The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-27
THE POULTRY YARD.
A Talented Bufr Cochin Hsn-rhs Range
 and the Yard-Good Hatchers.

A Talented BuH Cochin Hsn-The Range
 and the Ysrd-Good Hatchers.
 After a great deal of pains-taking and teaching, a New porp. Staten Is land, lad had succeeded in bringing out talented fowl in the shape Of a Bun Cochin hen. which he has named Fanny. Before select audience re- gently Fanny gave dress rehearsal Of what she could do. First of all she gracefully walked tight rope stretched across the back yard. The second number on the program consist ed of A series of somersauits per formed with wonderful speed by the accomplished hen. Fanny wears long feathers on her ankles, but that does not prevent her from being very agile and very graceful After shooting on a toy cannon. flying through a paper covered hoop and skipping n rope. Fannie picked out from dozen letters painted on blocks those which spelled her name. These and dozen other clever tricks kept the audience amused for over an hour.
 THE RANGE AND THE YARD.
 When one desires to keep fowls In the city. and has not large range, the poultry must be confined In yards. Flyers are not desirable when the neighbors may also have fiocks or garden. It may be stated that the large breeds, such as Cochins and Brahmas. thrive better in yards than do other breeds, and they may be kept within bounds with fence not over four feet high. If not fed too heavily on grain. so as not to get them too fat and also keeping them in exercise by compelling them to scratch. they will thrive well and lay as many eggs in year as the smaller breeds. Il must be borne in mind that the breeds which cannot fly have not the motive power of other breeds and are, there. fore, not as full of meat on the breast as the more active birds, but the Brah. are also very hardy and thrifty.
 STEALING OF NESTS.
 The matching season, 1t is true, has passed, but a few words upon the sub. ject may not be amiss, for there are those who even now intend to set hens to hatch bullets for late spring layers When hens steal their nests they arc more successful than those that are given snug berths in the poultry house, and many are at loss to know why this should be the case. In the first place the hen that steals her nest is under natural conditions to a certain extent. Uuless she was at liberty had the freedom of range and witt every opportunity for exercise, sht | could not select nest for herself, bu would be compelled to hatch out hel brood wherever she may be placed by her owner. It is not because her nes is on damp ground, as she would bt just as successful on the top of dry hay mow, under shelter, as out in th4 | fields and hidden away in the brush Hens do not prefer moist nests. The! | simply select cool places in summer and warm places in winter. It may b. | stated also that when hen selects he nest she lays the eggs herself. o | course the eggs are thus uniform, al being alike in vitality, and if ther | is hatch at all 1t is reasonable t, | suppose that every egg will produce { chick, and in fact such is usually tn, reslt. When hen is placed on tn, | nest in the poultry house the eggs ma! | not be uniform have been laid by sev eral hens, some being fertile ant some not, according to the condition O the hens which laid them A ful hatch is rather the exception than { regular occurrence when the eggs ar, taken from the egg basket promiscu ously and without regard to the con | dition of the hens that laid them. Good hatches therefore, do not de pend on how closely the hens remain on the nest, but on the fertility and vi tality of the eggs. If the eggs contain strong chicks, and all of them are fer tile, they will create a large amount | of animal heat, inducing the hen tt l come off frequently in order to coo herself and the eggs, but if the egg contain but chicks the hen will en deavor to conserve the warmth by re maining closely on the nest. It some
 times appears strange that a hel which sits closely and attentivel, fails to bring off brood while anoth CT hen by her side, which has left he nest much oftener, was successful, bu the result was due to the eggs beinl | fertile.