244 



POULTRY CULTURE 



yet they should be in a place convenient for the attendant to have 

 oversight of them as he goes about his regular work. Most hens 

 may be moved from their laying nests to any desired place, if moved 



after dark ; many may be moved 

 at any time. But the other kinds 

 of poultry usually resent interfer- 

 ence of this kind, and will incu- 

 bate only in the nests in which 

 they have been laying. For this 

 reason it is customary, especially 

 with turkeys and geese, before 

 the birds begin to lay, to place, 

 in locations attractive to them, 



nests that will be suitable for 

 FIG. 273. End of long row of nests for 



sitting hens them during incubation. An 



empty barrel placed on its side 



in some partly secluded place is often used for both turkeys and 

 geese. When the birds insist on making nests for themselves 

 the careful keeper furnishes protection (see illustrations, p. 247) 

 and, as far as the birds will toler- 

 ate it, tries to make them secure 

 from molestation. 



From the greater ease of con- 

 trolling fowls, and because the 

 larger kinds of poultry lay com- 

 paratively few eggs even when 

 not allowed to incubate those 

 produced during their first lay- 

 ing period, by far the greater 

 number of eggs of all kinds of 

 poultry hatched by natural meth- 

 ods are hatched under hens. 



FIG. 274. Half-barrel nests for sitting 



hens, out of doors. (Photograph from 



H. de Courcy) 



Nests for sitting hens. Nest boxes should be uniform in pattern 

 and size, and should be so constructed that they may be opened 

 and closed at will, thus insuring control of the hens. Where the 

 number to be set is not large, nests of the pattern shown in Fig. 275 

 may be used. When large numbers are set it is better to have them 

 made in sections of four and arranged in tiers or banks three or four 



