CHAPTER VIII. 



POULTRY POINTERS AND APPLIANCES. 



HOW TO TELL THE LAYING HEN WITHOUT A TRAP NEST. 



There are several methods of knowing which hens in your flock 

 are laying without the aid of a trap nest. The laying hen has a 

 large, well developed, bright red comb and red face, brilliant eyes, 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



Shows you how to tell the laying hen. In case of the hen which is not laying, 

 there is only room between the pelvic bones for one finger, but in the case of the laying 

 hen you will find that it is possible to put three fingers, and sometimes four fingers, 

 between the lay bones. 



is nearly always singing, or will "talk" to you if you stop and show 

 her any attention or attempt to handle her. She is gentle, more so 

 than the nonlaying hen, and has a good appetite, and is nearly always 

 busy looking for food. The hens that are not laying have an unde- 

 veloped comb with little or no color in it, and they are much wilder 

 and much harder to catch and handle than the laying hen. You will 

 find the laying hen almost invariably in good flesh. She has the 

 appearance of being wide behind. When you have made some ob- 

 servations along this line, and become accustomed to handling hens, 

 you can go into a pen of ten or more hens, and nine times out of ten 

 pick the laying hens without any test other than the points mentioned 

 above. But if you are not satisfied to trust your judgment and have 



(150) 



