BUILDINGS FOR POULTRY. 335 



The nests can be placed under the drop board. They must 

 be fifteen inches wide and eighteen inches deep. Hens like 

 to steal away in a quiet place to lay, so it is best to leave the 

 opening on the side next to the wall. A little drop door may 

 be arranged on the back from which to gather the eggs. 



Roosts, nests and drop boards should be so arranged that 

 all can be taken out easily, should you wish to give the quar- 

 ters a thorough cleaning. The inside must be whitewashed 

 now and again. This will add to the appearance as well as 

 imprison vermin that may be lurking about in the crevices. 



A ground floor serves a good purpose. Raise it four or five 

 inches above the ground outside. Put in three inches of coal 

 ashes or gravel and fill in the remainder with sand or make 

 it entirely of sand. In August the upper two inches of sand 

 may be removed and the space filled in again with fresh ma- 

 terial. Let this be done early so that the floor may be well 

 dried out before the poultry have to be enclosed. The sand 

 floor should then be covered with chaffed clover hay, alfalfa 

 or straw, which must be frequently renewed. As has been 

 already mentioned, the drop board and roosts should be, put in 

 so that they may be easily taken out for cleaning and a sun 

 bath. 



The partitions ought to be made of matched lumber to about 

 four feet in height and the remainder of wire netting. Each 

 partition should have a door large enough for a person to 

 walk through. Down at the bottom of the wall, leading from 

 the pen to the yard or scratching pen, there should be a small 

 opening, 10x12 inches, through which the hens may pass in 

 and out. 



A cheap, convenient, suitable house for the ordinary farm 

 is made somewhat as fellows: It is made in the form of a 

 lean-too, sixteen feet long, ten feet wide, eight feet high at 

 front and four at rear. The frame is made of 2x8 scantling. 

 It is single bearded and battened all around except in the 

 little roosting compartment farthest from the door. This part 

 is made warm by means of paper and matched lumber on the 

 outside, and front of the roosts there is hung a canvas drop 

 curtain which, in severe weather, may be lowered to keep in 

 the heat generated by the fowls themselves. A door may be 

 left in the corner, and this doorway has hung over it a piece 

 of sacking or something of that nature. In the upper front is 

 a large window for the admission of light. A pen of this 

 kind has given excellent satisfaction for the production of 



