POULTRY ON FARMS. 105 



Up early, he will first clean out the coops or artificial 

 mothers and feed the young chickens ; also feed the breed- 

 ing-pens, if confined near home, since in that case they 

 require rather more careful regime. Then he will start on 

 his first round, with sufficient grain in a couple of buckets 

 slung on a yoke for carriage. At each house he will scatter 

 his corn widely for each flock, and give a brief glance over ; 

 and in some cases he may scrape up the night's manure at 

 the same visit, leaving each house clean and trim as he goes. 

 In other cases, however, such delay would bring the other 

 flocks crowding round him ; and it will generally be better 

 to feed all first, taking the houses on the return journey ; at 

 the same time collecting all eggs already laid, noticing what 

 hens are on the nest, or if any appear sickly. There should 

 be a covered barrel at each house to store the manure. 



By the time all this is gone over, if necessary dividing 

 the houses, so as to clean half at a time every two days only, 

 the chickens will want another feed, after which there will 

 be the cleaning of the houses and belongings of the breed- 

 ing-pens. Indeed, any fair number of chickens will furnish 

 ample occupation all day for any spare time. A mid-day 

 collection of eggs is desirable where practicable, but will not 

 always be so. Towards evening another round must be 

 taken to feed the laying stock, at the same time gathering 

 the rest of the day's eggs ; the chickens having their last 

 feed afterwards, the very last thing, and being then made 

 snug for the night. 



All through some watch must be kept, in order to have 

 a good idea towards the end of the season as to which are 

 the best layers, with a view to draft these, so far as wanted, 

 into next year's breeding-pens. It will be seen that the 

 only possible way of getting all this done is to do it 

 systematically. 



Kept in this manner, poultry have never failed to "pay" 



