The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-09-16
Wanted a Nest

Once upon n time there was a pullel
that felt a desire to lay. Taking a
busting young cockrel to one side
she confided her wishes to him. and
he promptly offered to escort her to
a nest which he assured her was the
only place we'll bred pullet would
consent to leave her eggs. Jauntily
he led the way to the nest boxes, and
ushered Miss Pullet, coy but proud.
towards the first. An angry hen who
had already pre-enpted this box for a
china nest egg which she was vainly
cndeavoring to hatch, drove her away.
She went to the next. and found there
two hens on the nest each showing
and crowding for room. The next and
nearly had her eye taken out by hen
who caustically remarked about young
hens in general who never thought
of laying until hens of sense We're ready
to sit.
Il can't stand this" said Miss Pull
let to her escort. My master could
not have expected me to lay. for, see,
he has only half a dozen nests for ten
times that number of hens. I'll drop
my egg where l please and let him
hunt for It," So she walked OUT into
the scratching shed. and dropped her
egg in the straw. How pretty it was!
She rolled 1t over with her peak. and
back and forth between beak and foot
until the fragile shell cracked, disclos-
ing something which looked to Miss
| Pullet catable. She tasted, and called
loudly to he" friend, the cocl1rel, to
come and dine with her. In his turn he
! called for the rest of his harem. The
egg eating habit was begun.
Bad habits. like weeds, grow quickly.
In week several pullets had learned
to eat eggs wherever found on the
! floor, and as more of the flock began
! to lay the nest boxes were less ade-
| quate. The owner complained that
| eggs We're not as numerous is he ex-
pected. THE pesky hens must be eat
ing them!" He never blamed himself
for failing to provide nests in proper
| ton to the size of his flock. Some day
he will learn that the best cure fol
egg eating is precaution and will coax
| the pulletS to lay in boxes by putting
| them in every secluded spot in the
! hen house. A pullet prefers laying ir
a nest If she can find one. but let hel
| lay on the floor and the egg eating
habit follows.
The habit of eating eggs is a bad one
/ and causes much annoyance as well as
loss. Various ways have been reverted
| to In order to prevent the hens from
the habit such as filling a shell with {
| pepper mixture or some other nauseat
ing preparation, but about all fail One
Of the best cures we have ever tried |!
to give the hens all the egg shells 20,
can procure. II near Il hotel or reStau
rant get a wheelbarrow full Of shells
and throw them out to the flock and lie
them have their fill. At feeding TIM
give them feed of shells and ALLOW
them to lay around where the hens cal
get their fill of them and after a tim
they will become as sick Gs them as
dog of hot kale The more they Sc
Of the shells and tramp around anon!
them the less desire they will have t
eat them. or course If the egg cate
/ can be caught in the act, the best wa.
would be to put her in the pot or on TIL
market or If a valuable hen shut he
up by herself and use trap nest o
make a nest in q dark place where sh
/ cannot see to eat the egg. A little car
in making nests as the above articl
suggests and Il watchfulness for tn
offender will do much to obviate tn
difficulty. When the habit is settle
on one hen the others quickly folloN
and the whole flock become destructive
In most cases .,.enty of feed will re
strict the habit. 1t is unnatural and
hen must be hungry or lazy to acquir
1 IA habit