Sentence:  "John," called Mr. Carter, "who'd ye think's going t' take care of the hens?"¶ Newsy's feet stopping more suddenly than his head, he was obliged to turn a rapid handspring in order to reestablish his equilibrium. He came up yelling, "What! Her?"¶ "Yes, her," boomed Mr. Carter. "She's t' be the <WSD>hen hussy</WSD> on these premises.” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A girl or woman who tends chickens.