HEN'S WEIGHT RELEASES TRIP 



157 



ward. Or, plain hinges may be employed, and a weight or simple 

 spring can be fastened to the door in such a way that it will be 

 forced open as soon as the trigger disengages the cleat "D." If 

 a sliding door is used, the force to raise it upward may consist 

 of a spring or weight, as shown in diagram. The spring is the 

 cheapest device, but the weight is probably the most generally 

 satisfactory. Two awning pulleys fitted with screw-eyes, screwed 

 into the wall of the house, a short length of cotton rope — clothes- 



rr ' ws'-T] 



,S - ■£ k '^ ^ 



{Courtesy C. L. Opperman) 

 Fig. 110. — Laying house on a Maryland poultry farm. 



line will do, and a cast iron window-cord weight are the articles 

 required. 



When the house is closed for the night the early-rising door is 

 set, as previously described, which only takes a couple of seconds. 

 In the small hours of the morning, when the hens leave the perches 

 and start to roam in quest of freedom outdoors, they are sure to 

 go to their customary place of exit, and to walk onto the trigger 

 platform "A." If necessary, at the beginning they can be trained 

 to walk on the platform by placing a little grain on it, though I 

 have never found this compulsory. Instantly the weight of the 

 hen is transmitted to the platform, it sags an inch or two at the 



