CHAPTER VI.

THE SITTING HEN.

All hens that are inclined to sit should be allowed to hatch and bring up one brood of chickens a year; for, if altogether restrained from sitting, a hen suffers much in moulting, and is restless and excited for the remainder of the season. It is unnatural, and therefore must be injurious. The period of incubation gives her rest from producing eggs. The hen that is always stimulated to produce eggs, and not allowed to vary that process by hatching and bringing up a young brood, must ultimately suffer from this constant drain upon her system, and the eggs are said to be unwholesome.

But hens frequently wish to sit when it is not convenient, or in autumn or winter, when it is not advisable, unless very late or early chickens are desired, and every attention can be given to them. To check this desire, the old-fashioned plan with farmers' wives, of plunging the broody hen into cold water, and keeping her there for some minutes, was not only a cruel practice, but often failed to effect its object, and must naturally always have caused ultimate disease in the poor bird. When it is absolutely necessary to check the desire of a hen to sit, the best plan is to let her sit on some nest-eggs for a week, then remove and coop her for a few days, away from the place where she made her nest, low diet, as boiled potatoes and boiled rice, and water being placed near; meanwhile taking away the eggs and destroying the nest, and, not finding it on her return, she will generally not seek for another, unless she is a Cochin, or the desire exceedingly strong.

When a hen wishes to sit, she utters a peculiar cluck, ruffles her feathers, wanders about, searches obscure corners and recesses, is very fidgety, feverishly hot, impatient, anxiously restless, and seeks for a nest. Highly-fed hens feel this desire sooner than those that are not so highly fed. A hen may be induced to sit at any season, by confining her in a dark room in a covered basket, only large enough to contain her nest, keeping her warm, and feeding her on stimulating food, such as bread steeped in ale, a little raw liver or fresh meat chopped small, and potatoes mashed warm with milk and oatmeal.

Every large poultry establishment should have a separate house for the sitting hens, and the run that should be provided for their relaxation must be divided from that of the other fowls by wire or lattice work, to prevent any intrusion. Where there is a large number of sitting hens, each nest should be numbered, and the date of setting, number and description of eggs, entered in a diary or memorandum book opposite to the number; and the number of chickens hatched, and any particulars likely to be useful on a future occasion, should afterwards be entered.

A separate house and run for each sitting hen is a great advantage, as it prevents other hens from going to the nest during her absence, or herself from returning to the wrong nest, as will often happen in a common house. The run should not be large, or the hen may be inclined to wander and stay away too long from her nest. A separate division for the sitting hen is often otherwise useful, for the purpose of keeping the cock apart from the hens, or for keeping a few additional birds for which accommodation has not been prepared, or for the use of a pen of birds about to be sent for exhibition.

"Boxes, of which every carpenter knows the form," says Mowbray, "are to be arranged round the walls, and it is proper to have a sufficient number, the hens being apt to dispute possession, and sit upon one another. The board or step at the entrance should be of sufficient height to prevent the eggs from rolling out. Provision of a few railed doors may be made for occasional use, to be hung before the entrance, in order to prevent other hens from intruding to lay their eggs upon those which sit, a habit to which some are much addicted, and by which a brood is often injured. The common deep square boxes, uncovered at top, are extremely improper, because that form obliges the hen to jump down upon her eggs, whereas for safety she should descend upon them from a very small height, or in a manner walk in upon them. The same objection lies against hampers, with the additional one of the wicker-work admitting the cold in variable weather, during winter or early spring sittings. Many breeders prefer to have all the nests upon the ground, on account of the danger of chickens falling from the nests which are placed above." The ground is preferable for other reasons. The damp arising from the ground assists very materially in incubation. When fowls sit upon wooden floors, or in boxes, the eggs become so dry and parched as to prevent the chicken from disencumbering itself of the shell, and it is liable to perish in its attempts. Hens in a state of nature make their nests upon the ground; and fowls, when left to choose a nest for themselves, generally fix upon a hedge, where the hen conceals herself under the branches of the hedge, and among the grass. In general, the sitting places are too close and confined, and very different in this respect to those that hens select for themselves.

