72 THE CORNING EGG FARM BOOK 



to determine what hens are proper for breeding pur- 

 poses, and really the trap nest tells you nothing. 



In every pen there are daily a number of eggs which 

 are not laid in the nest at all. To what particular 

 hen does the attendant credit eggs found in hollows 

 scooped out in corners under the dropping boards ? It 

 is a peculiarity of " Biddy " that where she sees an egg 

 she almost always decides it is a good and proper 

 place for her to lay another. Thus, on some days, 

 where trap nests are in use, it may be necessary to 

 make a great number of guesses as to which hen did 

 not lay in the traps, but on the floor. 



Trap Nests a Failure 



There is another reason why trap nests really tell 

 you nothing. Take two females of a pen whose num- 

 bers are one and two. For the first few weeks No. 

 I surpasses her sister No. 2 in the production of eggs. 

 To this pen, clover has been the green food fed, and 

 of this ingredient the farm has run short. The ship- 

 ment has been expected daily but did not arrive, and, 

 because of that failure, for four or five days no other 

 green food was provided. Then cabbage was re- 

 sorted to to take the place of the clover. The pen 

 having been without green food for a number of days 

 was fairly greedy for it, and good, crisp cabbage 

 suits the palate of many hens exactly, and they are 

 very apt to overdo the matter in eating it. A great 

 layer must be a large eater, and so hen No. i gorged 



