Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1895 — QUEER WAYS OF HENS. [ARTICLE]

QUEER WAYS OF HENS.

Especially When Engaged in ths Operation of Sitting. “In the matter of chicken raising,” states a writer for the Washington Star, “there -is a good deal to interest one beside the financial results. About hatching they have some very odd ways. A short while ago a young game hen evinced the strongest desire to sit, or set,’ as common parlance has it, and as I had a number of others going through that interesting process, and as she would not sit save on a certain nest, where a number of hens . were laying, I did not approve of plan. However, she was so persistent, and disturbed the laying hens so much, that I finally, to her great satisfaction, put her on thirteen eggs. For about ten days she seemed the picture of contentment, but at the end of this period she apparently became disgusted at the slow process and left the nest, positively refusing to return. “As good luck would have it, another hen happened to be strolling by at that time—one that had shown no signs whatever of a desire to sit—and seeing the eggs already arranged immediately took possession of the nest. The brood was duly hatched, but the foster mother was not destined to enjoy the bringing up of all her chicks, for, no sooner had they left the nest than a pirate hen, which had apparently been lying in wait, asserted protectorship over several of them, and took them off to raise according to her own notions. This particular method is rather uncommon, though it not infrequently happens that when two hens are sitting near each other both of them will go off with the first brood hatched and abandon the others to their fate, even though they be within a day of hatching. “Another odd thing occurred last year. I had two hens, a black one and a white one, that would sit on the same nest side by side. Neither one appeared to mind the other in the least, but, on the contrary, there seemed to be an understanding between them, as they snuggled up closely together and carefully covered all the eggs. By some chance only two chicks were hatched, a black one and a white one, and whether it was mere accident or not, I cannot say, but each took the one of its own color, and while they brought them yip together, yet each hen only fed its own chick. From all I’ve seen of the queer ways of am inclined to believe that these particular ones understood what they were doing, and in their consideration—if I may be allowed the expression—this was the surest way of getting their own offspring. “I am much interested at present in what seems to me the oddest freak of all. About two weeks ago I set a white hen on thirteen eggs, as usual, in an old barrel which was on its side. No sooner had I done this than a black hen took up her station immediately at the mouth of the barrel, and began to sit on the bare ground. I decided to let her alone and watch the result, as I was sure she had some idea to work out. Nor was I mistaken, for in a couple of days, when the white hen came off to get some food, the black one immediately took her place. Naturally, I expected some disturbance on her return, but in this I was disappointed. She appeared to know exactly what the black hen had been sitting there for, and had apparently counted on the result. Without showing the slightest agitation, she merely glanced in the barrel, then took her station on the exact spot that the black hen had quitted. Since then they have exchanged places several times, evidently thoroughly satisfied with their co-operative method. “ More than once I have had occasion to notice the quiet resignation and patience of a sitting hen under the most adverse circumstances. For instance, I have known one to sit out the whole three weeks with another hen calmly seated upon her back. I have seen this not infrequently, and vain have been my endeavors to put a stop to it, until at last I have found it necessary to hpprison the intruding hen. In some cases, the intruder would consent to sit by herself when a nest was prepared for her,, but more frequently, like Rachel, she has refused to be comforted, and could not be cajoled into any other occupation. Sometimes, if the original occupant is of a good disposition, and offers the visitor an opportunity, the latter will descend from her high station and share the work side by side, as related above; but there are occasions when just nothing but pure cussedness seems to animate her, and she is then as obstinate as a balky mule.”