56 



THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



crooked The majority of poultry have more or less crooked 

 pelvic bones. Sometimes the bones come close together, 

 which is an obstruction in laying, and should be bred away 

 from as much as possible. 



Fig. 34 shows perfect pelvic bones. In this form they 

 are very easy to take between the thumb .and finger; also, 

 when the hen wants to lay the vent has a chance to fall down 

 between the pelvic bones, which allows the egg to be de- 



FIG. 33 Crooked pelvic bone, "B, B," Position No. 2. Hens 

 with bones curved like this will lay about 20 per cent less than 

 hens of the same type and capacity with straight pelvic bones, as 

 in Fig. 34. 



livered without straining on the part of the hen. Not every 

 poultryman, but every poultrywoman has seen cases where 

 a hen has gone on the nest and after a couple of hours com- 

 menced to cackle her head off. Presently we hear the whole 

 flock take up the chorus, and going to see what the trouble 

 is, we find the hens holding an "Old Maids' Convention" 



