The hen sits on her eggs twenty-one days, during which period she seems in a dozy state, and seems to require but little food or exercise. Some hens will feed every day; but others will go for several days without leaving the nest, or taking nourishment: these should be lifted off the nest, and fed daily.
When chickens are hatching, which usually takes place twenty-one days after the eggs are placed under the hen, it is best to leave them entirely to themselves.
As soon as the hen becomes a mother, a great change is seen in her character—all her former habits give way to maternal solicitude. A good hen attends to her brood with the most persevering fondness; she will attack the fiercest animal who dares to molest her progeny.
REARING OF CHICKENS.
When the chickens are hatched, they require no food till the following day, when they may be fed with crumbs of bread slightly moistened with milk, and egg beaten up with an equal quantity of milk, and then heated so as to form a soft custard: this is the best food that can be given them. They should also have a few grits, and after a few days some small wheat.
If the weather is dry and warm, it is best not to coop the hens, as by scratching they obtain a supply of insect food and worms for the chicks, which is better than anything else that can be given them; but they should not be let out in damp weather in long grass before the dew has dried up. If cooped, the coop and hen should be placed in some nice dry and sunny spot in the lawn or garden, within sight of the dwelling-house, and where no cats are likely to prowl about. There should be a little pan of water set within reach of the hen, near the bars of the coop, and stones should be placed in it to prevent the young brood from drowning themselves, and this water should be frequently changed.
The changes of weather should be watched, and when it sets in wet or cold the young brood should be carefully protected by the removal of the coop into some warm sheltered place, such as a stable, coach-house, or outhouse; and so with care continue to be nursed, guarded, watched, and attended to, till they are about seven weeks old, when they will of themselves separate from their parent hen, take to the roost, and act independently.
There is a great choice of breeds in the different varieties, and we will state the advantages of each.