Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-01-19
P L TR Y
CONSULTING DEPARTMENT
The Hen House Floor

The Hen House Floor
AS a rule hens will lay more eggs
the first year they occupy a new
house than they will lay any succeed
ing year. This is because the build
ing, to begin with, is perfectly clean.
Later it becomes more or less infest-
ed with lice, dust, filth, and disease
germs of various kinds, and the only
way TO keep up the egg record is to
each year give the house such thor
ough cleaning that it is, so far as
cleanliness goes, as good as new,
Much may be done toward this end
by embarrassing, spraying with one
of the coal tar disinfectants or fumi-
eating with sulphur. In this way all
of the interior can be reached if the
floor is of wood or concrete, but COM
paratively few houses have a good
floor. To clean dirt floor it is neces-
essary to remove the dirt to the depth
that has been worked in by the hens
and fill up again with clean soil. This
is SO much of job that it is often
put off from year to year and usually
is not done at all. The hens get their
winter exercise by scratching in the
finely pulverized droppings of last
year and perhaps two or three years
before. The filth and germs that fill
the air on busy day may not actual
ly cause disease, but they keep the
fowls from reaching that perfectly fit
condition which is necessary to a good
egg yield.
For economy a-foor Of wood or
concrete is indispensable and from
practically all points the latter is to
be preferred TO the former. Concrete
is cheap, is easily laid and will last
for all time. Wood is expensive, less
durable, and except for portable hous-
es should not be recommended.
There are two objections to con-
crete floors, both Of which, however.
may be easily avoided. Dampness
which can be overcome by having the
house on a foundation a foot or SC
above the surface of the ground, with
the floor level with the top of the
wall, by placing a layer of small
stones or cinders under the concrete
or by laying heavy tarred felt OF
cheap roofing paper under the con-
crete. 1t is claimed by some that
hens on a concrete floor lose their
toenails by wearing them off while
scratching. This may be avoided by
having smooth surface and using
six inches to a foot of litter. Some
advocate having on inch or so of
clean sand on the floor in addition to
the litter, but | have never found il
necessary.
If the soil beneath is firmly packed
an inch of concrete is thick enough
using four parts of sharp sand to one
part cement. After laying a strip Of
floor sift on about a pint of clear
cement to each square yard and trow-
ell down smooth. This will give a very
hard, polished surface which will not
only be easy to clean but will cause
no undue wear on the toes of the
hens. With cement at dollar and a
half a barrel, and not counting cost of
sand or labor, this floor can be laid
for about five cents a square yard. A
house 12x24 feet in size can be floored
for not over two dollars, about one
sixth the cost of board floor.
Among the many advantages in
having the poultry house well fioored
are: Saving in grain, since none of it
is lost by being buried in the dirt;
saving in litter, as it will keep clean
longer: saving in labor; gain in health
of the flock and consequently an in
crease in the number of eggs when
the ,price is highest. When all of
these items are considered the cost is
saved several times over the first
year.
To avoid dampness greater precau-
tions should be taken on clay than on
sandy soil, but puch Of the dampness
we hear about in connection with con-
crete floors is not due to the floor at
all, but to insufficient ventilation. The
air should be changed often enough to
carry out all the moisture discharged
from the lungs of the fowls, other
wise the litter will become damp. AL
clean house with plenty of litter, sun
light and ventilation will 90 farther
toward getting winter eggs than . i
balanced artion.