POULTRY MANAGEMENT. 3 



give ventilation. It was hinged at the bottom and turned out- 

 ward. Across the center of ccdi nest, a low partition was placed, 

 so that the nesting material would be kept in the back end, the 

 nest proper. For early spring work paper was put in the bot- 

 tom of the nest, then an inch or two of dry earth, and on that the 

 nest, made of soft hay. 



Whenever half a dozen hens became broody they were taken 

 in from the hen house and put on the nests, each nest having a 

 dummy egg in it ; the covers were then shut up and nearly every 

 J^en seemed contented. In a day or two thirteen eggs were 

 placed under each bird. Every morning the hens were liberated 

 as soon as it was light, when they would come down of their own 

 accord and burrow in the dry dust on the floor, eat, drink, and 

 exercise, and in twelve or fifteen minutes, they would nearly all 

 go onto the nests voluntarily. In the afternoons one would 

 occasionally be found off the eggs, looking out through the slat- 

 ted door. If she persisted in coming off she was exchanged for 

 a better sitter. The double nest is necessary, otherwise the dis- 

 contented hen would have no room to stand up, except on her 

 nest full of eggs, and she would very likely ruin them. With 

 the double nest there was no danger of this, as she would step 

 off the nest, go to the door, and try to get out. The arrange- 

 ment was satisfactory and were it not for the lice, which 

 were not easily gotten rid of, since the chicks grew with the 

 mother hen, we would prefer it to some incubators we have used. 



The advantages of a closed room in which to confine the sit- 

 ters are many, as the hens are easily controlled and do not need 

 watching as they do when selecting nests for themselves, or when 

 sitting in the same room with laying hens. A room a dozen feet 

 square could be arranged so as to easily accommodate fifty sit- 

 ters. Except for the small operator we would not encourage the 

 use of sitting hens. 



For the accommodation of the hen with her brood of young 

 chicks, the best arrangement consists of a close coop about 30 

 inches square, with a hinged roof, and a movable floor in two 

 parts, which can be lifted out each day for cleaning. This little 

 coop has a wire covered yard attached to it on the south side. 

 The yard is 4 by 5 feet in size and a foot and a half high. Its 

 frame is of 1x3 inch strips and is fastened securely to the coop. 



