The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1909-08-19

tfslis cat fats ADD other ferinin ieitel
ihan any utbef kln5 u noar. Nelihcl
sees u f1tuish ang ercvices 81 Whlcl
Der ana mites au hide Thesc pest.
lrc thc wors, cHemics TO poultry cub
lure. aad care should b. taken la build
.ug hpuse % leave 81 few cra1k,
where they ean hide as possible
Valve 81 Curtain rren,
There should b. several windows IN
ne south side ~ the house 10 supply
aght. Light is one ~ the best dislnr
;eciants II does much 10 keep the
iawls free from disease and happy and
,ontenicd To pros de FOR ventilation
here Is nothing equul 10 the curtain
front This is large square 81 mus.
IN fitted into frame the same Ms a
sindow This allows a gradual ad.
mission Of fresh afr without drafts
The exchange Of air takes place slowly
enough. so Tint II does not lower the
temperature AZ the house too much.
Considerable light comes through the
curtain also. aud less heat escapes
through II az night than through glass
windows The curtain has the furSher
Advantage Of being cheap No poultry
house should be put up without one
Whether built OF lumber or OF some
lthcr material the poultry house
,hould be tight Drop siding Is good
material for the side walls. A single
wall is the cheapest and answers the
purpose very we'll II costs only a lit
lie extra. however. to lath and plaster
he inside. and such house IL more
/ desirable In regions where the winters
are extremely cold. II does not pay "a
/ paper the inside OF the house, as the
mites viii find congenial home he.
tween the paper and the wall
Roosts and Nest Boxes.
Part OF the main part Of the house
should be given over TO roosts and the
rest used for nest boxes. II is better
/ to have the roosts along the north side,
A muslin curtain arranged ON roller,
so that II can be let down In front Of
The fowls on cold nights, does much to
keep them comfortable. The roosting
space 10 be allowed to each fowl Is
six 10 twelve inches, according to size
Two by fours set edgewise with the
sharp corners rounded of. make good
roosts. They should be set In notehes,
so that they can be easily removed to
be cleaned and dlsinfected. The drop.
nj, ah. h..
or two and not left for year. as is so
often done If plenty of straw is used
on the cement under the roosts 1t Is
but short job TO throw the excrement
In fresh bedding. II is labor that will
be well repaid, for a clean, sweet
smelling house is essential TO egg pro-
duction.
A little slaked lime thrown around
under the roosts helps to keep down
bad doors, Sprinklng the house with
coal tar dip and whitewashing the
roosts and walls once In awhile are
also good practices
The nest boxes should be provided
with cover and so arranged as TO be
dark and secluded inside, as the hens
prefer to lay in this kind of place.
Where a speciality Is made Of poultry
1t pays to use trap nests These are
so arranged that the hen is caught
when she goes In to lay and cannot
get out until the attendant comes
along and releases her BY having
the hens numbered with leg bands
record can be kept Of the eggs laid by
each one. Thus those that never lay
can be culled out and sent to the
butcher and the eggs OF the highest
producing ones kept for raising pull
lets TO Increase the flock In this way
the average egg yield can be increased
considerably. II is important in this
connection to make especial note of
those hens which do most OF their
laying in the winter months, as they
nre OF considerably more value than
the ones that lay In the summer. when
eggs are cheap.
Yards and Fences.
On the farm there Is little need for
many yards about the poultry house.
The chief need for fences Is to keep
the poultry away from the garden and
house For this purpose woven wire
fence with hexagonal meshes Is best
The meshes should be small enough at |
the bottom TO keep out the small chick |
ems. The wire should not be smaller |
than eighteen or nineteen gauge An |
Important point to look to Is the gal |
This galvanizing is a layer |
of zinc that is coated over the wire to |
keep 1t from rustlng There are two
Of galvanizing, known as aft |
r." and before" The former Is ap-
)lied to fencing galvanized after 1t is
woven and the latter to that galvanized |
before. The "after" galvanized fenc-
n9 can be told from the fact that the
oints where the cross wires are twist
d together are filed with zinc. When
he wire is galvanized before weaving
he zine Is cracked more or less In the
weaving process and rust readily gets
IoOtnoiu. ne uIteT galvanized |
wire sometimes costs little more, but
t lasts about five times as long.
Coops.
The chief equipment, aside from
Iouses and fences, Is coops. 1t is more
to make these fairly large,
o as to hold n hundred chickens or 80.
coop sixteen feet long, two feet
vide and about two feet high IN front,
With the roof sloping toward the back,
, convenient and cheap. II can be d.
ided into eight or ten compartments
nd viii do for as many hens and their
roods. The partitions should be about
TX feet long and foot high. This will
How them to project In front about
our feet Laths are nailed along the
ront and over the tops Of these parti-
on boards. making little runway In
ront OF each coop. One Of the laths
hould be removable TO let the hen In
nd out as soon as the chicks are big
nough to follow her about.
While such coops are cheap, they
ave one serious fault, and that is
iat they are not big enough for the
lirkpnS after they get To he two or |