Charlevoix county herald., 1915-01-30
No. Natural BrOOding of Chick
ems With Hens.

poultry raiser Is considering Jne TdlS-
ing of spring chickens for the mar
ket, and among other important
problems are those Of brooding.
Brooding with hens, according to the
United States Department of Agri-
cultures specialists, is the simplest
and easiest way to raise few chick
ems and is the method which is used
almost exclusively on the average
farm. Artificial breeders are neces-
sary where late winter or very early
chickens are raised, where only Leg
horns or other non-sitting breeds Of
poultry are kept, or where large
numbers Of chickens are raised COM
mercially.
Successful natural rearing Of
chickens requires convenient facili-
ties, regular attention, and often
tries ones patience, while artificial
methods require larger investment,
close attention, and more care, but
are more commonly used where large
numbers Of chickens are raised.
Many poultry keepers who are able
to secure good egg yields and fair
matches make failure Of brooding
chickens, either in raising only a
small percentage Of the chickens
Matched or in failing to rear strong,
vigorous birds which develop into
good breeding stock. Brooding is
still in the experimental stage, and
no one system has given perfect sat
isfaction.
Rearing Chickens With Hens.
Sitting hens should be confined to
slightly darkened nests at Matching
time and not disturbed unless they
step on or pick their chickens when
Matching, in which case the chickens
should be removed as soon as dry,
in basket lined with flannel or
some other warm material, and kept
ne&r a fire until all the eggs are
hatched; or the eggs may be removed
and placed under a quieter hen
whose eggs are Matching at the same
time. An incubator may also be used
to keep the earliest Matched chickens
warm, in case they are removed from
the nest. If the eggs hatch uneven
ly, those which are slow in Matching
may he placed under other hens, as
hens often get restless after a part
Of the chickens are out, allowing
the remaining eggs to become cooled
At the very time when steady heat
IS necessary. Remove the egg shells
and any eggs which have not Matched
as soon as the Matching is over. Hens
should be fed as soon as possible
after the eggs are Matched, as feed
ing tends to keep them quiet; other
wise many hens will leave the nest.
In most cases it is best that the hen
remain on the nest and brood the
chickens for at least "a hours after
the Matching Is over.
Hens are often used to raise incu-
bator-hatched chicks and to take the
place of the artificial brooder, a
practice that is in operation on many
poultry farms. A few eggs are put
under the hen four or five days be-
fore the incubator is to hatch. In
the evening following the hatch of
the incubator, after the chickens are
thoroughly dry one or two are put
under the hen, and if she is found to
mother them properly, the next even
ing as many more are added as she
can brood or care for properly. Hens
will successfully brood 10 to Is
chickens early in the breeding sea
son, and 18 to 25 in warm weather
depending upon the size Of the hen
This method of handling chickens
does away with the artificial brooder
and where one has only small
number Of chickens to raise IL is 8
very easy manner in which to han
die them, and also a good method
when it is desired to raise separate
ly special lots Of chicks. II should
be borne in mind, in adding chickens
to a hen which already has som,
to brood, that it is best to add thos,
Of the same color and age as tn,
ones already with her, as the her
will often pick the later arrivals 4
they are of a color different from tn,
ones she Is already brooding. AS
rule this transferring should tax,
place at night, although with a quie
docile hen it can be done in tn,
morning.
Powder the hen with O good In
sect powder before moving her an,