A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 223 
themselves he puts three hens and 45 chicks into a larger 
brood coop and lets them run together until the chicks 
are weaned, We have seen a large number of these triple 
broods running in his poultry yards, the hens seeming 
perfectly to agree and the chicks running at the call of 
either hen without distinction, although they do not heed 
the call of any hen but the three with which they run. 
Mr. Hawkins says that putting two hens together always 
breeds trouble, as the hens fight continually, but three 
get along without trouble. 
Another plan for hatching with hens has been exploited 
extensively and is used by many poultrymen. The first 
time we ever saw it in operation was on the poultry farm 
of Mr. Hawkins. The illustration (Fig. 224) shows how 
this plan is operated. A long coop is made and divided 
into compartments 18” square, the divisions of these 
compartments extending for 10’ in front of the coop. 
These divisions are made solid so as entirely to separate 
the hens from one another. The outer end and top are 
covered with poultry wire fencing, except a space at the 
outer end which is covered with a board hinged to the 
frame so it can be lifted like a trap door. This serves 
for an opening through which feed and water can be in- 
troduced into the several compartments. The roof of 
the coop is also hinged at the higher side so it can be 
lifted up to examine the hens and their nests when neces- 
sary. The ground plan and elevation make the manner 
of constructing such a hatching arrangement so plain 
that further explanation is unnecessary. Such a hatching 
coop may be used as a brood coop also, keeping the hen 
and chicks in it for the first week or two, if necessary, 
but it is better to provide regular brood coops, such as 
are described elsewhere in this work, 
