Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-03-08


malaria of the swamps and from std
den changes OF weather.
Setting n Hen.
Mrs. Mary b. Keech in American Agriculturist
The setting of hens should be done
with a view to the seasons. If in win.
ter, make her nest in the warmest
place, up off the ground. as the cold
earth will take away much animal
heat. In the summer make the nest
in cool place and if possible, on or
near the ground. Arrange it so the
hen can get off and on without danger
of breaking the eggs. If the nest-box
is painted on the inside with tar, the
setter Will not be disturbed by lice and
the odOr of tar will drive away rats.
If tar is not used, saturate the box
thoroughly with kerosene. Place a
layer CT wood ashes two inches deep
and layer of soil three inches deep
on the bottom. then put in enough
clean hay or straw to make a comfort
able nest. Hay is better than straw
as vermin do not breed so rapidly in
it. Before setting the hen dust her
and the nest we'll with fresh insect
powder. Repeat this every week dur
ing the period OF incubation. Lice in
crease very rapidly under a setting
hen and it is cruel to allow her to go
through three long weeks of torture,
simply because of neglect. Select
even sized eggs; never set a warped or
misshapen one. Do not give the hen
too many. If the weather is cold, ten
are enough. Every egg in the nest
will, in time, be TUNED and placed on
the edge of the nest, and if the nest is
too full, those on the edge will get
chilled. All the eggs will hatch if
they are fertile and the hen has no
more than she can do justice to. To
tell whether an egg is fertile or not,
place the large end against the tip of
the tongue All instant; if you detect a
warmth it is fertile. If cold, it con-
tains no germ and will not hatch.
There is no known method of deter
mining with infallible accuracy the
sex of eggs, but the writer having OBJ
served this matter closely during the
Matching season has found The follow
ing rule safe one to follow: An egg
which is perfectly smooth ON pointed
end will produce a pullet, but one
with wrinkle or curl on pointed end
will produce cockerel. 1t is best to
first try the hen on a few common
eggs to see il she - satisfied with her
nest and new quarters. Ii she is con-
tent, on the following evening give her
the eggs for Matching. Note the day
they will hatch on the nest box. 1t
will save time and trouble to set six or
more hens at the same time. Several
sitting hens can be cared for almost
as easily as one or two, and the nearer
the chicks are of the same age the
better they will do. But do not give
too many chicks to the hen. One
cause Of failure with early poultry
raisers is that they give the hen more
chicks than she is able to take care of.
When small, a hen can cover her
brood with ease, but as the chicks
grow older they require more room.
If the mother is not able to cover
them they die. A chick is compara-
lively naked and must be kept warm.
Attend to the sitters at the same time
every day. Often a hen will refuse to
leave her nest. Do not drive her off
but run your hands down on each
side of her and lift her gently. All
sitters should be handled carefully.
Give them plenty OF grain, fresh water,
sharp grit and clean dust bath. II
the weather is cold, l5 or 20 minutes
are long enough for them to be off the
nest. If an egg gets broken in the
nest and the Others become smeared
with the contents, wash them care.
fully with soft rag and warm water
and remove the hay. II the weather
is dry pour pint of warm water
around the nest the nineteenth day
When the day arrives for chicks tc
appear, do not disturb the mother
That is the most trying time for her
When part are Matched remove the
mother, take out the shells and re
place her Leave the chicks under
her all night; they need her vitalizinl
heat. 1t is not good plan to remove
them and put them near fire. ID
not make a hen stay on the nest thre'
long weeks and then rob her OF he
chicks and reset her.
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