HOUSING AND HYGIENE 271 



amount of floor space per hen must increase, and anyone 

 keeping eight or ten hens should allow at least ten square feet 

 of floor space per bird unless he is prepared to give special 

 attention to cleaning and bedding the house. Rice and 

 Rogers^ add that " The lighter breeds, because they are more 

 active and restless, require nearly as much room as larger 

 breeds." 



Evils of Overcrowding. — When hens are too closely penned 

 or are not allowed enough floor and yard space they are 

 naturally discontented. Following the laws of nature, that 

 both plants and animals shall reproduce "themselves most 

 abundantly when the conditions surrounding them come 

 nearest to fulfilling their wants, egg production is likely to 

 suffer under close confinement. 



Besides this, certain vices generally appear in the flock 

 of considerable size that is closely confined or whose quarters 

 are too small. One of the first to appear is feather-pulling. 

 Starting at first as a manifestation of nervous impatience by 

 a few birds, it is likely to be imitated by most of the flock, 

 with the result that many fowls in the flock are kept rather 

 destitute of feathers. If it so happens that the feathers are 

 green and a little blood appears, cannibalism is likely to 

 develop, and at times is the cause of serious loss. At best, 

 protein that might otherwise be used toward the manufac- 

 ture of eggs must be used in constantly growing new feathers. 



Egg-eating is very much more likely to develop in a 

 crowded pen, largely due, perhaps, to the fact that eggs 

 are more often broken under such conditions. Nevertheless 

 the loss from such cause may be large. 



A further evil of crowding that must not be overlooked 

 is the curtailment of the production of the weaker indi- 

 viduals of the flock. Where generous space is allowed each 

 fowl the less vigorous ones have more opportunity and are 

 likely to respond with a stronger production. A fowl that 

 is being continually pecked around, as the least vigorous 

 ones are in crowded quarters, cannot be expected to be a 

 profitable producer. 



■ Cornel) Bulletin No. 274. 



