9 



In a few cases, open frout houses have been built only twelve or fifteen feet 

 deep and twenty or more feet across the front. This is not advisable, owing to the 

 fact that should there be a direct wind blowing into the house the birds cannot 

 get back far enough to be out of the draught. This house is built to accommodate 

 not less than one hundred birds, and will work well with as many as one hundred 

 and twenty-five during winter weather. If a smaller house than the twenty by 

 twenty is desired it should be built, say, twenty feet deep and ten feet wide rather 

 than ten feet deep and twenty wide. The width across the front should never 

 exceed the depth. 



Snow will occasionally blow into the house, but we have had very little trouble 

 in this respect. Having the building deep, low, and narrow tends to prevent this. 

 A rather small opening in front will npt allow the wind and snow to blow far back 

 into the house and the depth allows the birds to keep out of the wind. If there is 

 continuous rainy or damp weather for several days the litter will become damp and 

 must be removed at once. Both walls and floor must be kept dry or the birds are 

 likely to suffer from disease of some kind. There should be no opening except that 

 in the front, or there is likely to be a draft through the house, and this should be 

 avoided. 



The following is tlie egg production for 100 April hatched White Leghorn 

 pullets from November, 1912, to June, 1913 (inclusive). These pullets were 

 housed in an open front house (see Figure 7) : 



Total Egg Production. 



Pullets laying in Xovember, 71 795 



' December, 68 889 



January, 65 753 



February, 74 554 



March, 92 1,765 



April, 99 2,023 



May, 94 1,863 



June, 91 1,688 



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Note. — The winter of 1912-13 will be remembered as exceptionally mild. We 

 have seen the temperature as low as nine degrees below zero inside the house during 

 other winters. Some males combs will freeze at such temperatures, and, moreover, 

 the egg production is slightly affected for a few days. 



In conclusion, we are free to admit that the open-front house apparently keeps 

 the stock in better health, brighter in plumage, and it requires less labor than 

 any house we have yet used. It is not perfect, and no doubt could be improved upon 

 for special, painstaking poultrymen, but this class is very limited, and the house as 

 now used comes most near to meeting the average man's position. 



Long, Continuous House. 



No doubt some readers will wish for a plan of a long, continuous house, in 

 which a large number of fowls may be housed under one roof, or where a number of 

 different breeds can be kept in the same building. 



Fig. 6 gives the ground plan of this building as now used. The partitions are 

 temporary, made of cloth tacked to wooden frames, and can be moved or adjusted to 

 suit almost any sized flock. This house was originally used for. flocks of 50, 75 and 

 100 laying hens, with the idea of testing large and small flocks. The house was used 

 in this manner for three seasons with slishtlv better results from the flock of 50. 



