PROFITABLE MARKET CHICKENS 113 



six by eight and house fifty chicks to maturity. They are 

 set up nearly a foot from the ground and have sand bot- 

 toms. No roosts are provided, as they do well without 

 them and have better breast bones, an important point in 

 market poultry of the fancy sort. Each building faces the 

 south. There are but two features that can be classed as 

 novelties. One of these is an opening above the window 

 about ten inches wide by two and one half feet long covered 

 with fine netting. This is always left open except in case 

 of a hard rain that would beat in. Then cloth covered 

 frames are fitted in. The second is a simple hopper made 

 by nailing two boards vertically to the wall of the building 

 which have been cut to be two inches wide at the bottom and 

 seven inches wide at the top. Other boards are nailed then 

 to the edges of these; a shallow box- is placed underneath 

 and this makes a simple but good hopper. 

 House for Laying Hens. 



This is one ^of the regulation affairs seen for twenty 

 or thirty years. It has been adjusted to modern ideas by 

 making roosting rooms and open sheds in pairs by board- 

 ing up the partition at the end of the first and every sec- 

 ond pen. The roosts and windows of the second, third, 

 fifth and sixth pens and so on have been removed and these 

 changes make these pens scratching pens. * 

 Eggs Purchased from Farmers. 



Mr. Smith has to buy most of his hatching eggs. These 

 are gathered from farmers at fifty cents a dozen. This has 

 taken nearly two days of Mr. Smith's time every three 

 weeks, but the automobile has proven successful here, and 

 he now covers the same ground in less than a day. Unlike 

 most of the South Shore plants, this one does not restrict 

 its business to soft roasters, but from August to October no 

 variety of chicks is hatched but Light Brahmas. These 

 are marketed when ripe. The pullets are grown in their 

 natural state but all cockerels are caponized. PuUards^have 

 proven a failure so far as increasing the weight is con- 

 cerned and the South Shore raisers have discarded this 

 product because it does not bring in more money. Capon- 

 izing pays and therefore the practice is adhered to. 



The South Shore Light Brahmas are small compared with 



