POULTRY HOUSE CONSTRUCTION 



J. G. HALPIN and C. A. OCOCK 



One of the most essential things in poultry keeping, is to 

 have a suitable house which will protect the fowls from incle- 

 ment weather and from their natural enemies. It is not the 

 purpose of this bulletin to show each one exactly how to build a 

 poultry house, but some of the elementary principles of poultry 

 house construction are discussed and a few working plans are 

 given, which it is hoped can be modified to suit different condi- 

 tions on different farms. It is well understood that no two farms 

 will present exactly the same conditions for instance, one farmer 

 will desire to keep one hundred hens while another may want 

 many more or less. Then again some farms will present one 

 kind of soil, whereas on other farms the character of the soil 

 and drainage are entirely different. Some farmers will desire 

 a house which presents an attractive appearance whereas on 

 other farms poultry houses will be so located that they are not 

 conspicuous, and hence the matter of appearance is of little 

 concern. 



It must be remembered that from the standpoint of the hen, 

 appearance makes very little difference, but the house must 

 be so built and so arranged that it will be a comfortable 

 place for the hens to live; otherwise they will not thrive and 

 production will not be satisfactory. On many farms the hens 

 are not provided with a house constructed especially for them 

 but are housed in an old building originally made for some 

 other purpose. As a rule this sort of a house is not economical 

 for, unless it is constructed especially for hens, it will seldom 

 be found possible to reconstruct it in such a way as to make 

 economical production possible. 



