15 

 Colony Houses. 



Many people living in towns and cities wish for plans of houses suitable for 

 housing a dozen fowls each. In some instances they wish these houses so con- 

 structed that they can be moved from place to place. 



There is also a demand among farmers for a small house for rearing chickens, 

 or for small special breeding pens. The plans already given are all adaptable to 

 these conditions, and have been used here for the purposes mentioned above. The 

 houses are of sufficient size to accommodate 100 chicks to a two-pound weight, or 

 fifty chickens to a four or five-pound weight; but for winter use I would not advise 

 putting in more than a dozen laying hens. See Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11. 



EGG PRODUCTION. 



In considering this subject there are several factors worthy of notice — the 

 housing and the range, the breed and the strain, the kind of feed and the method 

 of feeding, the attendant, the cleanliness of the buildings, their surroundings and 

 the weather. 



In the foregoing pages we have discussed houses, and no further mention is 

 needed here. 



The question of which is the best breed is rather a delicate one, and, moreover, 

 my experience is that there is as much in strain as there is in breed. However, 

 it can be safely stated that the heavier breeds such as Plymouth Eocks, Wyandottes, 

 Rhode Island Reds, Orpingtons, etc., usually lay better during the winter — ^if 

 hatched early — than do Leghorns, Hamburgs, etc., or the lighter breeds. The 

 lighter or smaller breeds, with us, are more easily affected by sudden climatic 

 changes during the winter. Usually their egg production declines considerably 

 during a cold snap. Where one has no particular desire to get eggs in winter and 

 does not care for roasting chickens, they would find the lighter breeds most pro- 

 fitable. Where one wants a general purpose chicken, that is a fair layer during 

 both winter and summer, and at the same time a chicken that will make a fair 

 broiler or roaster, such breeds as Plymouth Rocks.. Wyandottes, etc., will prove 

 most satisfactory. The light breeds can not be depended upon to hatch and rear 

 their own young, whereas the heavier breeds may be relied upon for this purpose. 



We have our best egg production yearly from April and early May hatched 

 pullets. These will commence laying if well reared between September and 

 December, depending upon the strain or family as to whether or not they are late 

 or early in maturing. March hatched pullets usually lay during August and then 

 go into moult some time in November. These, of course, lay but little before 

 March after moulting. They are, however, useful where one must have a constant 

 supply of eggs, as the old hens decline rapidly during September and October, and 

 the April pullets are then just getting started. 



We find that Leghorn pullets or pullets of similar breeds hatched before April 

 15th are apt to moult, so that we usually try and hatch these varieties after the 

 middle of April. 



Yearling hens lay fairly well, but older than this they are usually unprofit- 

 able, except as breeders when they have shown exceptional merit. 



