The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-10


 is very troublesome and difficult to break up. If the hens are frightened while on the nest and made to lay prematurely, they are likely to rup ture themselves, or they are apt to be frightened off the nest without lay ing. which induces an greyhound con dition.
 ralsers try to economize in the matter of nests. Instead of building them to order, with due respect to space, ease in cleaning and comfort to the hen and to the egg gatherer, they use makeshifts-store boxes, orange crates and other devices, and nail them to the building as they are needed and wherever thre is a vacant space There is no uniformity in this method, and it Is virtually impossible to arr range them economically in any posi- tion other than on the front wall where they are exposed to all the commotion-everyt that takes place in the house.
 Built in nests, those which are not portable, are very difficult and tedious to clean and replenish with nesting ma- terial, even when they are installed along practical lines, whereas mixed" col- lection of soap boxes, cereal cartons broken egg cases, cracker tins and the like should never be tolerated on the well-managed farm. Their use is de- tended by some poultrymen under the pretext of economy-in that they can be removed and burned as soon as they become badly soiled. A better way is to build nests that will not become unduly defiled.
 Portable Sections Under Roosts A good location for the nests is under the dropping boards and have the nests suspended from the boards in light, por- table sections or batteries, a foot or more from the floor, where they are the least obtrusive, and yet very convenient for the fowls An arrangement of this kind is shown in figure 1 of the accompany ing drawing. The nests are built in units of six or more, whichever is the most convenient size and arranged so that the hens enter from the side toward the rear wall. A platform or narrow shelf is installed for the birds to alight upon before entering particular compartment. Each nest should be about 14 inches square, with a partition between, to give the structure its rigidity, for it is built of very light material, preferably half 1 inch white pine siding or similar lumber. The side from which the hens enter is | left open, except for strip about three | inches high, to keep the nesting material l in it's proper place. The side exposed to the interior of the house, and from which l the attendant gathers the eggs, consists 1 of hinged lid as shown, arranged to i operate with the greatest facility. Broody hens are also removed through the front. 1 The batteries or sections, each of which | should be light enough for one man to | handle conveniently, are supported by l light wooden hangers, made from Linen l by 2-inch stuff and hinged to the under l side of the dropping boards. The sec | tions are removed by swinging the han | gers slightly to one side.
 ! The advantages of this method are numerous. There are no supports to | obstruct the floor area and nothing to I interfere with the distribution of the l litter; the nests are located in the I darkest part of the house and where l there is the least traffic or disturb | ance. To clean them, the easiest way 1 is to remove the nests outdoors, dump l out their contents, wash or spray | them, place them in the sun to dry, refill with straw, excelsior or other l nesting material and return them to l their proper places. It Is impossible l for the fowls to perch upon the top of the nests, and if it is found they 1 show an inclination to roost inside,
 though this is not likely because the nests are so much lower than the roosts, and we know that chickens always seek the highest perch, lids
 
 the rear side.
 Figure is a front elevation of this system and shows how the hangers are arranged.
 Nests on a Movable Platform 1 Another satisfactory arrangement 1 consists of a row of nests, with low ! divisions. supported by a shelf under the dropping boards, or elsewhere if desired one or two feet from the floor, as shown in Figure 3. In this diagram 1.-the nests are set on movable plat l form, instead of on stationary shelf,
 which is constructed of light wooden
 legs, with their ends slightly round- ] ed so that they will slide freely, and braced by four-inch cleats in the man. ner shown. The platform reaches back i to the wall, thus affording a passage way for the nest-seeking hens, and 1 should stop about two feet short of each end wall to allow access to the passage.
 1 The platforms are built in sections l about 10 feet long, as are the rows of nests and in the fronts are fitted high l boards which are hinged at the bottom l and made to close against a rabbet I strip nailed to the under side of the
 beam that supports the dropping 1 boards These drop doors--one or two l to each section-darlSe en the nests, and l Dy securing lncli Will eA iiSit WoOOCL | button they are easily operated at
 egg collecting times or when the nests are gone over at night for sitting hens. In fact, the ease with which | the entire platform may be removed 1 cleaned and replaced makes this plan
 very desirable.
 The nests proper, that portion above | the platform, is little more than a skeleton framework and is not nailed | to the platform. The platform consti- l tutes the floor of the nests. hence the nests are made without bottoms, and Ihave only partitions and a front and l rear piece to secure them. At cleaning 1 time instead of removing each individ- | ual nest, which is the customary prac- | tice, the entire section, which is bot tom1ess, may be removed. the old nest | ting swept to the floor for litter. or 1 gathered into a basket, the platform
 brushed off. the skeleton framework replaced, and the entire section cleaned | in about the same time required for emptying single nest by the old method.
 It is needless to say when nests are