i62 The Hen at Work 



them till they are all asleep. In this way we make 

 sure that every one gets a full crop. It frequently 

 happens that larger ones will push the others away 

 at first, but if there is plenty of mash and plenty of 

 time they will soon fill up and give every one a 

 chance. No mash should be left in the run for 

 them to get next morning. 



Chickens by Themselves. — After the fifth week 

 it is safe to remove the mother and put her back 

 into the laying house. If she stays longer with the 

 chicks she will get fat and lazy. We are assuming 

 now that the hens are confined to the laying house, 

 and that the young stock has a separate place to 

 run. The best plan is to arrange a yard, fifty 

 feet square, or even larger, if possible, surrotmded 

 by a five- or six-foot wire fence. Inside this the 

 various hatching coops and runs may stay in 

 perfect safety from cats, dogs, and itinerant 

 skunks. 



If this fenced-in yard is not possible, we can get 

 good results by putting our runs on level grass 

 lands, and moving them to a new bit of sod every 

 two or three days. This is almost always possible 

 even in a small yard, and strong pullets maybe 

 raised in an eight-by-four run, as many as twelve'in 



