Every poultry house should be light; at least one-third of the south side should 

 be of glass, or otherwise opened to the sun. It should face the south-east or south. 

 The sun's rays are very beneficial to fowls, especially during the winter months. 



College Poultry Houses. 



For a number of years we have been trying various styles of house. The first 

 houses constructed were well built, tight and warm. They were fitted with stoves 

 or hot water pipes, so that the fowls could be kept at a comfortable temperature. 

 This plan was not satisfactory ; mainly for the reasons that it was difficult to keep 

 the fowls in good health, and furthermore the eggs were low in hatching power. 

 The cost of heating was also considerable, in fact the entire equipment was too 

 expensive to be successful as a business. 



It was noticed yearly that the surplus stock held in the cheap houses was 

 much healthier than those fowls kept in the warm houses. During the past eight 

 years we have been trying to evolve a house that could be cheaply constructed, that 

 would keep the fowls in good health, and at the same time get a fair egg yield from 

 the fowls so housed. 



Several years ago, four houses, representing different styles of popular poultry 

 houses, were constructed. These houses were stocked with birds representing, as 

 nearly as possible, the same strains of the breed. The breeds used were White 

 Wyandottes and Buff Orpingtons, the one a rose combed breed, the other a single 

 combed breed. 



The houses are of equal size as regards floor space. Each house is 34 feet long 

 and 12 feet wide. The house is divided by a wire and board partition, making two 

 pens each 12 feet square. The pens will accommodate from 20 to 25 birds each, 

 or about 50 to the houses. Fig. 1 shows fairly well the appearance as regards 

 windows, etc., of the house. The roosting quarters of each house are very similar 

 in construction. A dropping-board is used which is constructed of matched 

 dressed lumber. The board is placed at the back of the building, and is about three 

 feet above the floor level. The dropping-board is three feet wide. The roosts are 

 made of dressed 3x3 scantling, and are placed six inches above the dropping- 

 board. A curtain is arranged to be let down during cold nights, as in No. 1 and 

 JSTo. 2 houses. There is no curtain used in No. 3 or No. 4 houses. 



House No. 1 is made of matched boards which are dressed on one side. The 

 front and ends of the house are single-ply. The back is sheeted on the inside, 

 building paper being used under the boards so as to make the wall tight or free 

 from draughts. The windows in this house slide back and forth, so that the 

 ventilation can be adjusted to the weather conditions. The roo&ting quarters in 

 this house have curtains which can be dropped on very cold nights. 



Trap-nests are used in all the houses, and are on the ground level. These 

 take up some floor space that might be used for exercising the fowls were we using 

 other styles of nests. 



The second house is what is known as the " Maine State " house. This house 

 is practically open to the weather on the front or south side. There are canvas 

 curtains which can be dropped as a protection against wind and snow on stormy 

 days. On other days these canvas curtains are to be rolled up, and the fowls allowed 

 to exercise in the fresh air. The ends of the house are single-ply matched lumber ; 



