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Show mum 'CURE FOR BROODINESS l Two Methods Given for Breaking Up Setting Hens. i I : Strenuous Measures Must Be Adopted I to Dissuade Fowl From Her Purpose Pur-pose Leghorns Are Most Popular for Eggs. (By TROF. JOHN WILLARD BOLTE.) Contrary to general impression, broodiness in he,ns is not a fever and we have no evidence to show that it Is contagious. The ailment, if we may term it thus, appears without warning. warn-ing. The fowl may have been laying steadily and acting in a perfectly normal nor-mal fashion, when suddenly she becomes be-comes imbued with a great distaste for active pursuits. She betrays a very crabbed disposition, rushing at her erstwhile friends and pecking them viciously whenever they approach ap-proach her. Her plumage sticks out at right angles, making her appear about twice as large as usual. With head drawn deep into her hackle feathers ,and wings and body taking up as much space as possible, she mounts guard over her chosen nest and defies all comers. The hen becomes broody because nature- prompts her with a sudden desire de-sire for a brood of chicks. She probably prob-ably does not know why she does it, as she will take to potatoes or door knobs as kindly aa to eggs, but she Excellent Egg Type. sets when the time comes just the same, and she will keep on setting until you break her up or let her hatch out a brood of chicks. This pertinacity would not be so important if it were not for the fact that she quits laying and stays quit. She has decided upon a vacation and she refuses to work during this period. The loss of a couple of months of a ben's time is not to be thought of at any period, and especially during the spring, which is the natural time for setting and heaviest egg production produc-tion as well. If we do not wish to set the hen on eggs we will have to adopt strenuous means to dissuade her from her purpose pur-pose and start her to laying again. There are a number of successful ways of doing this, and conditions will indicate the most favorable. The main thing is to act promptly and be thorough. Remove the broody hens from the nests each night, as they are most easily detected then. They stick to the nest instead of going to roost. Dust them thoroughly with insect powder pow-der and confine them in an open slat crate or cage in a cool, light location. Keep water before them and give nothing to eat except a little whole wheat and green stuff once a day. This will not hurt the hen and about three days of this "water cure" will convince con-vince her of the error of her ways. Another gcod way is to have a sep-rate sep-rate pen with absolutely bare floor and walls, and no possible place to ; nest, and place all of the broody hens In it, in the company of two or three vigorous male birds. This scheme is frequently used on large poultry farms. The heavier breeds are especially addicted to broodiness, the Asiatics ' being the worst offenders and the Plymouth Rocks and R. I. Reds leading lead-ing in the American class. Leghorns and Minorcas and Hamburgs set bo rarely that they cannot be depended on to raise their young. For this reason rea-son the Leghorns are the most popu- lar breed for large egg farms, as they waste no time setting and the young we easily raised artificially. |