POULTRY 53 



have been known to lay as many as two hundred 

 thirty eggs in a year. 



Poultry in Pens. Chickens that have free range 

 are more profitable and do better than those kept in 

 pens. But fowls can be kept under many .conditions. 

 To do well they must have reasonably warm, dry 

 quarters with plenty of light and fresh air. In parts 

 of the West, where it is dry, a frame of poles is set 

 up in November and covered with straw. The 

 chickens run inside this warm shelter and do well. 

 If a hen is protected from draughts, frost, lice, and 

 bad air she is likely to think spring has come in 

 February and will begin early laying, or perhaps 

 she will lay all winter. Some breeds lay well in the 

 winter time when they have good care. 



Care of Henhouse. Farmers should clean up their 

 old henhouses with a shovel, broom, and boiling 

 water. They should paint the roosts with kerosene 

 to kill lice, and whitewash the walls. The cracks 

 (•an be stuffed with straw and covered with tarred 

 I )aper. Very soon the farmer will see his hens doing 

 hotter. Leaves or straw make a fine floor covering, 

 and they force the fowls to scratch for the grain. 

 The house should be kept clean and fresh leaves or 

 straw ]nit in each week. (Fig. 33.) 



Laying Hens. Laying hens require different food 

 from those intended for table use. Variety of food 

 is important. One reason the hen lays in summer 

 is because she chooses her own food and has a bal- 

 anced ration. She eats all day long, a little at a 



