, 1918-01-24
HOUSE FOR
BACKYARD FLOCK
Comfort, Not Luxury, Is Impor-
taiit for Flock's Need.
OLD SHED is SATISFACTORY
Made Warm and Airy, and With Hen
conveniences, Is All That Is Nee
essary-Divide Yard for Grow
ing Green Feed.

A house for the backyard flock need
not be expensive. 1t should be COM
Portable. Often there is an unused shed
or building on the place which can
easily be converted into a chicken
house. The front of the poultry house
should face toward the south, if posi-
BILE, so that the sun will shine into it.
A house which provides n floor space
of three or four square feet for each
bird is ample in size and fowls are
often successfully kept with an allow
ance no greater than two and one-half
to three square feet. Houses must be
dry and free from draft, but must al
low ventilation. Very satisfactory
houses can be made cheaply from pi-
ano boxes or other packing cases.
Where there is a board fence it is
sometimes possible to take advantage
of this by building the poultry house
in the corner of the fence, making the
fence itself, with the cracks covered
by strips or battened, serve as the back
and one side of the house.
A cheap house 8 feet square can be
made of 2 by finch pieces and p
inch boards and covered with roofing
paper. Such a house would be large
enough for a flock of 20 to 25 hens,
1t can be built quickly and is cheap in
construction. Plans for building it,
which can be easily followed, with a
description of all the material needed,
are given in a new publication of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture, Farmers Bulletin $50.
If the back yard is well drained, the
ground itself should be dry enough to
serve as the floor of the house. Often
a slight dampness a be corrected by
filling up the floor several inches above
the outside ground with sand, cinders,
gravel or dry dirt. Three or four
inches of the surface of the floor, and
Of the run, If a very small run is used,
should be removed and replaced with
fresh dirt two or three times a year.
II the ground Is so wet or damp that
the condition cannot be corrected by
filling, 1t is best to provide a board
floor, as this will keep the house dry,
will allow easier cleaning, and will pro-
mote the general health and welfare
of the hens. A house with a board
floor should be set on posts or blocks
8 to u inches above the ground. Built
In this way the floor will not rot so
quickly and rats are not so likely to
take refuge under it.
To keep the flock in a clean and san
itary condition dropping boards should
be provided and roosts above them.
This makes 1t easy to remove the drop
pings each morning. and helps greatly
to keep the house free from objection
able odors. A little sand sprinkled on
the dropping boards after each clean
ing will make the cleaning easier. The
dropping boards and roosts should be
placed against the back wall. Here
they are out of the way and at the
same time where they are less likely
to be reached by drafts. The drop
ping boards should be about 20 to 30
inches from the floor, depending on the
height of the building. This gives
space enough under them so that the
hens have room to exercise and 1t is
not too high for the heavier hens to
fy to. The roosts should be three or
four inches above the dropping boards.
A piece of 2 by A or 2 by 3 laid on
edge, and with the upper corners
rounded off, makes a good roost.
Nests must be provided and may be
very simple. Any box about n foot
square and five or six inches deep Is
suitable. An ordinary orange box with
a partition in the middle serves this
purpose very well, each box forming
two nests, With the top removed the
box Is laid on its side and a strip three
or four inches wide nailed across the
lower front. Nests can be fastened to
the walls of the house or set on the