But nests cannot always be allowed to be made on the ground, unless properly secured from vermin, particularly from rats, which will frequently convey away the whole of the eggs from under a hen. And other considerations may render it necessary to have them on a floor, in boxes on the ground, or placed above; in which cases the eggs must be kept properly moistened, for, unless the egg is kept sufficiently damp, its inner membrane becomes so hard and dry that the chicken cannot break through, and perishes. When a hen steals her nest in a hedge or clump of evergreens or bushes, she makes it on the damp ground. She goes in search of food early in the morning, before the dew is off the grass, and returns to her nest with her feathers saturated with moisture. This is the cause of the comparatively successful hatching of the eggs of wild birds. The old farmers' wives did not understand the necessity of damping eggs, but frequently complained of their not hatching, although chickens were found in them, which was, in most cases, entirely caused by want of damping. If, therefore, the weather is warm and wet, all will probably go well; but if the air should be very dry, moisture must be imparted by sprinkling the nest and eggs slightly, when the hen is off feeding, by means of a small brush dipped in tepid water. A small flat brush such as is used by painters is excellent for this purpose, as it does not distribute the water too freely. The ground round about, also, should be watered with hot water, to cause a steam. But the natural moisture of a damp soil is preferable, and never fails.

The nest may be of any shape. A long box divided by partitions into several compartments is much used, but separate boxes or baskets are preferable as being more easily cleaned and freed from vermin. Wooden nest-boxes are preferable to wicker baskets in winter, as the latter let in the cold air, but many prefer wicker baskets in summer for their airiness. A round glazed earthen pan, with shelving sides, like those used in the midland counties for milk, and partially filled with moss, forms a good nest, the moss being easier kept moist in such a pan than in a box. The nest should be made so large that the hen can just fill it, not very deep, and as nearly flat inside at the bottom as possible, so that the eggs may not lean against each other, or they may get broken, especially by the hen turning them.

The best filling for hatching nests is fine dry sand, mould, coal or wood ashes placed on a cut turf, covering it and lining the sides with a little well-broken dry grass, moss, bruised straw, lichen, or liverwort collected from trees, or dry heather, which is the best of all, but cannot always be had. Hay, though soft at first, soon becomes hard and matted, and is also said to breed vermin. Straw is good material, but must be cut into short pieces, for if long straw is used and the hen should catch her foot in it, and drag it after her when she leaves the nest, it will disturb, if not break, the eggs. The nests of the sitting hens in Her Majesty's poultry-yard at Windsor are made of heather, which offers an excellent medium between the natural damp hedge-nest of the hen and the dryness of a box filled with straw, and also enables her to free herself from those insects which are so troublesome to sitting hens. A thick layer of ashes placed under the straw in cold weather will keep in the heat of the hen. A little Scotch snuff is a good thing to keep the nests free from vermin.

Where only a few fowls are kept, and a separate place cannot be found for the sitting hen, she can be placed on a nest which should be covered over with a coop, closed in with a little boarding or some other contrivance for a day or two, to prevent her being disturbed by any other fowls that have been accustomed to lay there. They will then soon use another nest. She should be carefully lifted off her nest, by taking hold of her under the wings, regularly every morning, exercised and fed, and then shut in, so that she cannot be annoyed.

It is best to allow a hen to keep the nest she has chosen when she shows an inclination to sit; and if she continues to sit steadily, and has not a sufficient number of eggs under her, or the eggs you desire her to hatch, remove her gently at night, replace the eggs with the proper batch, and place her quietly upon the nest again. Hens are very fond of choosing their own nests in out of the way places; and where the spot is not unsafe, or too much exposed to the weather, it is best to let her keep possession, for it has been noticed that, when she selects her own nest and manages for herself, she generally brings forth a good and numerous brood. Mr. Tegetmeier observes that he has "reason to believe, indeed, that whatever care may be taken in keeping eggs, their vitality is better preserved when they are allowed to remain in the nest. Perhaps the periodical visits of the hen, while adding to her store of eggs, has a stimulating influence. The warmth communicated in the half-hour during which she occupies the nest may have a tendency to preserve the embryo in a vigorous state."

