306 POULTRY BREEDING 
but a common hen is better. The hen turkey will lay 
about three clutches in a season. A good layer will lay 
about 30 eggs in a season and she should be kept laying 
by breaking her up when she goes broody. Merely de- 
stroying her nest will cause her to give up the notion of 
sitting and put her to laying again. 
‘The hen turkey is a rather good mother. If she is al- 
lowed to sit she must be set where she laid her eggs. 
The eggs hatch in four weeks. Young turkeys should be 
left in the nest from 36 to 48 hours after they hatch, with- 
out being disturbed in any way. If the hen is shut up 
on her nest she will usually sit quietly without worrying, 
her whole attention being engrossed in the young birds. 
When the young are taken from the nest they should be 
put ina dry coop, in front of which is a grassy run. This 
need not be large, a run + wide and 10° long being amrle. 
This should be made of wide boards set on edge or of 
wire netting with a mesh small enough to confine the 
young birds, as they must be protected closely for the 
first few days. The run and coop should be moved every 
day or two. 
Curds made by scalding clabbered milk, squeezed as 
dry as possible, make a good feed for turkeys at first. 
This is mixed with onion tops, chopped fine and a little 
black pepper is added. Others feed bread soaked in 
sweet milk and squeezed dry. Still others mix hard- 
boiled eggs and stale bread into a crumbly mass and feed 
it with good results. * This system of feeding should be 
continued for about two weeks. The run should be 
moved every day or two, as young turkeys require plenty 
of green feed. The brood coop should have a board 
floor and the mother should be confined to it. Use in- 
sect powder freely, as lice seem to like young turkeys 
