets. 1 haye tired that wrinkle, y"
and il is as unreliable as the rest OF the
theories Upon this subject. After all.
the old-fashioned way of controlling the
sex of eggsls as good as any method
that know of: To get pullets, carry
the eggs IN a sun.bonnet, and COCKS
are wanted, carry the eggs in hat'
But whether you set round eggs, or
long eggs, or wrnklcd eggs, don't give
the hen more than she can keep warm.
Seven eggs are enough for a small hen,
and eleven for Brahma or Cochin.
Josh Billings says that the best time
to act a hen is when the hen wants 10
set. To that piece Of wisdom let nae
add: Set yonr hens at night-always.-
If you have any doubts about the rella-
bility of your hen, give her two or three
china or wooden nest-eggs to practice
upon until she settles down to business.
If you want to set your hen in a strange
place, have your nest ready, get your
hen after dark, AVOID frightening her,
place her carefully on the nest, fasten a
board over the front of the nest, leay'
inc only a crack for ventilation, and do
not remove the board until after dark
the next night. In nine cases out OF
ten the hen will come of III the morn
ing, eat her breakfast, and 90 back to
her nest, put her back gently,and iasten
her in for another day. Keep corn,
water, gravel and charcoal, and a dust
box where your setting hens can help
themselves. After the eggs have been
set on a few days, the eggs that have
been impregnated can readily be detec-
ted by testing them with an egg-tester.
If the eggs arc white -shelled they can
be assorted by the fourth day, but with
hard-shelled eggs, it is better to wait
until the eighth nay. The non-fertile
eggs will present clear, unclouded APP
pearance, while dark spot, with small
red veins radiatlng from it, can be dis
tincty seen in the fertile eggs.
The advantage 10 be derived from
asserting eggs during incubation are
obvious. Ifthree or four hens are set
at the same time, it quite frequently
happens that after the non-fertile eggs
have been taken from the nest, TIVE Of
the hens can accommodate all the eggs
that contain living germ, and in that
case the other mems can be set again
with fresh lot ofeggs. In the earlier
part Of the season, when setting hens
are scarce, l find this a great advan-
tage. The clear eggs, if taken from
the nest before the ninth day, can be
boiled and used for chicken food.