^ LADYBIRDS AND TOADS 103 



seems stingy. Besides, we want the eggs our- 

 selves, don't we? 



The egg shells, however, they can have; and 

 also give them crushed oyster shells. There is 

 a current belief that if you throw them the 

 shells the hens will learn to eat the eggs. I 

 have never seen them do that; but I have seen 

 them indulge in downright cannibalism. A 

 poor little chick was hurt, and as soon as its 

 companions saw the raw flesh they pounced on 

 it and tore out chunks before I could stop them. 



The chickens' appetite for meat, raw or 

 cooked, is astonishing. If you want to see some 

 fun throw them a chop bone. One chicken will 

 seize it and run, the others following in hot 

 pursuit. One after another will grab the bone, 

 only to lose it in turn. Not being a football 

 reporter, I shall not attempt to describe the 

 tussle for that bone. 



One September day, when we were summering 

 in the Sunday River Valley, a hen which had 

 secretly made its nest in the woods came home 

 with seven little chicks. The owner of the farm 

 was for destroying them, as it was too late to 

 bring them up in this climate, but I begged her 

 to let me see what I could do. Knowing their 

 carnal appetite, I thought I could force their 

 growth by an exclusive meat diet. Presently 

 they all began to fight; "they fit all day and 

 they fit all night," and the little feathers, which 

 they needed so badly as the days and nights 



