44 THE HOME POULTRY BOOK 



A coop for breaking up broody hens is de- 

 sirable, if hens of the breeds which have the sitting 

 habit are kept. It may be made easily enough by 

 using laths for the sides and the bottom and may 

 be hung on the wall. It should be large enough for 

 the hen to move about in comfortably, but she will 

 soon lose her broodiness in such quarters, finding it 

 very unpleasant to sit on slats with wide spaces 

 between. Some people use poultry wire instead of 

 laths. There is no need of starving a sitting hen 

 or abusing her in any other way. Indeed, bad 

 treatment will make her slower in beginning to lay 

 again. Our grandfathers who used to duck sitting 

 hens in the watering trough and slap them on the 

 barn floor simply did not know any better. There 

 has been progress in the poultry world. 



