VOL. XXXIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., AUG. 6, 1898.
NO. 32
%xpexienxt Qcpixvtmmt
Describe   a   Convenient   Poultry   House
and Yards.
1st Premium.—My ideal poultry house is in
three sections, each 12 feet square with separate yards at tlie rear. Tho central yard can
be only 12 feet wide, but can be made any desired length, if you have the ground. The
two outer chambers can make yard any desired width by extending to right and left of
the house. My perches art- to the extreme
right and left of the outer chambers, and are
fire feet from floor. A second floor is placed
under the perches, two feet below the perch
poles to catch the droppings.    Under this sec*
x
A
U
D
D
B
ond
Doors.
Perches.
Nesting Boxes.
Perch Booms.
Brooding Chambers.
Windows,
floor are  the dust
baths.   The   central
room and the nests
chamber is a brooding
are all under the partition walls, with lids on
either side. When all hens are laying all lids
are up in the rooms where the perches are;
but aa soon as a hen becomes broody the lid
is lowered and the one opposite in the brooding chamber Is raised, and she is given free
access to that chamber and yard. I also have
a few box nests under the outer fence, so that
when a hen nests there, she can have "all out
of doors" for her exercise yard. I enclose a
rough ground plan of house and yard. I have
south side well lighted.
HoOSIEB PoULTTBYMAN.
2d Premium.—We will describe a noultry
house built 10x40 feet for convenience. First
I would want a sloping, well drained place to
build the house on. Then I would elevate the
ground eight or ten inches, and pack it on top
with clay and smooth it and make very solid
for a floor to keep out all wet and dampness.
I like this better than a wood floor that the
vermin can get under and hide, it is also
cheaper. The house I would build tlie long
way standing east and west with the rocf all
slanting to the north. Use a 2x4 or 2x6 timber for a sill below, laid on stone pillars a few
inches above the ground. The house should
be about nine feet high in front and about Bix
feet in back, this gives a very nice pitch for
roof and space above chickens for air. Place
a 3x4 scantling on top of studs for rafters to
rest on. Do not use a metal roof of any kind,
they are too hot in summer. I would want
some kind of lining paper for the roof besides
solid sheeting and the roof proper. Warmth
is what we want and the roof must be very
tight. This building may be enclosed with
any kind of lumber that will make it warm
enough. Would better line it with tarred paper and double siding to be sure you get it
warm enough. Ten feet on the east end and
ten feet on the west end I would use as roosting houses. This gives the roosters a chance
to separate so there will not be so much fighting. I would want these two houses enclosed
without any windows- Would want door in
south   side   of each one to pass in and out in
taking out droppings, etc. Would have a door
out of each house into the central part where
we feed. Would want two more ventilation
doors in each house, one in the east and one
in the north. Screen the doors in summer if
any danger of something getting your chickens. This central part 10x20 feet I would keep
littered with straw etc., and feed grain in it
in cold weather. Would have dust boxes in
this part and also nest boxes fixed up off of
the ground a little. Would have large door
open into this part from south to come into
to take care of chickens and gather eggs, etc.
Would have large windows in south side of
this part to let in plenty of sunshine in cold
weather, that they so enjoy while in the dust
box and at other times. Have the interior of
house as smooth as possible so the lice and
mites do not have a harbor and nice to whitewash, etc. I would have the roosts all movable or hinged so they could be turned up to
the wall and fastened while doing the cleaning, etc., and easily removed by loosening a
few screws. Have the perches made of sassafras poles flattened so they lie level with rough
bark on. Do not have perches too high with
a walk way up to them. Now comes the great
subject of ventilation. Something that generally does more harm than good. I would
have an underground ventilator made by laying tile about two feet deep from the center of
each of these _,*7*7ipar+-r>entB or. deep i
ho it dot.-B not I n 6*oe L^ ... f   Is,   iay   out
far enough so air will be warmed before it
comes into the house. This gives fowls warm
fresh air instead of freezing air as from a top
ventilator. The yards ought to be located on
a south hillside if convenient. This gives sun
advantages in winter and shade advantages in
summer. You can use the smaller fruits trees
for shade in your chicken yards. Do not use
apple trees they grow to large and give the
hawks a chance to catch your young chickens.
