i-ittlK.F 1-OINTKHS rij-i 



BRIEF POINTERS. 



Small, deep, semi-dark nests will prevent egg-eating. 



Moving non-layers into .another pen will often start them laying. 



It is not necessary to release a lien as soon as she has laid. 



Collect the eggs as often as you wish. While three or four times a 

 day will answer if you have nests enough, still in many cases it will be 

 found desirable to gather them every two hours during that part of the 

 day when the hens are laying the most eggs, say, It), 12, 2 and 4 

 o'clock. 



It will not be necessary to examine the nests except when the regular 

 egg collections are made: If a hen is anxious to get out, the nest that 

 she occupies may be readily ascertained without opening the others. 



Openings made for ventilation should not be large enough to admit a 

 hen's head. 



If low boxes are used they should be 18 or 20 inches long. 



Discard the nest eggs; they chill the hens in winter, and are a pro- 

 lific cause of broken eggs. 



If nest material be used in the passage in front of the nests, some 

 of the hens may lay in the passage instead of the nests. This will 

 account for some of the cases where a hen is supposed to have laid two 

 eggs in one day; she may not have laid at all, but pulled the eggs hi 

 from the outside. This will not be possible with the Ideal, made as 

 directed. 



When the Ideal is made and used as recommended in these plans, 

 there is little danger that the egg will be broken by the hen when try- 

 ing' to escape. My hens have laid thousands of eggs in such nests with- 

 out an egg being broken or eaten in them. 



One-half as many nests as there are laying hens is a safe rule to follow 

 with a heavy laying stock, when collections are made but three or four 

 times a da v. If all of the nests are frequently found occupied at one 

 time there are not enough of them in the pen. 



When the boxes are made with openings in the back and used in 

 rows facing the wall, they should all be made that way as the hens may 

 avoid the lighter nests for the darker ones if they are not all alike. 



If a nest is not used at all there is a reason for it. 



If a hen can't, find a nest that suits her she may lay on the floor. 



Thin shelled eggs are liable to be broken in any nests. Clover. 

 o-reen bone, oyster shells, grit and exercise will ensure good shells. 



A healthy lien that has laid in the trap nests a few times will seldom, 

 if ever, lay outside of them unless she is unable to find a nest that 



pleases her. 



The box with the cover in the top is cheaper to construct, but the hen 

 is more likelv to get away when the box is opened. 



