Choosing the Breed 23 



pays to keep a flock through the second winter in 

 the northern States, unless you want the hens to 

 breed from, and with this particular hen, it is far 

 wiser to buy day -old chicks and brood them, for all 

 except those who enjoy developing and improving 

 their flocks through personal selection. This will 

 be taken up more fully under the chapter on 

 "Raising Chicks." 



The nervous, flighty tendency of Leghorns must 

 always be kept in mind. Although it frequently 

 happens that they will remain quietly in a yard 

 that suits them, with a fence only six feet high, 

 they may fly over a fence ten feet high, if they 

 think they like it better outside. If they take the 

 notion, over they go, with not so much as by your 

 leave, and it is no fun catching them. If there is a 

 large place to wander over, say half an acre, they 

 seldom cause much bother. A six-foot fence will 

 probably keep them in, but with a smaller space 

 available the best plan is to keep them under 

 cover entirely. 



This type is easily startled by strange sights 

 or sounds. A new hat or Sunday suit will cause 

 a lively time in a flock of a hundred hens. 

 In large plants visitors are restricted, because 



