The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-04-26
By H. A. Bittenbender, Poultry Department, Iowa State
College.

@ Na@$ast Xxx
A Group of Small Poultry Houses or
The poultry department of the Iowa
State College is young when compared
with the other agricultural depart
nents. Since it has been established
it has grown rapidly. The number Of
students interested in poultry has
been established it has grown rapidly.
The number OF students interested in
poultry has been steadily growing and
interest has been more pronounced
this year than ever before.
The first exclusive poultry course
really began this year. The animal
husbandry students have the Oppor-
tunity at the end of their junior year
to take their senior work in poultry,
or continue along live stock lines. The
one year of poultry work in the regu.
lar animal husbandry course gives the
student a good working knowledge Of
poultry.
The work taken up in the poultry
course is intended to be entirely prac-
teal The lines that the students
work on are Poultry Judging, Poultry
Management, Anatomy and Physiology
Of poultry, and the Marketing Of Poul-
try Products. The work is taken up
In the most practical way possible.
The judging work is of varieties
based upon the standard of perfection,
while the judging for constitutional
vigor, selection for egg type and meat
types, are taken up by score cards
made out for this purpose. Also in
the Judging work, fitting for show and
show room etiquette is taken up. In
the poultry management work, good
poultry farms are studied. After hav-
ing studied the different methods in
use by prominent poultry farms the
student is given the site of a tract of
land upon which to place poultry
farm Drawings are made showing
arrangement of buildings, number OF
fowls kept, probably cost of mainten-
ance, and the profits TO be expected.
In the marketing of poultry products
is taken up the best way to place the
finished products on the market; the
methods of killing, dressing, and pack
ing for shipment.
The rest of the course consists Of
practice courses of feeding, fattening.
and running of breeders and incu-
bators. The student is given charge
ha a
entire care and is responsible while
he is in charge This gives the person
practice in really doing the work.
The station has done considerable
work in poultry fattening. The fat
tening was done by what is known as
the crate fattening method. The birds
were starved for twenty-four hours
and then placed in crate 20 feet
high, % feet wide ana 6 inches long.
divided into three equal compartments.
Four birds were placed in each sec
ton. These crates are generally
placed in rows of two deep. Under
meath the top crate is placed pan t.
catch the droppings. The crates are
placed in small by II house which
lust holds four crates. Troughs are
placed in front of the crates and are
filed twice a day with feed The feed
is sloppy in consistency and is con-
posed of a mixture of equal parts, by
weight, or barley meal, oat meal -four
and corn meal and 25 per cent OF
beef scrap With each pound of dry
feed is mixed two pounds of butter
milk. The amount fed is all that the
birds wiz eat twice day. The birds
will eat enough in about twenty min
ntes We fed as nearly twelve hours
apart as was possible. We gave them
charcoal, grit, and green food twice
during the period, which is two weeks.
The gains in round numbers were
from 90 to 25 poNnds per dozen birds.
The cost per pound of gain ranged
from to cents per pound can be
large cities markets a premium of
from to scents per pound can be
received for milk fattened cockerels.
The poultry farm consists of about
twenty acres of slightly rolling land.
No artificial drainage is necessary. Al
the present, time the stock is all
housed in central quarters for the
winter. The stock numbers about
500, this includes breeding and laying
stock The house, incubator cellar,
feed room, killing room, dressing
room and laboratory is all in one
building situated near the south cen
trial part of the farm.
The chicken houses are of the most
modern construction. The long or
central house is made up of seven in
dividual pens, 12x16 feet, connected
from the inside by a double swinging
doo.. The houses are of the cloth
lrtain type, that is. instead Of hay
ing an entire glass front, an opening
g. by 6 feet, is coveed by hea"y mus
hin cloth which is tackled onto a
frame. that can be opened or closed.
The reason for using the muslin or
x,,,l, s.,,r,eir front house is 70 main.