THE POULTRY YARD. 



217 



egg. Drinking vessels being provided in the yard, 

 and supplied with clean water, we are ready for 

 the inmates. The reason for recommending low roosts is 

 that laying-hens are often ruined by jumping or falling 

 from high places. 



Let the Hens Roost Low Down. A laying-hen, of 

 genuine egg-laying breed, is a wonder a nervous, 

 irritable, egg-laying machine. The natural state is 

 vigorous activity; and all the time such a hen is a delicate 

 concern. She has immense capabilities for egg making 

 and laying, but the organs are complicated in the extreme. 



Thousands of hens are 

 ruined every year by 

 rupture or other injury 

 to the egg-producing 

 organs from falls, being 

 chased, and other dis- 

 turbances. Then this 

 danger is aggravated 

 when hens roost high 

 up. The jump, flight, 

 or fall from a high perch is always dangerous. So let us get 

 the hens to roost low down. Three feet is quite high 

 enough for roost sticks. Our sketch shows a very good way 

 for arranging them, as at (A). (B) (B) are boards sloping 

 under the roost sticks for the droppings to fall into a box (c), 

 or there may be no box, when there is a deep layer of dry 

 earth for a floor, which can be raked over daily. 



Food, Drink and Digestion. Fowls need good sharp 

 grit or gravel. They have no teeth ; their food must be 

 ground up in the digestive system. Good grit keeps the 

 birds in a healthy condition. And fowls need a constant 

 supply of clean water. A fowl does not drink much at a 

 time, but comes often. Water makes up the largest part 

 of the body and the egg. Fowls need green food summer 

 and winter. Cabbages hung up in the hen house answer 

 excellently. Keep the place clean, be careful what you 

 feed, and success follows. But don't forget to feed early 

 in the morning. It does not pay to keep more hens- 

 than we have time to attend to. 



Let The Fowls Roost Low Down. 



