83 



Colony houses are usually located about 150 feet apart, which is twice 

 the distance indicated in Fig. 33. Therefore, if houses are 150 feet apart 

 the distance to be traveled is twice as great. Yet notwithstanding 

 the amount of labor required to do the extra work in connection with 

 the colony plan, there are decided advantages. The fowls are scattered 

 so that the ground does not so quickly become impure and the sod 

 destroyed near the houses. The colony-house plan avoids, to a large 

 extent, congestion of large flocks. Unless a system of ground grain 

 hopper feeding is practiced, however, and care exercised in feeding the 

 whole grain, there is a tendency when each colony is not fenced in for 

 the fowls to congregate at the side of the farm where the attendant 



-500- 



-300- 



10UTH YARD 



OR 

 ALL ONE YARD 



NORTH VARD 



FIG. 33. A long walk with houses far 

 apart 



FIG. 34. Save time and expense by bring- 

 ing pens together in one long house 



begins to feed. The colony system is commended specially for the 

 breeding flocks and for rearing chickens. The most profitable method 

 of handling fowls for egg production is in large houses containing 500 

 to 1,000 hens in flocks of 50 to 100. These flocks should be kept separate 

 in the houses during the season of confinement and allowed to run 

 together in a large park without interior fences during the remainder 

 of the year. 



The size of the building 



The form of the building influences the cost of construction. The size 

 and shape of the building will depend, first, on its purpose and, second, 

 on the nature of the land on which it is constructed. A house built on 

 the colony or separate house plan costs more to build than a continuous 

 house of the same capacity. (Figs. 33 and 34.) One end of each house 



