POULTRY HOUSE CONSTRUCTION. 17 



MATERIAL FOR COVERING WALLS. 



The walls of most poultry houses in the North are built of sheathing 

 and covered with specially prepared paper, siding, clapboards, or 

 shingles. Sheathing paper is generally used on walls and roofs which 

 are to be covered with shingles. A wall made of siding placed directly 

 on the studs makes a satisfactory henhouse in the South. Another 

 method of making a cheap, tight wall, used extensively in colony house 

 construction, is to use boards 10 to 12 inches in width placed vertically 

 with the cracks covered with battens 2 to 3 inches wide. Battens 

 are usually 1 inch thick, and may be either nailed or screwed to the 

 house. One-inch matched lumber is used extensively in poultry 



FIG. 12. A laying house used in Georgia. 



house construction, and makes a very satisfactory wall without any 

 other covering than paint. Narrow lumber, 2J to 6 inches wide, is 

 usually used for this purpose, as wide boards are apt to shrink and 

 warp, which results in cracks in the walls. The lowest board on the 

 walls should extend into the ground below the sill to make a tight 

 joint, which should also be made at the eaves where it may be secured 

 either by cutting the rafters off even with the rear wall and covering 

 this joint with good roofing paper, or by filling in the space between 

 the rafters with boards or muslin curtains. A 4 or 6 inch board may 

 be used on the rafters, allowing it to extend out 2 to 4 inches beyond 

 the rear wall, or a double course of shingles may be laid and allowed 

 to extend in this same manner. Sheathing should be laid so as to 

 break joints in order to strengthen the building, while siding is usually 

 laid working from the bottom upward. A shutter may be placed 



