The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-08-01
| area of filthy impure ground.


dency among poultrymen has been to
build houses on a plan to admit of an
abundant supply of fresh air. More
consideration is now being given to
fresh air than to warmth. 1t is very
important that the temperature does
not vary too much in the house. In a
warmly built house with windows in
the south the temperature will be high
during the day when the sun shines
and at night it will be very low, the
glass permitting the escape of the heat
as it rapidly enters. This is injurious
because of the chilling effect on the
fowls when subjected to extreme va
riations of temperatures; and, second,
because of the dampness it produces
in the house. During the day the
warm air in the house is taking up
the moisture and at night, owing to
the great fall in temperature, the air
becomes very humid, often totally sat-
urated as is seen when moisture con-
denses on the walls. 1t is not damp
ness on the walls, however. that is
bad, it is the moisture in the air; but
the dampness on the walls is sure
indication that the air is as damp or
ems would be better roosting on the
tree than in house where such con-
ditions prevail. By taking out the win
dows altogether these conditions
would be improved. They would be
still further improved by cutting out
a larger portion of the front, and this
would make what is generally known
as an open-front or fresh-air house.
The open front may be adapted to
small house or to large one, a col
Ony house or a stationary house. The
open-front house has been tried in all
sections of the country, in the cold
as we'll as in the warm. In cold Sec
lions some pOultrymen cover the open
ing with a curtain of ordinary mus
lin, and then it is called curtain-front
house. This shuts out the storms
and retains some of the heat in the
house. AS the material is thin, there
is free circulation of air, but without
drafts, and the temperature of the
house is nearly that of outdoors.
The curtain-front house has been
thoroughly tested at the Experiment
Station of Maine and appears to meet
the conditions there better than any
other house and gives good satisfac'
ton in the long, stationary house. 1t
has been tried with the colony house
at the Utah Station with good results,
though the temperature went down to
Is degrees below zero and snow was
on the ground about two months dur
ing the winter. 1t was found that the
fowls maintained a greater weight in
the colony openfront house than in
the warm closed house.
There are many examples through
out the country where the long, con-
tinuous house has failed to give sati-
faction. Mr.. F. L. Miller, of Corval-
lis, after one years trial of continu-
Gus house 800 feet long, was so fully
convinced that the principle was
wrong that he has taken the house
down and built small stationary ones.
The houses which he has built are
16x24 with an open-front Skis.
Having decided on the fresh-air
house. whether it be an open-front or
curtain-front house, the next question
is, shall it be movable colony house
or stationary house? This has been
referred to in discussing soils and
ground poisoning. Where enough land
is available the movable colony house
is, without question, the safest and
most practicable house to use. On
small pieces of ground or in suburban
poultry keeping, the stationary must
necessarily pc used.
| find that in this state most of the
leading poultrymen are building the
colony house with the open front. Mr..
H. Ringhouse, of Gresham, has adopt
ed a combination of the colony and
stationary house, but in each case the
open-front small house is used. His
plan is to keep his breeding stock,
from which he secures eggs for hatch
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