Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-12-25
wrtt,ss Cor ths osfori p,mosrsi
POULTRY NOTES.
ruI QrAgtEE..

The matter ~ what u meant by suit
able quarters Tor poultry l. an illy-un-
dsrstood Que With most farmers, aud i
on. that will bear morv accurate defini-
ton.
Generally. any Kind 10 outbuilding or
.hed. II Il has a roof aud four walls, l.
considered a. being quite suitable Tor the
hahitaiion Of hens, summer and winter,
aud !. honestly supposed to furnish all
that can In reason hs required. The IT,
spsctiou ~ hundreds .f such bailding.,
-mske.hifts. rather, aud not a. b. dig
nificd by the term building, will plainly
Indicate that thsre must b. total lack
oi understanding ou the part of the own
~, a. to Nhat the sctusl needs of the
hen arc-slss the frequent total insult
ahlrnsss of the quarters for the abode oi
hsns that AZ, expected to remain well
aud to lsy eges enough 90 pay for their
food. could not BE- accounted for upon
any rational basis.
Al animal. in confinement thrive hesi
the ucar,r Ne are able to reproduce for
them condition. that prevail In a state
20 nsturr. Those conditions are Without
doubt the ones ihst make possible the
grrste.i degree ~ health. IL does not
follow from this that the Cos ~Ould
give a. much milk. or the hsus lay a.
many egs. In year, or the hog attain
the Wsight. In state 81 Nildness, a.
they do With "a under domesiication.
On fact the reverse i the case. Hut
al these thing. which the above animals
DO When domcsticaicd, have been
brought about 80 gradually by mans
Intervention. that they have become In
.sn.s. SECOND natutc-and since ProNl-
deuce has endowed animal life With such
marvellous powers % change, the sdapta-
tion aud modification 20 th. methods OF
life ~ cur domestic animals has not AZ
al been Ia their disadvantage, and man
has AZ the same time prohicd thereby.
hut 1T us remember that the general
laN. ~ the habit. oi any given class oi
animals are never wip.i cut. they are
ouly modihed-the warp aud woof of
the fabric /. not broken, IL !. only bent
into varying shapes, bat the continuity
u the threads must and dos remain in-
tact.
In other words. We must supply the
same elements % food that the hen OBJ
tains I'm state Of nature-ihe same OPP
portunlties for the exerci.e of their
muscles. legitimate degree Of latitude
aud opportunity for the exercise of nat
ural instincts. and protection from IN"
elements Of such nature ssto Intelligent
Ia supply the animals needs-f II had
the freedom To .hiit Tor itself.
Fir-t then as Ia lodgings. Successful
poultrymen all agree that for every hen
Kept there should b. ten square fe.t oi
floor space within the pen. That j. to
sav, that where twelve hens are kept,
their pen should contain l20 ~. II. oi
f'oor space. n the flock !. IA Ice the
.iIe. the space should contain taice a.
many square feet.
In order that Biddy remains In per-
feet health-and that means red comb
glossy plumagc, freedom from sermln,
lust fat enough. and last, but by
no mean. least, Ia active laying condi-
tiou-the first essential Il met when the
necessAry amount ~ door space u fur
nlshsd. Thi. much the hen needs Tor
elbow room "a exercise In. u Il true
ther. are fiocks of hens that do we'll al