Cedar trees in the chicken lots make the beBt
of shade. Do not trim them but allow to limb
down as low as they will give good protection
from hawkB also for the young chickens. This
lot should have nothing in it but chickens.
With a large number of nests arranged to suit
the position of yard. Parts of the year I
would allow the old chickens to range at liberty. Enclose the yards" with wire chicken
fencing. M. B. P.
OlayOo.   '
3d Premium. The orchard is the ideal
place for the poultry yard. It should be high
ground and tile drained and should contain
not legs than one acre. The house which
stands in the center is 15x50 feet. With the
side to the south which has four windows.
These are arranged so that they can be let
down from the top or raised from the bottom
for ventilation. There 1b a door at each end,
one at the northeast corner and one at the
northwest corner. The doors and windows
have tight fitting screens for use in summer
not to keep flies out but to keep night marauders out. The building is weatherboarded
with drop-siding. Has gable roof and good
tight floor. It is lathed and plastered, which
makes it very easily kept clean and free from
vermin. I use no perches. I prefer to keep
them well bedded and let them roost on the
floor they do not crowd one another so bad
as they do on perches (? Ed.) The hall on
the north side is three feet wide and extends
the full length of the building. Now we have
a space 12x50 feet which ia divided into four
rooms by means of three large gates. They
are juat frames covered with fine mesh wire
netting. This does not obstruct the vi-jw and
does not afford aa good a hiding place for
vermin aa an all wood partition would. By
hanging them on hinges we can open these
gates back, then we have plenty of room to
use any kind of a tool in cleaning out the
house. The hall ia also separated from the
main rooms by   wire   netting   which   ia  15
inches from the floor. The row of neat boxes
rests on the floor juat under the hall partition.
The nests are 14 inches square. This gives 10
nests to each room except the two end rooms
which have only eight nests. The rest of the
space is taken by a door or gate that opens
from the hall into the poultry room at each
end of tbe building. There are two doore to
each nest, one opening into the hall, the other
into the room where the poultry stay. When
a hen gets broody close the door she has been
using, open the one on the other side and she
will come off in the hall, eat, drink and dust
and she is not molested by the other hens.
The fencing around the yard is four-foot slat
and wire. The posta extend one foot above
the slata. Two wires are stretched, one four
or five inchea above the slats to prevent them
from alighting on the fence, the other is at
the top of the poeta to keep them from flying
over. This is better than a five foot slat fence
for they cannot see the wires and will fly
against them and be thrown backwards. A
few trials will make them contented inside.
The two partition fences are of five foot wire
netting, one running each way through the
center. This makes tour yarda containing
one quarter of an acre each with room in the
building 12x12% feet for each yard. There
are small doors opening into each yard just
lar<-e. enough   for   the   male, birds   to   pass
of hens.    If desired one-jjard can be used for   to scratch in g
the young chicks and  in Wag fall put the old
birds in two yards then separate the cockerels
from the pullets.   If  managed   intelligently
this will be the   most  profitable acre on the
farm. Mas. W. H. M.
fine the hens which is not often, on the farm.
Over each door of the house should be a transom about ten inchea wide for ventilation.
These and the windows ahould be covered
with half inch mesh wire, the transom having
drop doors arranged to open as little or much
as necessary, according to the weather. The
roosting poles should have movable rests,
about two feet high, by which means it is no
trouble to keep clear of mites. The nest
boxes I would place on the floor with an inclined covering in order to keep the fowls
from sitting on it, leaving just space enough
for the hen to go in and out comfortably.
In this way each nest can easily be removed
and cleaned. The hatching room can be
used for a roosting room for the chickens
until after the culling and all are full grown,
when the opening in the partition can be removed and all can mingle again until next
hatching time. A. M. H.
Is&
An open shed should belong to every poultry house. Thia shed furnishes shade in summer and a protection from snow in winter.
