FEEDING FOR WINTER EGGS 67 



tion; the doors are placed beneath the windows, and near 

 the floor; they are three by five feet, hung in the same 

 manner as the windows so they will swing out below and 

 make a shelter or awning; this enables us to air the 

 house (even with strong wind from the south, the wind is 

 hardly noticeable in the house) and permits the fowls to 

 pass in and out from the house at pleasure. The roosts are 

 all removable so as to facilitate the cleaning of the dropping 

 boards, which are cleaned daily, and the fight against ver- 

 min, for keeping the house clean is a very essential thing. 

 The nest boxes are placed below the dropping boards, 

 with a hinged door in the front which drops down, through 

 which the eggs are gathered, the fowls entering the nest 

 boxes from behind. A muslin curtain is hung in front of 

 the roosts which can be let down during the night in severe 

 cold weather. We also have curtains on the inside of the 

 hinged sash which can be used when necessary; one or 

 both of the sash in each pen are kept partly open when it 

 is not too stormy, and this in connection with the curtains 

 gives us a well ventilated house and, one in which fowls will 

 thrive. 



"Separate the Sexes, Provide Meat and Qreen Foods and 



Plenty of Sunlight," is the Advice of Mr. Bates. 



By R, Q. Bates. 



Most people, who keep poultry, desire a liberal quantity 

 of eggs, especially in winter when the price is high. In 

 order to obtain the best results get birds from a good lay- 

 ing strain, as they have the qualities bred in them. After 

 the second laying season, a female's most profitable age 

 is over and she should then make room for the younger 

 stock. As soon as the cockerels get old enough to annoy 

 the pullets they ought to be separated until the breeding 

 season commences, as they annoy the females which will 

 not lay as well as when separated. The old males will 

 probably fight if penned together, or with the cockerels, 

 and any valuable birds should be penned separately. 



Next in importance is the food. Fowls will not thrive on 

 an unvaried diet, they must have a variety. There are any 

 number of good grains which can be fed, for example: 



