12 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



should either be at the bottom, or one entire side of the house 

 should be left open. 



A Variety of Houses 



The accompanying rough little cut of a "mushroom" house will 

 give some idea of the bottom ventilation. Houses like this were 

 used by a successful poultryman. He made a light frame five feet 

 square and five feet high. This he covered with canvas and the 

 roof he made of rubberoid roofing. He left a space below of ten or 

 twelve inches. These "mushroom" houses were tipped over every 

 day to be sunned or cleaned. I improved upon his plan by making 



OILED MUSLIM 

 PANEL 



ISFT. 



Hoffman's Combination Open Front House and Scratching Pen 



a door of one whole side, for I wanted to be able to handle my fowls 

 at night without tipping the house over. Perches should be placed 

 about twelve inches above the open space, and in the case of heavy 

 breeds, a small ladder or run board should be placed for them to 

 reach the perches easily when going to roost. The advantages of 

 such a house are its lightness, and the free circulation of air without 

 draughts on the fowls. These houses can be covered with matched 

 lumber, shakes, canvas, burlap, rubberoid, or even common domestic 

 muslin, which may be oiled or painted with crude petroleum. 



The open front house is admirably adapted to California climate. 

 It is now meeting with favor even in the rigorous climate of the 

 East, where poultry raisers begin to realize the value of fresh air 

 without draughts, if they want to have vigorous hens that will lay 

 eggs in the winter time. I have been using the open front houses 

 of various sizes for over twelve years and can assert that they are 

 the only kind I ever want to use. Another style open front house 

 that I have seen and like very much is fifteen feet by eleven feet six 

 inches, and is seven feet high at the back and four feet at the open 

 front. It is constructed of rubberoid or malthoid and is almost 

 vermin proof. It is divided in the middle by chicken wire, so form- 



