424 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — Nov., 1922. 



INTENSIVE POULTRY KEEPING FOR TOWN 



DWELLERS. 



By J. J. JoRDAAN, Poultry Instructor, School of Agriculture, 

 Glen, Orange Free State. 



Fresh eg^s in the home are always welcome to the housewife, and a 

 boon when compared with the article that is sometimes bought and at 

 times very difficult to obtain owing to excessive prices or limited 

 supply. 



The space available to keep poultry in many backyards is too 

 limited for the semi-intensive system, that is a run with a house in it 

 for the birds, nor is there the sufficient time required for the necessary 

 attention, while free range is out of the question. On the other 

 hand much useful egg-forming foods are often carted away in the 

 form of kitchen scraps, such as cabbage leaves, onion tops, potato 

 peel, etc. 



For the purpose of ascertaining how best to help the town house- 

 wife to secure a constant supply of eggs (fresh) in her own yard, 

 at the minimum of cost and labour, bearing in mind the limited space 

 available, and utilizing all scraps from the table and kitchen, an 

 experiment was carried out for twelve months at the School of Agri- 

 culture, Glen, Orange Free State, commencing on 1st April, 1921. 



A house was made 4 ft. 6 in. wide by 6 ft. long by 4 ft. 6 in. high, 

 framework of 1| in. by 3 in. deal, except the corner uprig^hts, which 

 w'ere 3 in. by 3 in. (for framework other wood available may be used 

 such as wattle poles, blue gum poles, or spare timber if well treated 

 with solignum or caroblineum before erection, or iron standards bolted 

 together). The frame was covered with 1 in. wire netting, but open 

 at the top. Half the length of the house (the back half) was covered 

 from top to bottom, on the sides and back, and along the bottom 

 front and at the sides of the front half 2 ft. high from the ground, 

 Avith malthoid, so as to serve at the same time as a house for sleeping 

 and to keep in the scratching material, and also act as a windbreak 

 for the birds (but tarred bag*s may be used for this purpose, and will 

 be more economical). In the back part of the house, on the cross 

 pieces, 2 ft. 3 in. from the ground, a platform was fixed, and on 

 this a tin tray fitted to hold sand; above this on either side a 

 support of H in. by 3 in., about 4 in. high, supported a perch 3 in. 

 by I5 in. on the flat; in the two corners at the back nests were 

 made in a box 9 in. by 9 in. by 4 in. high. 



Across the top, 3 in. under the lid at the two ends, a piece of 

 wood li in. by 3 in. is fastened ; on this rests a wire-netting frame 

 to act as a cover when the two lids are open for i^urposes of airing th.^v 



oecured 



