292 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



seeing that they go back again. By the second method the 

 hen leaves the nest and returns at will. 



Where it is desired to set a large number of hens, they 

 will be conveniently looked after by making a bank of 

 nests along the side of a poultry house or in some unused 

 shed. The nests should be about 12 x 12 x 14 inches in size, 

 made by taking two 12-inch boards for the top and bottom 

 and cutting another 12-inch board into 14-inch lengths for 

 the partitions, then nailing them together, as many as de- 

 sired. The top of the bottom row will furnish the bottom 

 of the second row, and four or five rows of nests may thus 

 be placed together. There should be a hinged board at 

 front to confine the sitters. The hens should be let out every 

 day to eat and drink for about 15 minutes, the length of 

 time depending on weather conditions. Several inches of 

 fine waste hay should be placed in the bottom of the nests. 

 Short-cut straw or clean chaff will answer the purpose. 



The second method of hatching and brooding by hens 

 requires less care on the part of the attendant. "We have 

 found it to work well at the Oregon Station. One coop 

 serves for both hatching and rearing the chicks. It serves 

 the triple purpose of an incubator, a brooder, and a colony 

 house. 



A convenient size of coop is 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, 

 with a shed roof 3 feet high at front and 2 feet at back. 

 It is large enough to divide into separate apartments for 

 four sitting hens. Movable partitions of canvas or burlap 

 are fastened to a 4-inch or 6-inch board at the bottom and 

 to a cross-piece at the top. It has an outside run 3 feet 

 long for each hen, covered with wire netting. The runs 

 are hooked on to the house and may be dispensed with when 

 the chicks are hatched. These runs give the hens oppor- 

 tunity for dusting and exercise. By keeping feed and 

 water before them all the time, the sitters may be allowed 



