Care of the Sitting Hen.—In the care of the sitting hen system
is worth more than all other points combined; for, in the absence
of this, the birds may become mixed, the eggs disarranged, the
hatching time of the different nests forgotten or confounded, and
certain loss will be the result. In the management of sitting hens,
it is a safe rule to keep them all confined except when they are let
out for feed and water. This will obviate any danger of their
becoming mixed. They should be provided with feed and water
at a regular time each day, for this teaches them to expect it at
such time, and they will immediately come off the nest to eat and
soon return; therefore less time is consumed in feeding them satis-
factorily. The nests should be numbered in rotation. It is a good
plan to set hens on the same day each week, as this will bring all
the testing and hatching on certain days, thereby precluding the
embarrassment of not knowing when this work ought to be done.
Since natural incubation is essentially a matter of detail, most
careful and thoughtful attention should be given to it.
Feed for the Sitting Hen.—In feeding the sitting hens, the idea
should be to induce some exercise to keep her in good condition,
yet to provide the feed in such a way that she will not have to be
off the nest longer than is possible. The surest practice is te
provide a mixture of equal parts of corn and wheat in an open pan
or on the ground in the vicinity of the nest.
