Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-06-19
MEMS NEED FRESH AIR
ventiiatien In the Poultry Rouse ."
lmpcrtant Factor In Winter EGG
Production.

produce fewer eggs, ana eiteH VeN'niO
Nck and stop laying,
Good ventilation : needed also 10
keep the house dry. When the eiFeu-
lation of the air in poullTs house Is
poor in cold weather. moisture col
leets ON the inside u walls and roof
At freezing tempe nature, under sueh
condition. there is rapid aceumula-
ton of frost" on these surfaces,
which makes the house very uncom'
Portable.
When the temperature rises above
freezing again, this most melts and
runs down the walls and trickles from
the roof. First the AIR in the building
becomes saturated with moisture, then
the litter on the floor.
II the house is nc. 0yercrowded and
is insuffieiently ventilated Tor only
day in cold weather. no great harm
is done. In an Oyercrowded house
conditions become insanltary IN Few
hours. Even in q house properly
stocked conditions az the end Of one
day Of impure air are noticeably bad,
and. unless promptly corrected. grow
steadily worse.
Ventilation TO prov ide pure air and
dryness in a poultry house is simply
a matter Of keeping doors and win
ffAue
to keep the walls dry. Few poultry
keepers have any difficulty in this
until the temperature goes low enough
10 freeze water in the house Then
the tendency is 10 close doors and
windows TO keep he house warm.
This is the right idea. subject to
practical limitation that the house
must not be closed SO tight that the
supply of fresh air is insufficient and
the circulation OF air is retarded 10
such an extent that moisture collects
on the walls. The proper regulation of
ventilation insureS pure air and dry
ness and keeps the house as warm as
is practicable without the use of ar
tificial heat or special provision TO
absorb an excess Of moisture. The
adjustment of doors and wlrGows to
provide the conditions required must
be learned by observation.
The general rule is TO open doors
and windows as much as is necessary
TO keep the house dry in cold weather,
and to keep them wide open when
water in the house will not freeze.
Cheap cotton cloth and common
burlap are often used in some of the
windows Of poultry house in place
Of glass. Cotton cloth is TO be pre-
ferred for this purpose because it. Is
cleaner and admits more light. When
both cloth and glass windows are
used the most common practice in
cold weather is to keep the glass
windows closed all the time; to open
the cloth window wide ON clear days
and close it as much as seems neces
sary at night and on stormy days
When the winters are generally mild
cotton cloth is sometimes used in al
windows.
Usually house can be run with q
good deal of ventilation in all but tht
coolest weather Birds can stand quite
low temperatures provided thei
combs do not get frosted. Wher'
there is much hard freezing weathe
the most effective way that has beer
found to keep a poultry house warn
and dry is to place dry straw or hay
to the depth of foot or more. over
/ head on a floor of boards laid as wild
apart as may be and still hold tn
+ straw.
/ Dry straw will usually absorb al
/ moisture. and So when it Is used, tn
poultry keeper must judge by thetai
in the house how much to keep door
and windows open. A breed that wi
not stand the temperature when vent
lation is regulated in this way is nc
suited TO the climate.
The hens of all breeds, hayin
smaller combs than the males, ca
stand much lower temperatures. A
the proportion ,of females to male
kept is usually iabout ten to one it
not economical, under extreme weatl
err conditions. to\reguIate the house I
suit the males. When the house q
operated for the hens is too cold ft
the males, the usual practice is eitht
to put the males temporarily in
warmer place. or to put them at nlgf
in small coops in the same house. A
1 rule, the occasion TO do this arise
; only few times in winter.