Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1917-04-11
The Care Of The Sitting Hen

llC NdIC vi IlC OlllLllx ACIl
The sitting hen, which is used
most generally for incubation pur-
poses on the farm should receive a
certain amount of care and atten-
ton during the process of hatch
ing eggs. To great extent the
care given sitting hen plays an
important part on the number and
condition of the chicks when
Matched. With this end in view,
the poultry specialists of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture make
the following suggestions:
If several hens are sitting in the
same room, see that they are kept
on the nests, allowing them to
come off only once a day to receive
feed and water, the feed to con-
sist of corn, wheat, or both. If
there are any that do not desire to
come off themselves, they should
be taken off. Hens usually return
to their nests before there is any
danger of the eggs chilling, but if
they do not go back in half an
hour in ordinary weather. they
should be put on the nest. Where
large number of sitters are kept
in one room it is advisable to let
them off in groups of from a to 6
at time. The eggs and nests
should be examined and cleaned,
removing all broken eggs and
we shing those that are soiled; in
the latter case the soiled nesting
material should be removed and
clean straw added. Nests contain
ing broken eggs that the hen is al
lowed to sit on soon become infest-
ed with mites and lice, which cause
the hens to become uneasy and
leave the nest, often causing the
loss Of valuable sittings of eggs.
In mite-infested nests, the hen, if
fastened in, will often be found
standing over rather than sitting
on the eggs. Many eggs that are
laid in the late winter and early
spring are infertile. For this rea-
son it is advisable to set several
hens at the same time. After the
eggs have been under the hens
from 5 to 7 days, the time depend
ing somewhat on the color and
thickness of the shells-white-
shelled eggs being easier to test
than those having brown shells
they should be tested, the infertile
eggs and dead germs removed, and
the fertile eggs put back under the
hen. In this way it is often pos
sible to put all the eggs that sew
eral hens originally started to sit
on under fewer hens and reset the
others. For example, 80 eggs set
under 3 hens at the same time, 10
under each. At the end of 7 days
we find on testing the eggs from
all the hens that 10 are infertile,
which leaves us 20 eggs to reset,
which we do by putting them under
2 hens, and have the remaining hen
sit over again after she has sat
only 7 days. In this way consider
able time can be saved in ones
Matching operations.
Testing Eggs For Fertility
An egg, whether impregnated or
not. has a small grayish spot on
the surface of the yolk known as
the "germinal spot" AS soon as
a fertile egg is placed under a hen,
or in an incubator, development
begins. All eggs should be tested
at least twice during the period of
incubation, preferably on the sew
enth and fourteenth days, and the
infertile eggs and dead germs re-
moved. White eggs can be tested
on the fourth or fifth day, while
the development in eggs having
brown shells often can not be seen
by the use of an ordinary egg test
err until the seventh day. Dead
germs soon decay and give off a
bad odor if allowed to remain
under the hen. Infertile eggs
make good feed for young chick
ems. and are often used in the
home for culinary purposes. Most
incubator companies furnis h
testing chimneys with their mach,
ines which will fit ordinary lamps
Electric or gas lamps may be used
in box with hole slightly small.
J err than an egg cut in the end of the
box and at the same level as the
light. They may also be tested by
sunlight, or daylight. using 2