“Hens must eat and drink and exercise, you know, but they seldom remain off the eggs for any length of time. How long do you think she was away from the nest?”
“She was still out in the chicken-yard when I came back, just now. I should say she’s been off for twenty minutes, at least.”
“You had better go there and see if the eggs are chilled. Just barely touch them, but do not take them up in your hands,” advised Mrs. James.
“Another thing, Jimmy,” added Janet, sadly. “There wasn’t an egg in either of the other nests. I suppose the hens wouldn’t lay because I forgot their supper.”
Natalie was interested in this case of retribution.
“Will hens lay better the more you feed them, Jimmy?” asked she.
Mrs. James laughed. “I know they must be fed regularly for best results in egg-laying. They are much like other creatures—they need food at certain intervals. But I have heard that they will lay better if they do not have too large a range to run in.”
“Then I’ll build a smaller yard for them,” declared Janet, emphatically. “They must lay eggs or I’ll not be able to pay the corn and feed bills.”
“I’ll go with you, Jan, and figure out how big to have the new yard,” suggested Natalie.
Finding that the setting-hen still neglected her duty to the water-glass eggs, the two girls decided to use compulsion. They tried to lay hands on the wise old hen but she adroitly avoided arrest. Then ensued a chase that so frightened the other chickens that they screeched fearfully and fluttered about in every direction.