THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



SECRET NESTS. 



CHAPTER III. 



ACCESSORIES TO THE POULTRY-HOUSE. 



PLANS FOR NESTS. 



NESTS are sometimes fixtures, and generally 

 built against the wall, either in one tier or sev- 

 eral, according to the number of fowls and the 

 size of the house. When there is more than 

 one tier, each of those above the ground must 

 have a projecting shelf at the bottom for the 

 hens to reach the nests, and a slanting board, 

 with strips of lath nailed on, leading to each 

 tier. But we prefer, and would by all means 

 recommend, movable nests arranged along the 





wall, with a shelf in front, and a sloping top or 

 cover, so that the hens may not roost on it and 



annoy our notions of tidiness by the traces we 

 should find there the following morning. Fi- 

 nally, each nest should have its cover open sep- 

 arately, so that the adjoining birds may not be 

 disturbed when we have occasion to examine 

 any nest, or to remove the hen herself. The 

 bottom should be sliding, shallow drawers, three 

 inches deep, to prevent the eggs rolling out, 

 and also as a safe-guard to the newly-hatched 

 chickens before they are removed to their coop. 

 As to distance from the floor, we would place 

 them for Asiatic fowls at six inches. We give 

 preference to nests raised a few inches from the 

 ground solely on account of the greater facility 

 for cleaning the house by allowing the broom to 

 reach beneath. If partially closed in front 

 by far the better plan the entrance should be 

 on one side, as shown in the sectional figure, 

 thereby giving greater privacy to the interior 

 a quality which is highly prized by the occu- 

 pant. 



The hen is a prude, and likes to steal away 

 in some sly place to deposit her eggs. To grat- 

 ify their organ of secretiveness, we had the 

 fronts removed, with the exception of the two- 

 inch ledge in front, and tacked hemlock boughs 