It is a good plan, before giving an untried hen choice eggs, to let her sit upon a few chalk or stale eggs for a few days, and if she continue to sit with constancy, then to give her the batch for hatching. When choice can be made out of several broody hens for a valuable batch of eggs, one should be selected with rather short legs, a broad body, large wings well furnished with feathers, and having the nails and spurs not too long or sharp. As a rule, hens which are the best layers are the worst sitters, and those with short legs are good sitters, while long-legged hens are not. Dorkings are the best sitters of all breeds, and by high feeding may be induced to sit in October, especially if they have moulted early, and with great care and attention chickens may be reared and made fit for table by Christmas. Early in the spring Dorkings only should be employed as mothers, for they remain much longer with their chickens than the Cochin-Chinas, but the latter may safely be entrusted with a brood after April. Cochins are excellent sitters, and, from the quantity of "fluff" which is peculiar to them, keep the eggs at a high and regular degree of heat. Their short legs also are advantageous for sitting. A Cochin hen can always be easily induced to sit, and eggs of theirs or of Brahma Pootras for sitting, are not wanted in the coldest weather.

Old hens are more steady sitters than pullets, more fond of their brood, and not so apt as pullets to leave them too soon. Indeed, pullets were formerly never allowed to sit before the second year of their laying, but now many eminent authorities think it best to let them sit when they show a strong desire to do so, considering that the prejudice against them upon this point is unfounded, and that young hens sit as well as older fowls. Pullets hatched early will generally begin to lay in November or December, if kept warm and well fed, and will sit in January or February.

Broody hens brought from a distance should be carried in a basket, covered over with a cloth.

The number of eggs to be set under a hen must be according to the extent of her wings and the temperature of the weather. Some say that the number may vary from nine to fourteen, but others would never give more than nine in winter and early spring, and eleven in summer, to the largest hen, and two fewer to the smaller fowls. A Cochin-China may have fifteen of her own in summer. A hen should not be allowed more eggs than she can completely cover; for eggs that are not thoroughly covered become chilled, and fewer and weaker chickens will be hatched from too large a number than from a more moderate allowance. It is not only necessary to consider how many eggs a hen can hatch, but also how many chickens she can cover when they are partly grown. In January and February, not more than seven or eight eggs should be placed under the hen, as she cannot cover more than that number of chickens when they grow large, and exposure to the cold during the long winter nights would destroy many. "The common order to set egges," says Mascall, "is in odde numbers, as seven, nyne, eleven, thirteen, &c., whiche is to make them lye round the neste, and to have the odde egge in the middest."

Eggs for sitting should be under a fortnight old, if possible, and never more than a month. Fresh eggs hatch in proper time, and, if good, produce strong, lively chicks; while stale eggs are hatched sometimes as much as two days later than new laid, and the chickens are often too weak to break the shell, while of those well out fewer will probably be reared. It is certain, as a general rule, that the older the egg the weaker will be its progeny. Every egg should be marked by a pencil or ink line drawn quite round it, so that it can be known without touching, and if another be laid afterwards it may be at once detected and removed, for hens will sometimes lay several after they have commenced sitting. Place the eggs under the hen with their larger ends uppermost.

