262 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



64 VICTORIA, A. 1901 



THE POSITION OF THE FAKMEE. 



The position of the farmer is entirely different. It is essentially his business. He 

 has already a certain knowledge of live stock, in the majority of cases of poultry 

 keeping. His stock may not be thoroughbreds, his poultry house not of the latest or 

 best pattern. But these are obstacles which can quickly and cheaply be removed. He 

 has the grain, the green food and other essentials in abundance, in many cases almost 

 in the shape of waste. To him the information contained in this and other experi- 

 mental farm reports, is of the greatest value, because it can be, as it has already been 

 in many instances, so easily converted into satisfactory results. 



A SUITABLE HOUSE AND CONTENTS. 



There is really no cast-iron rule as to the building of a poultry house, for condi' 

 tions vary so much in different parts of the Dominion. But there are certain guiding 

 rules that should be followed, viz. : — 



As much light as possible. 



A moderately comfortable temperature, say 40°. 



As much room as possible. 



The disturbance of the laying stock as little as possible. 



The poultry house should face the south, with a window in that part — a double one 

 in very cold regions — so that the sun can shine through it during the winter time. A 

 board floor has been found best, because an earth one, if it becomes damp, which it is 

 likely to do in cold weather, will remain so all winter. Again, unless frequently raked 

 over, the loose top earth removed and renewed, it will probably become foul, and be the 

 source of disease. On the board floor should be litter, composed of straw, oat hulls, 

 cut leaves, &c., and this should be removed and renewed from time to time. The 

 passage-way, if size of house requires one, should be on the north side, and the front 

 of the pens so arranged that the collecting of the eggs, cleaning of the platform, the 

 feeding of the soft food and watering should all be done from the passage-way. This 

 arrangement will much lessen the disturbance of the laying stocl:. Where it is possible 

 to have a small pen for roosting and laying in, and a larger one, alongside, for a living 

 and scratching room, the laying stock will be still less disturbed. Ey this plan, when 

 the litter on the floor of one pen is being removed, the fowls can go into the other I'cn. 

 Birds of the Mediterranean family are particularly sensitive to disturbance. The 

 nests should be dark and secluded. Darkened and secluded nests tend to prevent egg 

 eating, a vice much easier prevented than cured. 



A dust bath in the shape of a square box, 5x5 feet, larger or smaller, ^according 

 to the number of hens, is necessary. It should contain dry earth, or earth jnixed with 

 fine soft wood, or coal ashes, so that the fowls may dust themselves in it and keep their 

 bodies free from vermin. Other articles requisite are a small box, 8 x -t inches, to hold 

 grit in one compartment, and oyster shells, or other form of lime, in the other, and a 

 drinking fountain. A narrow trough, 6 or 8 feet in, length by 3J inches in width, is 

 also necessary for the feeding of the cut bone or mash, whether this is done from the 

 passage-way or inside the pen. No less than 6 square feet should be allowed to each 

 fowl. A temperature of 40°is about the correct one. A correspondent in Winnipeg 

 writes that he got best results from a temperature of 40 or 45 degrees. The Inrds 

 should be divided into colonies cf 15, 20 or 25 each. They will be found to give best 

 results in small numbers, with plenty of room. 



The poultry building should be kept clean and free from vermin. If disease is 

 discovered among the fowls, the sick ones should at once be removed and the premises 

 thoroughly disinfected. It is a good plan to disinfect and whitewash the house once 

 or twice every year. The roosts should be kept dampened with cnal oil. Scaly leg and 

 the lodgment of lice are so prevented. Coal oil should be freely but discreetly used 

 about nests, roosts, platforms, and wherever lice are likely to make lodgment. 



