8 THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 



the hens are confined all the time. It is perfectly 

 feasible, however, to keep a small flock housed all 

 the year round if the houses are of the open-front 

 or fresh-air type and not placed in too hot a situa- 

 tion. As a rule, though, it is not advisable to breed 

 from hens kept in such close confinement, so ama- 

 teurs who use this plan, sell all their laying hens in 

 the Summer and buy well-grown pullets in the Fall, 

 unless they care to purchase eggs or day-old chicks 

 in the Spring. The custom of stocking up in the 

 Fall with pullets just ready to lay and selling off the 

 hens in the course of the Summer as they cease to 

 lay makes poultry keeping a very simple matter and 

 solves the problem for the would-be amateur who 

 hesitates to begin because he has no time to give 

 sitting hens or an incubator and no place in which 

 to rear young chickens. 



It must be said, though, that growing the chicks 

 is one of the most fascinating and interesting phases 

 of poultry keeping to the amateur who is a genuine, 

 seasoned enthusiast. There are professional men 

 who find their chief relaxation in the Spring of the 

 year, when business cares weigh heavily and 

 vacation days are yet far away, in the care and over- 

 sight of a little flock of chickens — sometimes Ban- 



