220 Bulletin 274. 



which provides the fowls with better shelter from the wind. It has 

 the disadvantage of having more doors to open and close. Fig. 47-// 

 shows a closed pen occupying the rear part and the scratching-shed the 

 front half of the house. Unless windows are placed in the partition be- 

 tween the roosting compartment and the scratching-shed, the former will 

 be dark and unsanitary because not accessible to sunlight. With many 

 windows in the partition the construction would be expensive. Fig. 47-/ 

 does away with two doors, thus saving time, but is more expensive to 

 build. It is more exposed to the wind and will make a somewhat dark 

 corner unless a window is placed at the back of the scratching-shed. 

 Fig. 47-/ is all scratching-shed except a small, warm roosting-room. This 

 would be a little cheaper to build but would not be adapted to the coldest 

 sections and is very inconvenient in cleaning, disinfecting, etc. The front 

 of the open shed should generally be provided with loose mesh cotton 

 cloth door to keep out sleet and snow during heavy storms. The door 

 may be hung at the top and raised by a pulley; or a sliding cloth door 

 can be used. Fig. 4y-K is an attempt to provide a scratching compart- 

 ment at low cost of building. It shows low, glass-covered space where 

 the fowls can get to the outside of the house proper without going out 

 upon the ground. Much glass is expensive and liable to breakage, and the 

 framework quickly decays. The building is made inaccessible from the 

 front except for the fowls. The modification of this plan in which only 

 a small part of the front is occupied by the scratching compartment has 

 proved satisfactory. Fig. 47-L provides for a scratching-pen below the 

 closed pen. If the former is low it becomes very inaccessible for clean- 

 ing, etc. If high, it makes considerable running up and down stairs to get 

 to the pen where the feeding, watering, etc., are done. The plan undoubt- 

 edly has advantages in economy of construction, because one roof covers 

 two floor areas which enables one to keep twice as many fowls under the 

 same roof. The fowls will pass from one room to the other without 

 trouble, and they have a natural means of escape to avoid fright. The 

 floors of the pen will be cold whether the scratching-shed front is open or 

 closed, and will make the house drafty unless the tight double floor is 



used. 



The sise of pen 



The size of the pen will depend upon the purpose for which the hens 

 are kept. Except when small breeding flocks are necessary, large pens 

 are desirable. The best net results appear to be secured when fowls 

 are allowed four to five square feet floor space each. 



Small flocks lay better than large flocks. While ordinarily we may 

 expect to get more eggs from a small flock than from a large one it is 