Let the hen be well fed and supplied with water before putting her on the nest. Whole barley and soft food, chiefly barley-meal and mashed potatoes, should be given to her when she comes off the nest, and she must have as much as she will eat, for she leaves the nest but once daily, and the full heat of the body cannot be kept up without plenty of food; or she may have the same food as the general stock. A good supply of water must be always within her reach. A good-sized shallow box or pan, containing fine coal-ashes, sand, or dry earth, to cleanse herself in, should always be ready near to the nest. She should be left undisturbed, and, as far as possible, allowed to manage her own business. When a hen shows impatience of her confinement, and frequently leaves the nest, M. Parmentier advises that half only of her usual meal should be given, after which she should be replaced on the nest and fed from the hand with hemp or millet seed, which will induce her to stay constantly on her eggs. Others will sit so long and closely that they become faint for want of food. Such hens should not be fed on the nest, but gently induced with some tempting dainty to take a little exercise, for they will not leave their eggs of their own accord, and feeding on the nest has crippled many a good sitter. It is not healthy for the hen to feed while sitting on or close by the nest, for she requires a little exercise and rolling in the dust-heap, as well as that the eggs should be exposed for the air to carry off any of that stagnant vapour which M. Réaumur proved to be so destructive to the embryo chickens; and it has also been shown by physiologists that the cooling of the eggs caused by this absence of the hen is essential to allow a supply of air to penetrate through the pores of the shell, for the respiration of the chick. When there are many hens sitting at the same time, it is a good plan to take them off their nests regularly at the same time every morning to feed, and afterwards give them an opportunity to cleanse themselves in a convenient dusting-place, and, if possible, allow them exercise in a good grass run. A hen should never be caught, but driven back gently to her nest.

A good hen will not stay away more than half an hour, unless infested with vermin, from want of having a proper dust-heap. But hens have often been absent for more than an hour, and yet have hatched seven or eight chickens; and instances have been known of their being absent for five and even for nine hours, and yet hatching a few. The following remarkable instance is recorded by an excellent authority: "Eggs had been supplied and a sitting hen lent to a neighbour, and, when she had set in a granary ten days, she was shut out through the carelessness of a servant. Being a stranger in the farmyard, the hen was not recognised, but supposed to have strayed in from an adjoining walk, and thirty hours elapsed before it was discovered that the hen had left her nest. The farmer's wife despaired of her brood; but, to her surprise and pleasure, eight chickens were hatched. The tiled roof of the granary was fully exposed to the rays of the sun, and the temperature very high, probably above 80 deg. during the day, and not much lower at night." Valuable eggs, therefore, should not be abandoned on account of a rather lengthened absence; and ordinary eggs should not be discarded as worthless if the hen has already sat upon them for a fortnight or so; but if she has been sitting for only a few days, it is safer to throw them away, and have a fresh batch.

During the hen's absence, always look at the eggs, remove any that may have been broken, and very gently wash any sticky or dirty eggs with a flannel dipped in milk-warm water. See that they are dry before putting them back. If the nest is also dirty, replace it with fresh material of the same kind. Gently drive the hen back to her nest as quickly as possible, to prevent any damage from the eggs becoming chilled. If a hen should break an egg with her feet or otherwise, it should be removed as soon as it is seen, or she may eat it, and, liking the taste, break and eat the others. Some hens have a bad habit of breaking and eating the eggs on which they are sitting, to cure which some recommend to boil an egg hard, bore a few holes in it, so that the inside can be seen, and give it while hot to the culprit, who will peck at the holes and burn herself; but hens with such propensities should be fattened for the table, for they are generally useless either for sitting or laying.

Some persons examine the eggs after the hen has sat upon them for six or seven days, and remove all that are sterile, by which plan more warmth and space are gained for those that are fertile, and the warmth is not wasted upon barren eggs. They may be easily proved by holding them near to the flame of a candle, the eye being kept shaded by one hand, when the fertile eggs will appear dark and the sterile transparent. Another plan is to place the eggs on a drum, or between the hands, in the sunshine, and observe the shadow. If this wavers, by the motion of the chick, the eggs are good; but if the shadow shows no motion, they are unfertile. If two hens have been sitting during the same time, and many unfertile eggs are found in the two nests, all the fertile eggs should be placed under one hen, and a fresh batch given to the other. The eggs should not be moved after this time, except by the hen, more especially when incubation has proceeded for some time, lest the position of the chick be interfered with, for if taken up a little time before its exit, and incautiously replaced with the large end lowermost, the chicken, from its position, will not be able to chip the shell, and must therefore perish. The forepart of the chicken is towards the biggest end of the egg, and it is so placed in the shell that the beak is always uppermost. When the egg of a choice breed has been cracked towards the end of the period of incubation, the crack may be covered with a slip of gummed paper, or the unprinted border that is round a sheet of postage stamps, and the damaged egg will probably yet produce a fine chick.

