The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1922-12-22
Housing and
Feeding the
Winter Flock
BY Murray E. Stebbins, County Agent

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BY Murray E. Stebbins, County Agent
We will presume that at this time
you have culled your flock, have killed
or sold all those early molters, the
ones that molted during the summer
months and those late immature pull
lets that you would have to feed dur
ing the entire winter at a dead loss,
and are now ready to put a little ear
nest thought and some honest-to-good-
ness time on fixing comfortable WIN
ter quarters for your birds, and get
some feed lined up for them. Unless
you spend this effort your good birds
will not bring the %hoped-for results.
To Gull only is to stay in the kinder
ten class of poultry ~husbandry.
First, let us take up a few of the
essentials of housing. The thing we
usually run into right away and
which any poultry keeper can correct,
is the matter of overcrowding. This
idea of giving the birds plenty of
working space is important in a cold
state like Montana, where to get egg
production the birds should be kept
there until the ground thaws out in
the spring. To be able to do this and
give the birds the room they should
have for exercise, you should have
four square feet of floor space for
every bird. Next to be considered in
housing is the matter of ventilation
and sunlight. Both should come from
the south and the south only. All
other walls must be tight and should
be double boarded so as to provide a
dead air space, thus giving further
warmth to the house. To get sunlight
to the back of a 16-foot house, which
has been found best for Montana con-
ditions, you must have the front of
your house 6h feet high-not higher,
for then you get too much head space
and the warm air will be too high
above the birds backs. Then plan
your windows so that the sun will
come to the front Of the house and
carry to the back, but do not have too
much glass as it will result in a cold
house, since glass is a good conduct
or of cold as well as heat. One square
foot of glass to every 16 square feet
of space is about what you want.
We said the ventilation is also to
be from the south, or front, of the
house, and this is best provided by
means of a muslin curtain. The cur
tain being in a frame hinged at the
plate where the roof and front join
and made 3h feet from top to bottom,
is hung so that the lower edge of the
curtain is three feet from the floor
The length of the curtain is deter.
mined by the size of the house. Here
again we take into consideration the
floor space, having one square foot Of
muslin for every 8 square feet Of
floor space. With this form of YER
%tilation no other form is to be pro.
vided, as ventilators in the roof anC
the like only upset the system already
provided.
1t is needless to explain that thu
type of house here described does no
call for a separate scratching ant
roosting room. The objections to sucl
an arrangement are so numerous tina
should l start on them I fear l woul
never return to the topic of feeding
which is also most important. Tn
house you find is a large room, L
feet deep and as long as necessary TO
the number of birds to be housed
provided with dropping boards at tn
rear which serve to keep the bird
warmer while at roost and to keep tn
house sanitary. The roosts are to b
about six inches above the dropping
board and fairly near the roof, whic
is the warmest part of the house
We stated that the house should b
6H feet high in front. Four and one
half to five feet makes a good d
mension for the back. This makes
house that can be properly cared fo
and yet not too high for the positio
of the dropping boards and roos
Lastly, your house, if damp, or
having a high gable, should be prt
vided with a ceiling OF a straw lof
The latter is cheaper and about d
efficient. This loft is extended fro1
the plate, 6h feet above the floor, an
back to the rear of the house.
. We may be able to state the essel
tials of feeding in fewer words, a
though the feeding is not a bit lie:
important that housing. The feed ca
be placed under the following hea'
ings:
Grain Feed.-Usually in this cou1
try, wheat, fed at the rate of
pounds per 100 birds, at the rate
4 pounds in the morning and 8 poun,
in the afternoon.
Dry Mash.-Before them at all tim,
or a moist mash feed at moor at Il
same rate as grain. This mash shou
h composed of available grains
:.e ranch and fed in the ground forl
While the ground grains can
juggled around in many ways wi
satisfactory results, the following
about as good as any: 200 pounds
bran, shorts or mill run; 100 poun
of ground oats, and 100 pounds
ground corn. If moist, make it cruz
bly, with soured milk or meat brot
This takes us to the third requireme
of the ration:
Milk or Meat.-Meat may be me
scraps, commercial, or jack rabbi
skinned and hung in the house in t
po<so If <hroo D,,rooc w h;rI -