Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-02-17
Builo,ny nen Houses.

Builo,ny uen Houses.
A poultry house must not be too
large. Many persons, however, crowd
too many hens rtc small and filthy
surroundings. Almost as many wake
as serious a mistake in having their
houses too roomy.
4 hen house il; supposed to need
floor area of six square feet-hence
house 12x12 is about right for twenty
four hens. l SHALL not quarrel with
you if you put only a dozen hens INTO
such a house: but 1 shall quarrel bit
terry if your house is more than Az
feet high at the back, or more than
. y feet high at the front, or ii the
point where front and rear rafters join
Is more than 7 feet from the floor. |
like to have the house lower than this
but never higher. For the comfort OF
the hens and to enable them to warm
up their quarters in cold weather with
the heat of their own bodies, it would
be better if it were two feet lower
than the above specifications at every
point.
But it is at night, when on the
perches, that the hens suffer most SO
we can overcome some of the extra
height in the arrangement of our drop
ping boards and Derches. These should
be at the rear or lower portion of the
house. Build the dropping boards OF
smooth matched lumber. Make them
three feet wide and just half way be-
tween the floor and the rear cave, i. e.,
they will be 2A feet from the floor.
~, foh a
there shall be no air passage between.
Now when your perch is placed six
inches above the dropping board-a
2x4 scantling. smoothed with plane
and placed flat side up, is the proper
thing = and your hens are on 1t at
night they have small tight compart-
ment open only in front (and this may
have a muslin drop curtain if you wish
it, in which the heat of their own bod
les will be kept near them :ner than
scattered thruou.. a lar loom and
wasted. as is sure to be ie case in a
large house.
Now, of course, the ventilation
crank rises to remind me that have
forgotten to say anything about the
ventilators. don't want any. The
little exit door ska inches which opens
into the front yard is all we want in
winter. In summer, from April to
December, the 2:ax4 foot window in
the front is removed and replaced by
a wire screen which, like the window,
is on hinges so that one can step out
into the front yard if he so desires.
Our seven houses are built exactly
on the plan desc1 ibed. The house for
To- Cx,1O
and is divided INFO ten compartments,
so each is 12x12 feet. The partitions
are solid, about four feet from the rear
wall: the rest are wire netting except
two feet high at the bottom. The
doors, both those at each end and
those between tie compartments, are
2 feet wide and 6 feet high, and are
under that part Of the roof. which is
farthest from the floor. AS the front
rafters are 9 feet long, this makes the
doors about two-thirds of the distance
from the rear to the front walls, hence
it is easy to gather the eggs from the
nest boxes which are attached to the
front wall at each side of the window.
The Buff Orpington house is only so
feet long, by IA feet wide so each
compartment is -.0x14. This house is
built on steep ground and at the left
end has a good basement 14x30 in
which we can winter fifty cockerels
nicely and in the spring I. for an
extra breeding pen. Or course a
flight of steps is necessary at the high
end of this house and four of the COM
partments have board ladders run
ming out into their respective breed
ing yards
Allow me to recapitulate.
1. Build in surnmer.
2. Build up off the ground.
8. Make a double-tight floor.
a. Make and keep your house "air-
tight at the back"
5. Make your stories low, so as to
retain the animal heat.
6. Ventilate from the front only,
and not much there. = Poultry Gaz-
cite.