AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 
the fowls confined as to prevent the elements from 
blowing into the house. Except under the condi- 
tions stated above, there is, ordinarily, no necessity 
for keeping the fowls confined to the house on ac- 
count of the weather; let them be outdoors as much 
as possible, and they will be all the better for it. 
I never force our breeding hens for heavy egg 
production during the winter. Hens must have a 
Winter rest occasionally, the same as all other 
Management beings, and we allow our breeders to 
take theirs when they prefer it, which is during the 
cold weather of winter time. Then in the spring, 
when we want eggs for hatching purposes, the 
hens are shelling them out at a lively rate, and with 
their stored-up strength and vitality the eggs are 
bound to be strongly fertile and hatch good, livable 
chicks. What we want in the breeding pen is not 
only eggs, but also good, strong chicks from the 
eggs. Where the object is eggs for market, of 
course we want all the eggs we can get in the win- 
ter, as they bring in the market two or three times 
as much at this time as in the spring or summer. 
Chickens are usually early risers, and to keep 
them occupied between the time when they come 
off the roost and when the attendant can get around 
with their breakfast, it often is a good plan to 
throw a few handfuls of small grains in the litter 
in the evening after the fowls have gone to roost. 
Immediately upon arising they will commence dig- 
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