40 VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



THE WARMED HOUSE FOR HENS 



This house, which was erected in 1898, is 16 feet wide and 150 

 feet long. It faces the south and conforms nearly to the land 

 surface, the east end being 3 1-2 feet lower than the west end. 

 The sills are of 4x6 inch hemlock, placed flat, upon a rough stone 

 wall which rests upon the ground surface, and varies from one 

 to two feet in height. The earth is graded up to within six 

 inches of the sills on the outside. The floor timbers are 2x8 

 inches, placed 2 l / 2 feet apart, and rest on the sills. The studs 

 for the back wall are 2x4 stuff, 5 feet 8 inches long, and rest on 

 the sills. The front studs are 10 feet 6 inches long. All the 

 studs are set 3 feet apart. Each 10 feet in length of the front 

 of the building has one 12 light window of 10x12 glass. The 

 top of this window comes within one foot of the plate. 

 Directly underneath these windows and 6 inches above the floor, 

 are other 3 light windows of 10x12 glass. The building is 

 boarded, papered and shingled all over the outside, roof and 

 walls. The floor is of two thicknesses of hemlock boards. The 

 entire inside of the building is papered on the studs and rafters 

 and sheathed with matched boards. The work was carefully done 

 and good dead air spaces were obtained over the whole building. 



The building is divided into 15 ten-foot sections. The close 

 partitions between the pens are 2 feet high and are made of 2 

 inch plank. They form strong trusses, to which the studs sup- 

 porting the central plate are strongly nailed. This saves the 

 floor from sagging from the weight of the roof when it is cov- 

 ered with snow. An elevated plank walk. 4 feet wide, runs along 

 the whole length of the front of the building and rests on the 

 cross partitions just mentioned. The walk is 2 1-2 feet above the 

 floor and allows the hens to occupy the whole floor space. This 

 part of the floor is lighted from the front, by the small windows 

 spoken of above. Above the close partition the pens are sep- 

 arated from each other and the walk by wire netting of 2 inch 

 mesh. Light, wooden frame doors, covered with wire, and hung 

 with double acting spring hinges, are in every cross partition, 

 and also in the partition between the elevated walk and each 

 pen. 



The back ends of the cross partitions, 4 feet out from the back 

 wall, are carried up to the roof, so as to protect the hens from 

 currents of air while on the roosts. The roost platform is along 

 the back wall. Four trap nests described hereafter, of our own devising 

 and construction, are placed at the back of the house, the end of the 

 roost platform. 



All the windows are double. Eight of the large outside ones 

 are hinged at the top and kept hasped out one foot at the bottom, 

 except in the roughest weather, and cold winter nights. This 

 furnishes ventilation without drafts, as the position of the outside 

 windows prevents strong currents of air from entering. 



