The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-02-01
HENS NEED FRESH AIR.
Ventilation in the Poultry House an I'm.
portant Factor.

Pure air is as necessary for fowls as clear
water and good feed. When hens are con
fined to badly ventilated houses in win
ter they lose vitality, produce fewer
eggs, and often become sick and STOP
laying.
Good ventilation is needed also to keen
the house dry. When the circulation OF
the air in poultry house is poor in cold
weather, moisture collects on the inside
of walls and roof At freezing temper
allure, under such conditions, there is a
rapid accumulation of frost on these
surfaces, which makes the house very
uncomfortable,
When the temperature rises above
freezing again, this frost melts and runs
down the walls and trickles from the
roof First the air in the building be-
comes saturated with moisture, then the
litter on the floor.
Ii the house is not oyercrowded and is
insufficiently ventilated for only day
in cold weather, no great harm is dont,
come insanitary in a few hours. Even
in a house properly stocked conditions
at the end of one day of impure air a,e
noticeably bad, and, unless promptly
corrected, grow steadily worse,
Regulating Ventilation.
Ventilation to provide pure air and
dryness in poultry house is simply a
matter OF keeping doors and windows
open as much as is necessary TO keep the
walls dry. Few poultry keepers have anv
difficulty in this until the temperature
goes low enough to freeze water in the
house. Then the tendency is to close
doors and windows to keep the house
warm.
This is the right idea, subject to the
practical limitation that the house must |
not be closed so tight that the supply |
of fresh air is insufficient and the circu- |
lation of air is retarded to such an ex-
tent that moisture collects ON the walls |
The proper regulation of ventilation in
sures pure air and dryness and keeps the !
house as warm as is practicable without
the use of artificial heat or special pro-
vision to absorb an excess of moisture.
The adjustment of doors and windows
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
he house dry in cold weather. and to
<eep them wide open when water in the
rouse will not freeze.
ventilating Through Cloth.
Cheap cotton cloth and common burlap
ire often used in some of the windows
# a poultry house in place of glass. Cot
on cloth is to be preferred for this pur
lose because it is cleaner and admits
more light. When both cloth and glass
windows are used the most common
ractice in cold weather is to keep the
lass windows closed all the time; TO
pen the cloth window wide on clear
avs and close il as much as seems neces-
ary at night and on stormy days. When
he winters are generally mild cotton
10th is sometimes used in all windows. l
educing Moisture with Low Ventilation.
Usually a house can be run with
God deal of ventilation in all but the
ery coolest weather. Birds can stand
ute low temperatures provided their
)mbs do not get frosted. Where there
much hard freezing weather the most -
fective way that has been found to =
eep a poultry house warm and dry is =
, place dry straw or hay. to the depth y !,
a foot or more. overhead on a floor of u
,ards laid a. wide apart as may be and ct
III hold the straw. so
Dry straw will usually absorb al DC
DISTURB. and so. when Il is used, the ef
,ultry keeper must Judge by the air in 10
g house how much 10 keep doors and br
ndows open. 4 breed that viii not In
and the temperature when ventilation
regulated in this way is not suited VI
the climate. IN
Male Birds Need Special Care. i,
The hens OF all breeds. having smaller nc
mbs than the males, can stand much il
yer temperatures. A. the proportion no
females to males kept Is usually 60
out ten to one il Is not economical. MIR
der extreme weather conditions, 10 70,
,ulate the house to suit the males. :
hen the house a. operated for the hens an.
too cold for the males. the usual Pra =
; i either to put the males temporari- n;
in = warmer place, Or TO put them ~
1T in email coCps in the same houss
a rule the occasion TO do this arises
Y q few times IN a winter.