116 Farm Poultry 



pie and easy plan of arranging nests when the 

 perches are placed not more than 2% or 3 feet 

 from the floor, is as follows: underneath the 

 platform, which should always be underneath the 

 perches, as described above, the nests are placed 

 in a row on the floor. From the front edge of 

 the platform to the floor, in front of the nests, 

 a tight board partition is constructed. This board 

 partition is opened by means of a long door, 

 hinged either at the top or bottom. In either 

 case the lower edge of the door should be about 

 level with the top of the nests. A small open- 

 ing at one end of the door will admit fowls 

 to the nests. This arrangement secures dark- 

 ness for the nests, plenty of room for the 

 fowls to approach the nests from two or three 

 sides, and the nests are readily accessible for 

 cleaning, gathering eggs, etc. Some of the dis- 

 advantages of this plan are that the nests oc- 

 cupy considerable floor space and the fowls are 

 sometimes inclined to deposit their eggs on the 

 floor back of the nests. It is desirable to arrange 

 the nests so that they may be approached from 

 more than one side for the following reason: in 

 flocks of fowls of any considerable size there 

 are usually individuals more or less aggressive in 

 character, that seem to delight in exercising their 

 mastery over others; such birds, when seeking 

 a nest, will almost invariably drive others off 