It is a good plan to set two hens on the same day, for the two broods may be united under one if desirable, and on the hatching day, to prevent the newly-born chickens being crushed by the unhatched eggs, all that are hatched can be given to one hen, and the other take charge of the eggs, which are then more likely to be hatched, as, while the chickens are under the hen, she will sit higher from the eggs, and afford them less warmth when they require it most.

The hen of all kinds of gallinaceous fowls, from the Bantam to the Cochin-China, sits for twenty-one days, at which time, on an average, the chickens break the shell; but if the eggs are new laid it will often lessen the time by five or six hours, while stale eggs will always be behind time. For the purpose of breaking the shell, the yet soft beak of the chicken is furnished, just above the point of the upper mandible, with a small, hard, horny scale, which, from the position of the head, as Mr. Yarrell observes, is brought in contact with the inner surface of the shell. This scale may be always seen on the beaks of newly-hatched chickens, but in the course of a short time peels off. It should not be removed. The peculiar sound, incorrectly called "tapping," so perceptible within the egg about the nineteenth day of incubation, which was universally believed to be produced by the bill of the chick striking against the shell in order to break it and effect its release, has been incontestably proved, by the late Dr. F. R. Horner, of Hull, in a paper read by him before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, to be a totally distinct sound, being nothing more than the natural respiratory sound in the lungs of the young chick, which first begins to breathe at that period. Of course there is also an occasional sound made by the tapping of the beak in endeavouring to break the shell.

The time occupied in breaking the shell varies, according to the strength of the chick, from one to three hours usually, but extends sometimes to twenty-four, and even more. "I have seen," says Réaumur, "chicks continue at work for two days together; some work incessantly, while others take rest at intervals, according to their physical strength. Some, I have observed, begin to break the shell a great deal too soon; for, be it observed, they ought, before they make their exit, to have within them provision enough to serve for twenty-four hours without taking food, and for this purpose the unconsumed portion of the yolk enters through the navel. The chick, indeed, which comes out of the shell without taking up all the yolk is certain to droop and die in a few days after it is hatched. The assistance which I have occasionally tried to give to several of them, by way of completing their deliverance, has afforded me an opportunity of observing those which had begun to break their shells before this was accomplished; and I have opened many eggs much fractured, in each of which the chick had as yet much of the yolk not absorbed. Some chicks have greater obstacles to overcome than others, since all shells are not of an equal thickness nor of an equal consistence; and the same inequality takes place in the lining membrane, and offers still greater difficulty to the emergent chick. The shells of the eggs of birds of various species are of a thickness proportionate to the strength of the chick that is obliged to break through them. The canary-bird would never be able to break the shell it is enclosed in if that were as thick as the egg of a barn-door fowl. The chick of a barn-door fowl, again, would in vain try to break its shell if it were as thick and hard as that of an ostrich; indeed, though an ostrich ready to be hatched is perhaps thrice as large as the common chick, it is not easy to conceive how the force of its bill can be strong enough to break a shell thicker than a china cup, and the smoothness and gloss of which indicate that it is nearly as hard--sufficiently so to form, as may be often seen, a firm drinking-cup. It is the practice in some countries to dip the eggs into warm water at the time they are expected to chip, on the supposition that the shell is thereby rendered more fragile, and the labour of the chick lightened. But, though the water should soften it, upon drying in the air it would become as hard as at first. When the chick is entirely or almost out of the shell, it draws its head from under its wing, where it had hitherto been placed, stretches out its neck, directing it forwards, but for several minutes is unable to raise it. On seeing for the first time a chick in this condition, we are led to infer that its strength is exhausted, and that it is ready to expire; but in most cases it recruits rapidly, its organs acquire strength, and in a very short time it appears quite another creature. After having dragged itself on its legs a little while, it becomes capable of standing on them, and of lifting up its neck and bending it in various directions, and at length of holding up its head. At this period the feathers are merely fine down, but, as they are wet with the fluid of the egg, the chick appears almost naked. From the multitude of their branchlets these down feathers resemble minute shrubs; when, however, these branchlets are wet and sticking to each other, they take up but very little room; as they dry they become disentangled and separated. The branchlets, plumules, or beards of each feather are at first enclosed in a membranous tube, by which they are pressed and kept close together; but as soon as this dries it splits asunder, an effect assisted also by the elasticity of the plumules themselves, which causes them to recede and spread themselves out. This being accomplished, each down feather extends over a considerable space, and when they all become dry and straight, the chick appears completely clothed in a warm vestment of soft down."

