FATTENING PENS OK CAGES. 



'13 



majority of fatteners, however, have special 

 erections for this purpose, some good, some 

 by no means satisfactory. I have been in sheds 

 which were made of corrugated iron, in which 

 the birds were half roasted during the hot 

 summer weather, and equally cold in winter. 

 Conditions like these must militate greatly 

 against the success of the process. In France 

 such fattening establishments as I have had the 

 opportunity of visiting have been accommodated 

 in permanent buildings, and the same is equally 

 true in Belgium. In these permanent buildings, 

 which if properly ventilated are usually cooler 

 than wooden erections, as a rule the cages 

 are only placed one tier high, for the reason 

 that this greatly reduces the labour of keep- 

 ing the place clean. In one or two 

 French fattening sheds I have visited, the 

 cages were two or three tiers high ; but 

 this is certainly not a usual plan. As to 

 this, something is said in the next paragraph. I 

 have also seen in France, especially upon farms, 

 the fattening cages placed in rooms adjoining 

 the dwelling-house, but this is a method which, 

 of course, we do not advocate in this country. 

 The main idea is that the birds shall be kept 

 warm, and to some extent in the dark, for, as 

 Professor Warrington says in his ' Chemistry of 

 the Farm,' ' Economy of food is promoted by 

 diminishing the demand for heat and work. An 

 animal at rest in a stall will increase in weight 

 far more than an animal taking active exercise 

 on the same diet. In the same way the increase 

 from a given weight of food will be less in winter 

 than in spring or autumn, a far larger propor- 

 tion of the food being consumed for the produc- 

 tion of heat when the animal is living in a cold 

 atmosphere. Hence the economy of feeding 

 animals under cover during winter. If, how- 

 ever, the temperature becomes so high as to 

 considerably increase the perspiration, waste of 

 food again takes place, heat being consumed 

 in the evaporation of water. The temperature 

 most favourable for animal increase is apparently 

 about 60° Fahr. Quietness, and freedom from 

 excitement, are essential to rapid fattening ; the 

 absence of strong light is therefore desirable.' 

 It will be seen from the above observations that 

 there is no restriction upon the form of shed so 

 long as it is suitable for the purpose. 



" The form of the cages employed during 

 this stage differs considerably. Those generally 

 used in this country have been already referred 

 to. They are usually 7 ft. 6 in. in length, by 20 

 in. high and wide, and are divided into three 

 compartments, each of which has a sliding door. 

 The cage is intended to accommodate fifteen 

 or eighteen birds, one-third in each compart- 



ment. They are built entirely of wooden rods, 

 excepting the framework into which these fit. 

 The rods are about \\ in. apart, except in 

 the front, where they are a little 

 Fattening wider, so that the birds can get their 

 Cages. heads between for feeding. The 



bottom bars, upon which the birds 

 stand, are usually of specially cut wood, an 

 inch wide at the top and an inch in depth, 

 narrowing to half an inch below, so that 

 the droppings fall through without catching 

 on the sides of the wood, as would be the 

 case if they were perfectly square. The bottom 

 bars run from end to end of the cage, or 

 from side to side of the compartment, not from 

 front to back. In France this form of cage is 

 sometimes employed, but very seldom. Those 

 generally used there are much more substantial, 

 in some cases having solid sides, back and top, 

 and in the front, except that a long narrow slit, 

 wide enough to permit of the bird's head passing 

 through, is cut in the wood. As a rule, in 

 France, each bird is provided with a separate 

 compartment ; but, for a reason given in the 

 next paragraph, such an arrangement is un- 

 desirable. This form was employed at first 

 by Mr. C. E. Brooke, at Baynards, but in his 

 further extensions he has adopted the more 

 general and less expensive form of cage. 

 Where single cages are used, fitted below is 

 a sliding drawer or tray to catch the drop- 

 pings. The one advantage of single cages is 

 that they can be used two or three tiers high, 

 though whether this is desirable deserves further 

 consideration. In Belgium the cages are more 

 nearly like those used in England than in France, 

 though such as we have seen have generally been 

 a little more substantial than the Sussex cages. 

 In work of this kind there can be no question 

 that simplicity is desirable, and for that reason 

 it may be fairly claimed that the English form 

 is to be preferred, saving both initial cost and 

 labour in keeping clean. The difference be- 

 tween the more substantial cages used in France 

 and those in England would be as a question of 

 capital considerable, but under certain sets of 

 conditions, such as extreme cold, the birds would 

 be kept warmer and more sheltered where the 

 solid-sided cages are employed. 



" It may be well here to consider whether 

 the system of keeping one bird in each com- 

 partment, or having several together, is to be 

 recommended. My own opinion is that the 

 truth lies about midway. Where birds are kept 

 in single compartments they can be observed 

 more closely as individual specimens, but at the 

 same time there is greater danger of their pining 

 than when several are together. This has been 



