72 Hubbard's poultry secrets. 



keep up their strength, as a good breeding male is very apt 

 to see that his females get their share first, and when he comes 

 to look for his share, there isn't much left. 



You will find the above method a good one to follow after 

 you break up your breeding pens and take the male birds away 

 from the females. After you are through hatching, the male 

 birds should go in separate yards and be fed the same as they 

 were in the breeding pen, except that they should be fed wheat 

 instead of corn, for their evening feed. Withhold corn 

 through the hot months. The proper way to give your best 

 hens comfort through the hot months is to go over your whole 

 flock of hens and pick out the ones that you want to breed 

 from next year, and also the ones you want to use in the show 

 room, and arrange the roosts so they can sleep in the open air. 

 If you have a meadow on your farm that you mow, you have 

 an ideal place for your best hens. All you have to do is to ar- 

 range a place for them to roost. It can be done in the fol- 

 lowing way, and it won't cost much : Use four posts, two by 

 four will do. The size of your roosting quarters all depends 

 on how many hens you have. A roosting place 12 feet square 

 makes good sized roosting quarters, and will accommodate a 

 number of hens. A roof which can be made of any cheap 

 lumber and covered with tar paper so it will not leak, should 

 be placed over the roosting quarters. By arranging four 

 roosts and running poultry wire around the outside, with a 

 gate on one side, you have roosting quarters that can't be beat 

 for the comfort of your hens through the hot summer. By 

 shutting the gate at night, you can protect them against foxes, 

 skunks and dogs. You can readily see that a meadow or pas- 

 ture makes an ideal place for one of these roosting sheds, and 

 your birds can enjoy free range. After you have your birds 

 in their new quarters, you should feed so as to stop egg 

 production as much as possible, as they need a rest. Be very 



