EXERCISE AND OVER-CROWDING 



327 



they like to assemble in large numbers. Where one goes they 

 all want to go, despite the fact that there may not be room for 

 them. 



However carefully the attendant may have been to distribute 

 the young stock among brood coops and colony houses, if these 

 buildings are on the one range, with no partition fences, the chicks 

 are likely to desert some houses, and crowd into others. I never 

 heard of a poultryman of any experience who was not bothered 

 with this perversity. It is as sure to occur as two or three hens 



{Courtesy U. .b'. Dep't Agriculture) 



Fig. 214. — ^A number of broods can be kept together if the mother hens are 



confined. 



trying to crowd into one nest, though there may be a dozen or 

 twenty other empty nests. 



Keeping the houses fairly far apart tends to discourage this 

 practice of over-crowding, but to do so is not always possible, 

 nor practicable. Where large numbers of chickens are grown a 

 great deal of ground is required. And when the houses are 

 spread over a big acreage, it means considerable additional labor 

 to distribute feed and water, and to perform the cleaning and 

 other chores. Very large farms do this work with a team, which 

 is the only practical, economical mfethod. 



