202 



Bulletin 274. 



is saved by bringing two together. Supposing the buildings to be 15 feet 



wide and 6 feet high on the sides, with a Yz pitch gable roof, the lumber 



saved would amount to 127^ square feet for one house, equal to 2,040 



square feet for 16 houses. If the houses were double-boarded it would 



require 4,080 feet, besides other materials and cost of labor for building. 



The colony houses are much colder, other things being equal, and are 



more exposed to the wind. The larger the house, the less will be its 



cost per fowl capacity, and the less labor will be required in caring for 



the fowls. 



The height of the house 



A lozv house is easier to warm than a high one. The best way to make 

 a poultry house warm is to build it as low as possible without danger 



^r\ 



Fig. 35. — Gable roof house with straw loft 



of bumping the head. There will then be ample air space for as many 

 fowls as the floor space will accommodate. Too much air space makes 

 a house cold. It cannot be warmed by the heat given oflf by the fowls. 

 Moreover, walls radiate heat rapidly, thus cooling the air in the house. 



With the house seen in Fig. 35, which is 15x15x6 feet to the plate, 

 there would be 1,912 cubic feet of air space, which, with 40 fowls weigh- 

 ing 5 pounds each, would allow 9.56 cubic feet to each pound live weight. 

 This is eight times greater than is recommended for each pound live 