It affords good poultry exercise if given something to scratch in in bad weather. Such a
house should contain feeding, roosting and
nesting departments. These can beaeparated
by wire netting, which ia much better than
lumber, aa it leaves no place for vermin to infest. The poultry house should face the sun
so aa to get all the benefit possible from it.
The yard should be supplied with plenty of
shade trees and fresh water. Plum trees are
fine in the poultry lot as the poultry are an
advantage in keeping the curculio from the
plum, and the tree ia a helpful shade to the
fowls. A Fabmeb.
Harrison Co.
A convenient house and yard   for   poultry
that I know of opens into  a   good   sized   orchard; and the orchard, rather than **>- K
yard ia the better place   for   poult**"
farm.   The poultry house fron*
good   stretch   of   window    pip
ground.    A close board fence \
the west, making an out of doo.
•■hat is a popular, resort on th.
-4 Anrt-w tcsrAmmmm     --
-s.andaiHU.-e v
. roper is
divided into a living room
apartment. The former
eled floor; has the wi:
boxes ranged along.",
netting with an apej ., n mmr*. -
these keeps out all wV. u>i *■ "
The sleeping quarters 14x15 fee.
with low roosta hinged at one side
of cleaning the floor, which ia kept littered
with straw. The north and west walls are covered with heavy paper. Such a house with
good food and a reasonable amount of attention insures an egg supply the year round.
Such a house makea comfortable quarters for
about 60 hena, which are about aa many as is
best to keep together. 0. K. P.
a si eep
.is a grav-
ow of neat
• ce of
front of
business.
rovided
to  admit
I think for convenience a poultry house,
should have three apartments, 9x12 feet each,
will do for keeping 50 fowls and raising 75
or 100 chicks. I would build the house 36
feet long by nine feet wide, fronting south-
weat, ao as to get all the sun light possible
during the short cold days. Between the east
and middle room should be a Blat partition,
with slat opening. A door from each room
opening into yard, a window in each on
same side and one in southeast end. Theae
two rooms should have tight floora, while the
northwest end should have a ground floor,
with southwest window to throw in gravel
and chaff, for biddie's exercise and pleasure
on cold stormy days, and besides thia it will
be a protection to the roosting room in cold
windy weather. During the winter months
the house can all be used for the hena and
when the hatching season begins, the southeast room should be taken for this purpose.
In the southeast corner of this room is a
small opening two and one-half feet Bquare
with door for biddiee' eiit, and for cleansing
p- ^.   The same in the opposite corner
o * middle room, these can have movable
screens and be used for air passages in hot
weather. The yard ia 16x36 feet with slat partition and opening and can be used foT the
chickens, excepting when neceeeary  to  con-
A poultry house should be divided into four
parts—roosting, feeding, laying and brooding. The flooring may be either plank or
cement, as preferred, and the roost may
swing near the floor in a manner so it can be
raised for cleaning purposes. The feed room
should have a box of fine gravel and a box of
sand or dust in it at all times. Freeh water
should be kept in the feed room. The neata
should not be made too high and must be
filled with clean straw every few weeks. The
divisions are made of wire netting. Small
coops made of wire may be uaed to a great
advantage in the brooding depa"tment. The
roof ahould slope northward, and should be
seven feet from the ground at the eaves. A
row of lights should extend the entire length
to give plenty of light to each department.
The house should be in one corner of the
lot and the lot set in fruit trees, but not too
thick. Sow to rye every fall, for green pasture during tho winter. We ahould remember that cleanliness is a very important point
in poultry keeping. B. W.
BEVIEW.
Our frienda have kindly aent in excellent
plana for poultry raising. I wonder that Mrg.
M. uses no perciee. True we often improve
on nature but I can't see why thia ia an improvement. Did you ever notice the anatomy
of a chicken's leg? The cord closing the toes
passes behind the knee, so that bending the
knee to Bit shortens the cord and draws in the
toes. In other words a bird roosting on a
limb ia held with a tight grip by its own
weight.   When it rises to fly it leagthens the
Concluded on l:ltn page.