GIVE THE HENS SECURITY 



285 



it becomes infested with vermin, both from the mother hen and 

 from the nesting material. Nothing is more devastating. The 

 chicks are weakened, their growth and development are dwarfed, 

 they fall easy prey to disease, and those that survive are finally 

 reckoned as unprofitable. 



Remote comers in the outbuildings, in mows and under sheds, 

 are objectionable places for sitting hens because they are so re- 

 mote. With nests scattered or stolen in this way the hens are 



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Fig. i8i. — Simple devices for sitting hens. 



troublesome to feed and water; frequently the hens are neg- 

 lected, either through ignorance of their whereabouts or because 

 it is too inconvenient to reach them. 



Stolen nests may be free from vermin and free from the dis- 

 turbances of other layers, but as a rule they are not so secure 

 as the hens suppose. Rats are likely to abound in obscure cor- 

 ners, and these pests are a constant menace, or the nests may be 

 visited by an inquisitive cat or dog. Then, again, hens sometimes 



