230 



light. To do this the front of the house is so constructed that 

 it may be thrown completely open on sunny days. See figure 

 3. This is an advantage, not only because it brings comfort 

 to the house, but also because sunlight is one of the best germi- 

 cides and disinfectants. It helps to prevent disease. It has 

 been found that hens, in common with plants, prefer the morn- 

 ing to the afternoon sun if they cannot have both. For this 

 reason the window which must be the source of light on windy 

 days or stormy days is placed at the east end of the front side 

 of the pens. It should be placed as high as possible so that the 

 sun will go clear to the back of the pen. Below it is placed 

 a cellar sash as in plate VI which admits the sun to a covered 

 dust bath where the hens may wallow all winter as they do in 

 early spring. This dust bath will take care of the louse problem. 



DISINFECTION. 



Because of the small size and corresponding small value of 

 the individual hen, not much time can be spent doctoring her 

 if she is taken sick. Yet many of the poultry diseases are 

 highly contagious. If they once gain entrance to the flock, 

 every bird is likely to be affected. The only satisfactory way 

 to deal with poultry disease, therefore, is to prevent it and 

 this is done by cleaning and disinfecting. 



A fourth essential of a good poultry house, then, is ease of 

 disinfection. This means that all nests, perches, dropping 

 boards and other appliances must be removable, so that they 

 may be easily cleaned and sprayed. The construction should 

 be as light as possible so that there will be a minimum of cracks 

 and crevices. It is in the cracks that the mites breed. They 

 attack the hens when on the nest or the perch and hide 

 between the boards or in any crack they can find during the 

 day. Such cracks as are unavoidable must be easily gotten at. 

 Build perches, nests, and similar fixtures so they are removable. 

 Matched boards used for siding should be laid on perpen- 

 dicularly where practicable, instead of horizontally as is usu- 

 ally done. When the house is sprayed, this allows the dis- 

 infectant to run down the cracks and penetrate more deeply 

 and thoroughly. 



PORTABILITY. 



The hen house on the farm is generally, as it should be, a 

 permanent structure. For raising stock, however, it is highly 

 advantageous to have a house that may be moved from place 

 to place. This is particularly true where the incubator is used 

 and the chicks reared artificially. Several of the common 

 chicken diseases live in the ground from year to year. If the 

 chickens are raised on new ground each year, the danger of 

 disease creeping in one season, contaminating the ground and 

 attacking the chicks the next season, is avoided. 



