2i8 Bulletin 274. 



The large, open scratching-shed, Fig. 46, is as much too cold and 

 exposed as the old type house was too tight and close. Gradually the 

 open front is undergoing modifications, until it now occupies, in many 

 instances, less than one-quarter the front. With this restricted opening 

 has come a tendency to leave out the partition between the scratching- 

 shed and the roosting-room, thus leaving the entire area a scratching-pen. 



The modern open-front scratching-pen has some advantages which 

 for many purposes appear to outweigh those of the closed pen and 

 scratching-shed. The open scratching-pen is cheaper in first cost of con- 

 struction because one partition is saved in each pen; and less labor is 

 required to care for the fowls because of less doors to open and close. 



The fact that fowls can go in and out freely from house to shed seems 

 to be a deceptive form of liberty which they crave and which is a factor 

 not provided in a single, close, compartment house. It provides the fowls 

 an opportunity to escape from one room to another when frightened. 

 Anything that causes uncertainty or suggests danger retards egg-pro- 

 duction. Therefore, such a retreat is desirable. This is accomplished 

 by placing the opening through which the fowls pass to and from the 

 shed and the house at the back instead of the front of the partition. It 

 should be raised eight inches above the floor to prevent the litter from 

 being scratched out. When anyone approaches the shed the fowls retreat 

 without alarm to the house, or to the shed if the alarm comes from the 

 other direction. Placing the opening at the back also prevents the wind 

 from blowing into the house. 



Exercise is necessary to insure health; scratching-pens provide for 

 this. Fowls do not like confinement. Being in the cooler air during 

 the daytime seems to make them less affected by the cold at night. In 

 practice, fowls are generally found to be more healthy and to lay more 

 eggs in a year when permitted to live in fresh air, either in open-front 

 pens or pens with scratching-sheds, as compared with close-pen houses. 



The relative size of the shed and the closed compartment will depend 

 upon the location. The farther north one goes, the smaller should be 

 the scratching-shed and the larger the closed compartment, until in very 

 cold sections the open sheds might be undesirable. In the south the 

 entire front might be open. Ordinarily the pen and shed should be 

 about equally divided in size, if they are to be separated. 



There are several ways of constructing pens and scratching-sheds, 

 each possessing some special advantage. Fig. 47 shows twelve styles. 

 Fig. 47-A is the open pen withoxit scratching-shed attached. It should 

 contain as many square feet of space per fowl as the pen and shed when 

 they are separate. When the perches are placed along the back they are 