If they are not out in a few hours after the shell has been broken, and the hole is not enlarged, they are probably glued to the shell. Look through the egg then, and, if all the yolk has passed into the body of the chicken, you may assist it by enlarging the fracture with a pair of fine scissors, cutting up towards the large end of the egg, never downwards. "If," says Miss Watts, "the time has arrived when the chicken may with safety be liberated, there will be no appearance of blood in the minute blood-vessels spread over the interior of the shell; they have done their work, and are no longer needed by the now fully developed and breathing chick. If there should be the slightest appearance of blood, resist at once, for its escape would generally be fatal. Do not attempt to let the chicken out at once, but help it a little every two or three hours. The object is not to hurry the chicken out of its shell, but to prevent its being suffocated by being close shut up within it. If the chick is tolerably strong, and the assistance needful, it will aid its deliverance with its own exertions." When the chicken at last makes its way out, do not interfere with it in any way, or attempt to feed it. Animal heat alone can restore it. Weakness has caused the delay, and this has probably arisen from insufficient warmth, perhaps from the hen having had too many eggs to cover thoroughly, or they may have been stale when set. Should you have to assist it out of the shell, take it out gently with your fingers, taking great care not to tear any of its tender skin, when freeing the feathers from the shell.

Mr. Wright says: "We never ourselves now attempt to assist a chick from the shell. If the eggs were fresh, and proper care has been taken to preserve moisture during incubation, no assistance is ever needed. To fuss about the nest frets the hen exceedingly; and we have always found that, even where the poor little creature survived at the time, it never lived to maturity. Should the reader attempt such assistance, in cases where an egg has been long chipped, and no further progress made, let the shell be cracked gently all round, without tearing the inside membrane; if that be perforated, the viscid fluid inside dries and glues the chick to the shell. Should this happen, or should both shell and membrane be perforated at first, introduce the point of a pair of scissors and cut up the egg towards the large end, where there will be an empty space, remembering that, if blood flows, all hope is at end. Then put the chick back under the hen; she will probably squeeze it to death, it is true--it is so very weak; but it will never live if put by the fire, at least we always found it so. Indeed, as we have said, we consider it quite useless to make the attempt at all."

The fact is, it is scarcely worth while to attempt to assist in the case of ordinary eggs, but if the breed is valuable the labour may be well bestowed.

Some hens are reluctant to give up sitting, and will hatch a second brood with evident pleasure; but it is cruel to overtask their strength and patience, and they are sure to suffer, more or less, from the unnatural exertion.

Some breeders use a contrivance called an "artificial mother" for broods hatched under the hen, and it may be employed very advantageously when any accident has happened to her. It is made in various forms, such as a wooden frame, or shallow box, open at both ends, and sloping like a writing-desk, with a perforated lid lined with sheep or lamb's skin, goose-down, or some similar warm fleecy material hanging down, under and between which the chickens nestle, heat being applied to the lid either by hot water or hot air, so as to imitate the warmth of the hen's breast. When chickens are hatched by artificial means, such as by the Hydro-Incubator, or the Eccaleobion, or in an oven according to the method practised by the Egyptians, these protectors are essential; for without a good substitute for the hen's natural warmth the chickens would perish. Artificial incubators are now extensively used, and where gas is laid on they are easily managed, but the chief difficulty is in rearing the chickens. For information on the subject see the works of Tegetmeier, Dickson, and Wright, on Poultry.