200 POULTR?-CRAFT. 
styles of coops commonly used. All wood coops can be bought in knock 
down bundles, ready to nail together. In making the slat coops with canvas 
lining lath, empty grocery boxes of light wood and cheap muslin can be used, 
and the cash cost of a coop for four or five fowls need not exceed fifteen cents, 
If many coops are needed, it is better to buy new lumber, which can easily be 
cut to the dimensions required, than to take the time to work up scrappy stuff. 
A little chopped straw or hay, or some chaff, should be placed in the bottom 
of the coop. Before the fowls are placed in it their legs should be cleaned, 
and combs, wattles, and faces wiped clean of dust and soot, and rubbed with 
vaseline, which not only brings out the color of the comb, but protects the 
parts treated from the cold, and prevents swelling and puffing of the face 
should the birds be exposed to a draft. The breeder should be very particular 
that no lousy bird is shipped from his yards, and if lice have been giving him 
trouble, should coop the birds—in exhibition coops— for some days before 
shipping, and treat for lice. The top of the coop, whether in one piece or 
in several, should be so securely nailed that the coop can be lifted by any one 
slat. Coops are not supposed to be lifted that way, but the precaution is a 
wise one, none the less. 
A bag containing sufficient grain for the fowls for the journey, should be 
tied to the coop in such a way that the grain can be easily got at. A few 
pieces of bone with some meat adhering to them, and a large piece of mangel 
wurzel put in the coop before nailing the slats down, help to keep the fowls 
contented. The drinking cup should be fastened in one corner, high enough 
up to prevent it being filled with dirt from the bottom of the coop, and in such 
position that water can be poured into it through the space between the slat 
and the side of the coop. The address of the consignee, very plainly written 
on a tag, should be affixed to the coop, and unless the tag bears the shipper’s 
name he should tack one of his cards conspicuously on the coop. 
The purchaser should be notified of the shipment of his birds — time of 
leaving, and by what express—even though previously informed of the date 
when shipment would be made. 
If the shipper desires the coop returned to him he should so state when 
sending notice of shipment, and should enclose ten cents for return charges, 
which must be prepaid on ‘ empties.” 
295. Selling Eggs for Hatching — is, in general, considered less 
satisfactory to both buyer and seller than dealings in fowls. Still, while 
there are a few who do not sell eggs for hatching, the vast majority do sell 
them, either because it is the general custom, or because they make it pay, 
and think that on the whole the advantages of that method of selling pure 
bred stock more than compensate for its drawbacks. 
Advertisements of eggs for hatching should be started in January — 
certainly not later than February. Few high priced eggs are shipped 
