Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-08

Let rs today consider the care OF
the growing chickens, which for the
, past six or eight weeks have been
gaining rapidly in size and weight,
and If this is to continue in anything
like the same ratio larger and better
ventilated quarters must be provided.
WHARF the range is limited to a small
area it should, If possible. be in
creased.
The old coops and brooders in most
cases are overcrowded and something
must be done to relieve this condition.
Small and ofttimes poorly ventilated
coops with the usual floor area OF
about 3a square feet are not Of sufficient
size to properly house from fifteen to
twenty chicks weighing from one to
two pounds Or more each. In fact, the
coop used on the average farm is not
large enough to accommodate fifteen
one-haf pound chicks comfortably.
with the mother hen. By the time hot
weather comes on the young stock
veloped sufficiently to be moved to
the so-called colony house." which
should set out on range. The ideal
location for such a house Is in an
orchard adjoining grain, hay and pas
ture fields. with a stream Of running
There are several satisfactory types
of colony houses" now in general use,
the most comme-being the plain
portable shed-roofed type, built on
runners with front opened or par
, TALLY opened, with one or two glass
windows hinged so that they may be
? opened or closed to suit weather con-
ditions. The average dimensions OF
these houses are: Height of front.
q -
feet, with floor area of from So to
As square feet. Many of these houses
have almost the entire front open
and covered with wire, the opening
extending from the top plate down to
within about eighteen inches from the
floor. There are also openings or
windows placed in the side walls for
greater circulation of air.
As can be seen. these houses with
their high roofs are built with the
convenience of the caretaker in mind,
as a much less expensive and equally
as satisfactory house can be used IL
we consider only the comfort of the
chickens. Such a house has been used
successfully for many years on the
farm of d. ]. Lambert, one Of our well
known breeders of Barred Plymouth
Rocks. 1t has a floor area of about
twenty-one square feet, is three and
one-half feet wide and six feet long.
the front and back walls are two and
one-half feet high, supporting an
ordinary peaked or A-shaped roof.
the highest point of which "at the
peak" is not more than four feet
from the floor. The entire front and
! one side of the house is practically
open. with strips Of wood three inches
wide. nailed upright to the frame,
about two inches apart, with a door
! in the center. The front as it Is thus
constructed constitutes the only OBJ
lection to this house as 1t stands. be-
cause of the labor and the difficult
position one has to assume in clean
ing 1t. This, however, may be easily
overcome by using light material and
mailing the strips to a frame made to
ft the front and which can be quickly
removed when the cleaning and spray
ing or the handling of the birds make
1t necessary to work in the house.
The Slated front can be improved
upon to some degree by using wire on
the frames in place Of the strips of
wood, provided the front Is protected
somewhat from the rain and sun by
rather low-hanging caves. A colony
house of this type may be easily
moved from place to place on a small
wagon or sled with one horse and set
on posts. pieces of rocks or blocks of
wood at least ten inches of the
ground. In this as in the larger house,
there is wood floor.
There is still another and cheaper
house that I should like to recon-