The ordinary productiveness of a single individual of the family of
domestic fowls is astonishing. While few hens are capable of hatching
more than fifteen eggs, and are incapable usually of sitting more than
twice in the year, frequent instances have occurred of hens laying three
hundred eggs annually, while two hundred is the average number. Some
hens are accustomed to lay at longer intervals than others. The habit of
one variety is to lay once in three days only; others will lay every
other day; and some produce an egg daily. The productiveness of hens
depends, undoubtedly, upon circumstances, to a great degree. Climate has
a great influence in this respect; and their lodging and food, as well
as the care bestowed upon them, have more or less effect in promoting or
obstructing their fecundity.
[Illustration: ON THE WATCH.]
There seems to be, naturally, two periods of the year in which fowls
lay--early in the spring, and in the summer; and this fact would seem
to indicate that, if they were left to themselves, like wild birds, they
would bring forth two broods in a year. The laying continues, with few
interruptions, till the close of summer, when the natural process of
moulting causes them to cease. This annual process commences about
August, and continues through the three following months. The
constitutional effect attending the beginning, continuance, and
consequences of this period--a very critical one in the case of all
feathered animals--prevents them from laying, until its very close, when
the entire coat of new feathers replaces the old, the washing of the
nutritive juices, yielded by the blood for the express purpose of
promoting this growth, is a great drain upon the system; and the
constitutional forces, which would otherwise assist in forming the egg,
are rendered inoperative. The approach of cold weather, also, at the
close of the moulting period, contributes to the same result. As the
season of moulting is every year later, the older the hen is, the later
in the spring she will begin to lay. As pullets, on the contrary, do not
moult the first year, they commence laying sooner than the elder hens;
and it is possible, by judicious and careful management, so to arrange,
in a collection of poultry tolerably numerous, as to have eggs
throughout the year. It is a singular fact that pullets hatched very
late in autumn, and therefore of stunted growth, will lay nearly as
early as those hatched in spring. The checking of their growth seems to
have a tendency to produce eggs; of course, very tiny ones at first.
When a hen is near to the time of laying, her comb and wattles change
from their previous dull hue to a bright red, while the eye becomes more
bright, the gait more spirited, and she occasionally cackles for three
or four days. These signs rarely prove false; and when the time comes
that she desires to lay, she appears very restless, going backward and
forward, visiting every nook and corner, cackling meanwhile, as if
displeased because she cannot suit herself with a convenient nest. Not
having looked out for one previously, she rarely succeeds in pleasing
herself till the moment comes when she can no longer tarry, when she is
compelled to choose one of the boxes or baskets provided for this
purpose in the poultry-house, where she settles herself in silence and
lays.
In some instances, a hen will make choice of a particular nest in which
to lay, and when she finds, upon desiring to lay, that this is
pre-occupied by another hen, she will wait till it is vacated; but, in
other cases, hens will go into any nest which they find, preferring, for
the most part, those having the greatest number of eggs. The process of
laying is, most probably, rather painful, though the hen does not
indicate this by her cries; but the instant she has done she leaves the
nest, and utters her joy by peculiarly loud notes, which are re-echoed
by the cock, as well as by some of the other hens. Some hens, however,
leave the nest in silence, after laying.
It seems ever to have been an object of great importance, in an
economical point of view, to secure the laying of hens during those
parts of the year when, if left to themselves, they are indisposed to
deposit their eggs. For this purpose many methods have been devised, the
most of which embrace an increase of rich and stimulating food. Some
recommend shutting hens up in a warm place during winter, and giving
them boiled potatoes, turnips, carrots, and parsnips. Others assign as
the reason for their not laying in winter, in some climates, that the
earth is covered with snow, so that they can find no ground, or other
calcareous matter, to form the shells; and advise, therefore, that bones
of meat or poultry should be pounded and given to them, either mixed
with their food, or by itself, which they will greedily eat. Upon the
whole, it would seem that the most feasible means of obtaining fresh
eggs during the winter is to have young hens--pullets hatched only the
previous spring being the best--to use extreme liberality in feeding,
and to cautiously abstain from over-stocking the poultry-yard.
As serviceable _food_ to increase laying, scraps of animal food, given
two or three times a week, answer admirably; the best mode of doing so
is throwing down a bullock's liver, leaving it with them, and permitting
them to pick it at will; this is better raw than boiled. Lights, or
guts, or any other animal refuse, will be found to answer the same
purpose; but these substances require, or, at all events, are better
for, boiling. Cayenne pepper--in fact all descriptions of pepper, but
especially cayenne pepper in pods--is a favorite food with fowls; and,
being a powerful stimulant, it promotes laying.
An abundant supply of lime, in some form, should not be omitted; either
chopped bones, old mortar, or a lump of chalky marl. The shell of every
egg used in the house should be roughly crushed and thrown down to the
hens, which will greedily eat them. A green, living turf will be of
service, both for its grass and the insects it may contain. A
dusting-place, wherein to get rid of vermin, is indispensable. A daily
hot meal of potatoes, boiled as carefully as for the family table, then
chopped, and sprinkled or mixed with bran, will be comfortable and
stimulating. After every meal of the household, the bones and other
scraps should be collected and thrown out.
As to _the number of eggs_, the varieties which possess the greatest
fecundity are the Shanghaes, Guelderlands, Dorkings, Polish, and
Spanish. The Poland and Spanish lay the largest eggs; the Dorkings, eggs
of good size; while the Game and the smaller kinds produce only small
eggs. Those eggs which have the brightest yolks are the finest flavored;
and this is usually the case with the smaller kinds. The large eggs of
the larger varieties often have yolks of a pale color, and are inferior
in flavor.