W. cook's TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 39 



they fit fairly tight, but when open one lath slides behind 

 the Other — refer to illustration. 



i 



There should be a small handle attached to the movable 

 frame, to pull it to and fro, to shut the coop up at night, and 

 for the purpose of opening it. If the coop is closed in this 

 way, rats and mice cannot get in and yet it is not air tight, 

 there is a little ventilation. 



The hole to put the hen in should be at the side of the coop. 

 It is also an easy matter to make a sliding bottom to the coop, 

 so that it can be taken out when required, only of course it 

 comes rather more expensive to make them in this way. 



It is not necessary to have high coops for hens as long as 

 the birds can stand upright, but there should always be a 

 good fall, so that the water runs off them quickly. A nice 

 convenient size to make them is, say from 21 to 2 3 in. high 

 in front, with a six inch slope, and from 20 to 23 in. wide; 

 and 16 or 17 in. high at back. That makes a fair sized 

 coop, but of course they can be made larger or smaller 

 according to the size of the hen. 



The coops should never be too small for the young 

 pheasants, as they sleep in them for a long time. 



It is a well-known fact, nothing causes these young 

 birds to die so much as running in the long wet 



