2 FARMERS BULLETIN 574. 



saves steps, but it is easier to keep the birds healthy and to reproduce 

 the stock under the colony system where the birds are allowed free 

 range. Breeding stock, and especially growing chickens, should have 

 an abundance of range, while hens used solely for the production of 

 market eggs may be kept on a very small area with good results. 

 The colony house system necessitates placing the houses, holding 

 about 100 hens, from 200 to 250 feet apart, so that the stock will 

 not kill the grass. The colony system may be adapted to severe 

 winter conditions by drawing the colony houses together in a con- 

 venient place at the beginning of winter, thus reducing the labor 

 during these months. 



YARDS AND FENCES. 



Fences, dividing the land into yards, increase the cost of equip- 

 ment, labor, and maintenance, and there should be as few fences as 

 possible, as land can be cultivated and kept sweet more easily if not 

 fenced, and the value of fresh, sweet land for poultry can hardly be 

 overestimated. A grass sward can be maintained on good soil by 

 allowing 200 to 250 square feet of land per bird (217 or 174 birds to 

 the acre), while more space is necessary on poor or light land. A 

 larger number of fowls are usually kept to the acre where double 

 yards are used and the land is frequently cultivated. Plymouth 

 Rocks and the heavy meat breeds in small yards require fences 5 to 

 6 feet high, while a fence 6 to 7 feet high is necessary for Leghorns. 

 The upper 2 feet of the fence for the latter may be inclined inward 

 at an angle of 30 degrees, or a strand or two of barbed wire may be 

 used on top of the regular wire to help keep them confined, while it 

 is sometimes necessary to clip the wing feathers of one wing of those 

 birds which persist in getting out. It is not advisable to use a board 

 or strip along the top of the fence, as hens will often fly over one so 

 constructed. 



Posts may be set or driven into the ground. They should be set 8 

 to 10 feet apart with common poultry netting, or 16 to 20 feet with 

 woven wire. Corner posts should be about 8 inches in diameter, and 

 be set 4 feet in the ground, while intervening posts may be 4 or 5 

 inches in diameter and set 3 feet in the ground. That part of the 

 post which is set in the ground may be charred or treated with some 

 wood preservative to advantage, while corner posts should be firmly 

 braced or set in cement. 



CONSTRUCTION OF POULTRY HOUSES. 



A house constructed for the convenience of the attendant will have 

 enough cubic air space provided 2 to 5 square feet of floor space is 

 allowed per fowl. Fresh air should be secured by ventilation rather 

 than by furnishing a larger amount of cubic air space than is required 

 for the convenience of the attendant. The necessary amount of floor 





