

POULTRY HOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 7 



width. It is one of the easiest styles to construct. It allows a 

 high front to the house, and furnishes a northern slope for the roof 

 on which roofing paper will last longer than on a roof which faces 

 the south. The combination and semimonitor roofs are adapted for 

 buildings from 16 to 24 feet wide, while either of these styles, or the 

 monitor and the gable roof, may be used for wider buildings. The 

 combination roof on a house over 16 feet wide gives the best head 

 room at the least cost, reduces the amount of surplus air space, and 

 gives a neat appearance to the buildings ; while the semimonitor and 

 monitor types are best for wide houses which have a central alley, 

 particularly brooder houses. The semimonitor house usually faces 

 south, while the monitor type of roof is frequently used on buildings 



FIG. 5. Types of roofs for poultry houses. A , shed; B, combination; C, gable; D, monitor; E, semi- 

 monitor; F, A -shaped. 



facing east or west. The gable roof is used extensively for two-story 

 buildings, for brooder houses, and for incubator cellars. This style 

 of roof is usually ceiled at or slightly above the eaves, or the gable 

 may be filled with straw or some kind of absorbent material, which 

 tends to keep such houses dry and warm. The A-shaped roof is 

 used for growing coops and colony houses which, with a wall 18 

 inches high, provides a large amount of floor space with a minimum 

 amount of lumber, but increases the roof surface, which is the most 

 expensive part of the house. 



A large amount of glass in the front of the house makes it warm 

 during the day and cold at night, as glass radiates heat very rapidly. 

 Unbleached muslin, or a light weight of duck cloth, is used for cur- 

 tains in the fronts of poultry houses. This cloth should be thin 

 enough to allow a slow circulation of air without a draft, which object 

 is defeated by using too heavy a grade of duck or by oiling or paint- 

 ing the cloth. The front of the house should be high enough so that 

 the windows or openings will allow the sun to shine well back during 

 the winter. The depth which the sun's rays shine onto the floor of 



