The spectator., 1922-05-26
WHERE THE HENS
 LAY ALL WINTER
Colony Poultry House Will Keep
 Flock Productive.
MORE EGGS FROM WARM HOME
Design Illustrated Here Will Keep Out the Winds and at Same Time Permit Plenty of Fresh Air
 and Light.
By WILLIAM A. RADFoRD

MT William A. RaGford will answer questions and give advice FREE OF COST on all subjects pertaining to the subject of building work on the farm, for the readers of this paper. On account of his wide experience as Editor, Author and Manufacturer, he is, without doubt. the highest authority on all these subjects. Address all inquiries to William A Rad ford, No. 1927 Prairie avenue Chicago H., and only inclose two-cent stamp for reply.
 Owners of poultry focks may gain some worth while ideas about flock housing and management from the professionals who are about the only ones who succeed in making poultry pay profit. To the average person who owns chickens they are source of pleasure and fresh eggs, with but little actual knowledge of whether or not they are an asset or liability.
 In the first place it is a pretty well recognized fact that a flock of less than 100 birds cannot be made to pay their feed bills and have anything left for the labor of caring for them. Next, the average poultry owner pays little attention to the house the flock occu- pies in winter-any old building that has four walls and q roof is looked upon as sufficient. The wind and snow sweep through the cracks in the poul- try house and the feed the birds con- sume is used up to keep them from freezing rather than to produce eggs. Vrh that the time when eggs are worth gathering is the time when the hens, or majority of them. are not laying.
 The common, everyday hen of the American farm and backyard flocks are natives of tropical countries. True, she has been acclimated to the colder northern climate. but to do her best work she must be kept warm and com fOrtable in winter. That's why sue cessful poultrymen pay n great deal of attention to the house for the flock in winter. and farm building architects have designed houses that will keep out the winds, and at the same time permit supply of fresh air and plenty of light.
 For convenience in handling good size flocks, there has come into gen eral use what Is known as colony poultry house. Almost invariably these houses are 20 feet wide and as long as the size of the flock requires. This size Is gauged by providing four square feet of floor space for each bird. The colony house shown in the accompany ing illustration is 20 feet wide and GA feet long. giving a total of l,2S0 square feet of floor space, or sufficient for 320 birds.
 As will be seen by the floor plan of the house. the interior is divided into four sections. each l6 feet hy 20 feet. In each of these sections SD birds are kept. although doors permit the own CT to throw the whole of the interior together But, as success with poultry requires that the young bullets that are just beginning to lay should be kept senarate from the older hens. or breeding stock. few poultrymen allow the whole flock to run together.
 This house is what is known as the saw-tooth roof type. IL is of frame construction. set on concrete founda- tlon. The open. or saw-tooth roof front faces the south so as to get ad- vantage of the winter sun and the warmth it provides. The front of the lower half of the building is open to provide good ventilation. bui inside are burlap curtains that are lowered at night and on extremely cold days. Tn the upright section of the roof are large windows one over each section of the house. These allow light to get to the back part of the Interior. How the nests and roosts are arranged Is shown on the plan.
 There is great deal more to insure success with flock of poultry than house, of coui st. This Includes feed Nns ruhfch fa Nn0mt frnpnrfauf Raaf