INSECTS AND OTHER TROUBLES 143 



shells is an obvious cause. If green food is lacking 

 that may have a tendency to cause this trouble. 

 There seem to be few shelless eggs when a hopper 

 of bran and beef scraps is kept in the pen. Sudden 

 fright may cause the dropping of an egg before the 

 shell has formed. 



Egg eating is a bad habit and often difficult to 

 eradicate, for a whole flock may contract it from a 

 single hen. The original cause usually lies in a lack 

 of shell-making material or of meat. If a hen with 

 this habit is discovered, she should by all means 

 be removed from the pen. Sometimes a number of 

 nest eggs scattered about the floor will put a stop to 

 the practice, the hens soon becomingltired of testing 

 their beaks on the hard surfaces. Another remedy 

 may give better results, although calling for a little 

 more work. The natural contents of several eggs 

 may be removed and the shells filled with a mixture 

 of soft soap and red pepper, the openings being 

 closed with bits of court plaster. After breaking a 

 few eggs of this sort and sampling the contents, the 

 hens are likely to be sickened of this habit. Keep- 

 ing the nests dark is also advisable. 



Feather eating is another bad habit, and may arise 

 either from a craving for more animal food or from 



