22 THE TRA1" NEST TEXT HOOK 



I had at our tin a' seven nests placed buck to the light under the drop- 

 pings-boards, five on a shelf and six placed around in different parts of 

 the room near the wall; at this time there were forty laying hens in the 

 pen. Most of the hens would lay in any nest that happened to be va- 

 cant but some of them showed a decided preference to a certain location, 

 and a number to a certain nest. The fact that some of the nests that 

 stood alone were always occupied by the same hens, and that they 

 would never lay in the others, proves to me that those hens had notions 

 of their own in regard to the location of the trap nests in the pen. The 

 removal of a few of the nest boxes later, resulted in nearly seven per 

 cent, of the eggs being- laid outside of the traps in one month. 



This experience and these suggestions will apply more to flocks of 

 hens that have not been bred to such a degree of uniformity as should 

 characterize a flock of pure-bred birds of one strain. With a good flock 

 of pure-bloods there will be more similarity of temperament and we 

 need not be so particular regarding the distribution of the nests. 



THE BEST LOCATION. 



The best location in man)' poultry houses for the majority of the 

 trap nests, if not all of them., is on a platform or shelf suspended from 

 the rafters or supported from the floor at such a height that it will be 

 easily accessible to the hens and the attendant. Such a platform may 

 be built in the scratching room or roosting room a* preferred, should 

 they be separate. The height from the ground may be from 12 to 40 

 inches, according to breed. This location is more convenient and more 

 agreeable for the attendant, who is not obliged to stoop when removing 

 hen and egg. The nests are out of the way of the scratching material 

 if the scratching room and laying room are one as is often the case. 

 They will be warmer in winter than on the floor under the droppings 

 boards besides allowing more floor space for the flock. Poultry keep- 

 ers of the gentler sex will especially appreciate the advantages of a 

 shelf for the trap nests. While the space under the roosting platforms 

 is probably the least airy part til the poultry house in summer, it pos- 

 sesses the advantage that the lops of the nest boxes are protected from 

 hens perching on and soiling them; but the boxes used elsewhere niav 

 be protected by slanting boards, hen wire, or in any preferred manner, 

 if desired. I will say, however, that if the birds are fed properly thev 

 will not perch on the nest boxes to any serious extent during the dav. 

 At night they will occupy their accustomed roosts unless mites or other 

 distressing conditions are present. This matter of the location of the 

 nests is worthy of careful consideration. Kven then we could not all 

 agree. Our hens are not all alike. If they were, these instructions 

 would be mure brief. 



