US 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



OCTOBKU 



1902- 



POULTRY. 



As announced in our last issue Mr. Barclay now 

 proceeds to the important question of ' Housing 

 Poultry' :— 



In our West Iiiiliaii fliiiiates fowls need no shelter from 

 cold but they are the better for shelter from rain where it is 

 frequent. It is natural for fowls to most ujion trees, and 

 they jirefer to do so but the disadvantages are many. In 

 the first place you cannot go in the evening, and run your 

 eyes along the roost to see if they are all there, as you can 

 Avlien they are liou.sed ; secondly you lose the drojipings, a 

 valuable item on small properties ; thirdly you cannot catch 

 a fowl for any purpose, such as treating it for sieknesss, 

 withnnt nuich chasing and fuss, both to be del)recated : and 

 fourthly, jou cannot connnand that cleanliness which is most 

 desiraV>le, the fowls soon soil the branches, they roost all 

 about through the trees, and dropi>ings fall from those 

 roosting high, on to those below, and this tends to disease 

 breaking out. 



A SIMPLE HOUSE THE BEST. 



The simjilest housing is the best; — a few hardwood 

 po.sts, rafters and metal sheets, boards, shingles or thatch 

 put over : the ends on which the winds blow may be wattled 

 thickly, and wire netting or a more open wattling put on 

 the other sides, and the building need not be high, .seven or 

 eight feet is enough : a gate is necessary and a jiadlock is 

 advisable. One corner should be closed in by it.self, anil 

 lx)xes fitted in fiU' nests, soft grass jiut in, and an earthen- 

 ware nest-egg also put in each, for if hens' eggs are used in 

 the nest they become rotten, may sometimes be taken out 

 in mistake for good eggs, oi- they niaj' get broken and 

 2>olhite the neighbourhood for awhile. Straight rounded 

 roo.sts .should be titteil in at ditt'erent heights, as .some fowls 

 maj" not l>e able to tly very high, and others prefer to roost 

 as high as they can get. No roo.sts should be jilaced higher 

 than your liead so that the fowls may always be within 

 reaih. It i> lifst to keep roosts low, two to four feet from 

 tlie grounil so that heavy fowls may not hurt themselves 

 flying down. If there is any dithcnlty in getting the fowls 

 to take to tiie honsc a little run should bo enelo.sed in 

 front, and they shonM be fed there in the evening ami 

 whrn they are shut in they have no option but to roost 



It 



li'^t always- to h:i 



such 



httl 



(lay 

 out 



in till' house, 

 closed run. 



Mors::s suori.o he Kucr clean. 



fresh earth .should l>e tiung under the roosts every 

 to laleh the dropping.s, and these should be cleanei 

 every day where a gowl number of fowls are kept and at 

 fre(|ucnt intervals, say, every second day, no matter how few 

 fowls are kept : this job is the work of a few miiuites only. 

 Yon may eitlu-r put the cleanings into an old barrel until it 

 is fid! and then u.se the manure, or apply it at once to some 

 crops. Plenty of earth nnist be used to mi.\ with the 

 dn)|ii>ings as they make a very strong, burning, manure if 

 used alone. 



Chickeus should always be reared, if )io>sible, apart 

 from vour hens, {hv\ tliri\e nuirh better theiu Many 



niy.sterious deaths among young chickens, healthy an hour or 

 two licfore, are due to knocks on the head from old hens. 



ALTEUN.\TE USE OF TWO PENS. 



When hens nuist be confined, two pens should be- 

 proviiled, so that they may be used alternately, sav every 

 month. This prevents that folding of the gronnd which i.s. 

 the most connnon cause of disease here, and the soil in each 

 jien should be turned over, so as to freshen it, and bring ui> 

 a fresh supply of grit or little stones for the fowls to pick 

 up : and the rest allows the grass to grow. Pigeon ])eas. 

 should be planted for shade in Ciich pen. Fowls always 

 confined in pens nuist have a big heap of refuse, leaves, 

 gras.s, dust or stable manure provided for them to scrape 

 among, and their food should l>e flung in the heap to- 

 keeji them busy. 



MOOEL HOUSE WITH I-'OUR RUNS. 



Another plan is valuable for jieople who live in the 

 suburbs of towns, and wish to keep both a garden and fowls. 

 I!y jilanning the fowl house with s|>are or alternate runs all 

 rovuid it, even several varieties of fowls may be kept, or 

 chickeus reared without touching the garden ; and the 

 ground may still be ke[pt (juite fresh. 



Fii;. lo. l)r\oi:AM or Kowl Hoise ano IJi n-^. 



Ai. 15'. f. I)'. Sciniu-e or obloui; house divided into four. 

 1>3- cros.4 partitions. A'-. 15-. C-. D-'. Runs. E. (Jate.s 

 into runs. F. Small wire gates into houses. G. Holes with 



slide to pass the fowls into fresli Imuse and run. 



The gates into the ]pens are made at the corners so that 

 one hinge post serves ; a small wire netting door serves for 



the entrance to the pens. 



fireat care nurst be taken to clean the liouse daily 

 and sprinkle sand ov dry earth on the floor. When the 

 gra.ss in pen A is bare and the ground begins to get fold, the 

 liens are put in pen 15. — The .soil in pen .V is then turned 

 over and pigeon peas planted round the sides, while tomato-s, 

 lettni-c. cabbages, lima beans, or other vegetables are plant- 

 ed. Xo manure is needed, the .soil having been made rich 

 by the fowls. When pen 1» becomes bare, the fowls are 

 shifted to pen C and the .soil in the former is turned over 

 and idanted like pen .\. Allowing a month's occupation tt» 

 each pen, any kind of vegetables may be grown before the 

 round is made to pen A, where the tomatos etc., jilanted 

 three months before have all ripened and been u.scd, while 

 the i>igeo]i peas have grown up out of reach of flic fowls and 

 serve for shade, besides bearing a good food crop. This 

 plan may be .--implilied or clab(u-atcd. 



