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.
Reaumur 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 Reaumur,
"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.