Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-03-06
barn Cellars for Poultry

h,,,e r.ad with interest much OF
,yhot has been written respecting the
core and management of fowls, and agree
with the writers in many things. But
think the poultry houses as generally
recommended are, for this climate. cold
and uncomfortable in winter, and equal
lv hot and uncomfortable in summer
and as nv accommodations for lows
have been proved, in a good measure,
10 he free from these objections ~ Iour
wears experience, and the lows nave
been a success financially, think II may
no NJ interest TO your readers to know
about my poultry mouse;
n Is in a we'll lighted, dry, barn Gel
lar. and consists of roost IA feet by
rs and 8 feet high, and a feeding and
LAYING room. The poles on which the
fowls roost are on level with the ground
outside, and two feet below the barn
floor To reach the roost from the barn
ward the hens walk mon board through
the sash, which has one of the lights left
out. The roost is so easy OF access that
the hens generally take their chickens
into the roost when they get as large as
nnails and thus teach them to roost
there The ground under the roost is
frequently sprinkled with earth or coal
ashes, keeping down all offensive odors
and making the best of manure. The
barn cellar is 20 by 80 feet; the roost is
in one corner, and the rest of the cellar,
except what is used for storing roots,
etc, used for laying room and for feed
ing the fowls in stormy or cold weather.
When the weather is pleasant we feed
them out in the barn yard, for they 60
out then rather than stay in the cellar,
but when the ground is covered with
snow, or the weather is cold, they spend
all the time in the cellar and are fed
there.
They lay in the cellar the whole year,
seldom causing us much trouble by
stealing nests in the grass and other out
Of the way places during the warm sea-
son. The eggs are gathered daily and
kept in the barn cellar. making it very
convenient, "a they never freeze there ;
in fact it is seldom cold enough there to
freeze water. | have noticed that in
the hot, sultry days of summer a large
share of the fowls spend the middle OF
the day on their rOOSt. which IS then
eomparatiyely cool, and the most COM
Portable place they can find | have
never seen hen louise on my premises.
do not know why the fowls are not in
Tested with them, unless it be IN some
way owing to the location OF the roost,
but still that may not be the reason.
Their health has been first rate; | think
not more than five in one hundred die
from sickness in q year, which IS less
than my neighbOrs (whO have no barn
cellars lose by disease.
We have had fair success in raising
early chickens by setting the hens IN
the cellar, but find the eggs hatch bet
ter later in the season; perhaps one rea
son for this may be that the sitting hens
are disturbed less by other fowls wher
the weather is warmer. The fact is wei
known that hens must be kept warm tC
lay well in winter, and the great advan
tage of a cellar for fowls is that it keeps
them warm, and if they are properly
fed they will pay well for their quarter
and the care given them. | have abou
90 hens; some of them are hardly ole
enough to lay yet, but | am now, Janu
airy Goth, getting over twenty-eight dai
w, and they bring in New Haven A
cents per dozen. They were not very
well fed in October and Noyember-haC
they been, think they would now bt
laying three dozen eggs daily; they vii
get up to that number in week or two
if they continue to increase as they havt
done lately. The cost of the food they
eat is about 90 cents per day for tn,
whole flock.
The idea of hen roost in the barr
cellar was suggested to me by visit t.
Mr.. A. b. Jarvis of Cheshire, Conn.
who has accommodations for his fowls
similar to mine. lie found that his hens
did so well. especially in winter, anC
spoke so fayorably Of the arrangement
that was induced to provide like quar-
tiers for my fowls, and so far, allow M
to say in closing, have not found
single objection to the plan, while Their
are other reasons for it beside those al
ready noted
The above was mostly written when
read in the Country Gentleman of Jan
10th the inquiry of j., would not Gel
lar under hennery be a good place 70
wintering fowls in small flocks ~ Ha
written directly in response to this,
do not know that should have write
any differently f. p, in Count''
Gentleman.