Rural School Leaflet 



845 



of doing this. One is to provide them with a cheerful, cozy, clean house 

 in which they can be sheltered from the wind, have plenty of sunshine and 

 fresh air, and at the same time have an opportunity to run out of doors. 

 On the snow ? Yes ! Yes ! A hen does not mind cold feet if she can have 

 her own way. In some respects, hens are like human beings. It is not 

 so important for a hen to go out of doors each day the year round, as it is 

 for her to know that she can if she wants to. Hens will not lay well unless 

 they are contented, and freedom helps to make them contented. 



There are many things to be considered in making a home for hens. The 

 word home instead of house is used because many expensive houses are not 

 hen homes; they may look all right but they are too high or too dark or 

 too damp or too dirty. The home of a hen should be low, bright, dry, and 

 clean, and have neat nests in which the birds can hide their eggs. The 

 location should be dry and sheltered and should have good air drainage. 

 Many of the most troublesome poultry diseases are due primarily to 

 improperly located and poorly constructed poultry houses. The walls 

 must be built to provide warmth, dryness, and strength for the house, 

 ease of cleaning and disinfecting, economy in construction, and durability. 

 Interior fixtures should be portable, in order to facilitate fighting the 

 mites. A dust wallow should always be provided. 



VI. WINTER QUARTERS FOR THE PULLETS 



C. A. Rogers 



As the fall advances and the leaves on the trees fall to the ground, it 

 is time to get the season's flock of pullets into cozy, warm quarters where 

 they can spend the winter in 

 comfort. This is a time when 

 the chickens should be given 

 careful attention, for when 

 exposed, the cold nights and 

 occasional snow flurries soon 

 put a stop to their growth and 

 development. It is also a 

 critical time, for under favor- 

 able care they should soon 

 begin to lay. 



The pen. — • Choose, then, a 

 comer of the barn or shed that 

 can be partitioned off into a 

 pen of the desired size; or, 

 better still, build a small house 

 purposely for the pullets. If you have fifteen fowls, build the house 

 eight feet wide and ten feet long. If there are twenty-five fowls, make the 



Before pulling the pullets into winter quarters, the 

 houses should he thoroughly cleaned and disin- 

 fected. New litter should be put in and all signs 

 of disease destroyed 



