THE TRAP-NEST 



"We are extremely new to the business of scientific poultry rais- 

 ing and have a very hazy idea of some of it. We want to develop 

 a flock of heavy layers and would like to know what 'trap-nesting' 

 means and how it is done." These words from one of my corre- 

 spondents suggested a talk on the "trap-nest." 



Trap-nests are one of the inventions of this progressive age. It 

 is the surest, quickest method of securing better eggs and more of 

 them. A trap-nest is a nest box, the entrance to which closes auto- 

 matically when the hen steps into the nest and keeps her in the box 

 until the person in charge releases her, thus showing which hen laid 

 the egg. 



The progressive farmer or dairyman knows that he must test the 

 milk of his cows and he finds when he begins to do so that he has 

 cows in his herd that do not pay for their keep. It is the same in 

 the poultry business ; in every flock of hens there are idlers that do 

 not pay for their feed they lay so few eggs that their owners are 

 out of pocket by keeping them. I would not have believed this had 

 I not discovered it to be the case with some of my own hens. The 

 first season that I used trap-nests I found a hen which went on the 

 nest every day, but only laid four eggs in one month, while another 

 in the same yard laid twenty-nine. It was a revelation to me. The 

 first year I discovered that nearly one-fourth of my hens barely paid 

 for their board. That was not the kind of hens I wanted. I was in 

 the business for profit and not loss, so I weeded them out, and very 

 good eating they made. 



The second year I got, with a reduced flock, a twenty per cent 

 less feed bill and fully twenty-five per cent increase of eggs more 

 eggs at less cost. Surely the trap-nests repaid me for the slight 

 extra trouble of attending to them. They were not only of use in 

 discovering the best layers, but I became better acquainted per- 

 sonally with each hen. I found that the hen which laid the most 

 eggs had the most fertile eggs, while the poor layers' eggs were not 

 nearly so fertile. 



Trap-nests make the hens tame and tame hens lay more eggs 

 than wild hens. Some hens may at first object to being handled, 

 but after a few days they become reconciled to it. My White 

 Plymouth Rocks were so tame that when I opened the door they 

 would step into my hands or sit quietly until I lifted them up to 

 ascertain the numbers of their leg-bands. 



In order to make the use of the trap-nests efficient, we must be 

 able to know each hen individually, and for this purpose each hen 

 must wear a leg-band, a small bracelet, made of copper or aluminum 

 with a number on it. 



By means of the trap-nest one can discover any hen that is be- 

 coming too fat, or too thin and she can be moved into another and 

 more suitable pen. The trap-nest also renders a great service in 

 detecting the egg eater. If there is reason to suspect a certain hen 

 of this villainous habit, give her an egg while she is on the nest ; if 



