24 IMPROVEMENT OF THE FARM EGG. 



POULTRY BUILDINGS. 



The majority of the farm poultry buildings are either poorly con- 

 structed for the purpose, or were buildings which had formerly been 

 used for other purposes. There is little indication of any special 

 effort on the part of the farmer to provide clean comfortable quarters 

 for his fowls. He seems to take it for granted that the fowls, unlike 

 the horses and cattle and other live stock, do not require comfortable 

 quarters in order to be profitably maintained. In this assumption he 

 is partially correct, for where there is very little investment and a 

 more or less regular income he is sure to realize some profit. It is, in 

 fact, almost impossible to neglect fowls to such an extent that they 

 are maintained at a loss under such conditions. Even in instances 

 where the farm flock is compelled to roost in the trees throughout the 

 entire year, and forage for the greater part of their feed, some profit 

 is usually realized. All this is true because the fowls, on account of 

 this hardy outdoor existence, are as a rule in excellent health and pro- 

 duce enough eggs in the spring and summer months to return a rea- 

 sonable profit to the farmer. 



Views are reproduced in the upper portion of Plate II, showing two 

 extreme types of poultry houses, the one poorly and the 'other well 

 constructed. Both houses provide comfortable quarters for the fowls 

 in so far as protection from the w T eather is concerned, but when we 

 consider the question of eradicating disease, lice, or mites, the build- 

 ing shown in figure 1 presents a difficult problem. It is true that for 

 all practical purposes the building in figure 2 does not afford any bet- 

 ter protection from the \veather elements than the inferior house, but 

 the material and workmanship is such that diseases and vermin can be 

 successfully combated. The most serious objection to this house is 

 that it is a more expensive structure than many farmers would care 

 to erect. There is, however, no necessity for going to one extreme or 

 the other, and in figure 3 is shown what can rightly be called a happy 

 medium. This house combines the good points of both the others, 

 and the material and workmanship is such that it is as easy to keep 

 in a sanitary condition as the more expensive house. 



CLEANLINESS AND VENTILATION. 



A not uncommon practice on Kansas farms is to clean the poultry 

 house only once or twice a year and the result is that many of the 

 houses are in a very filthy condition. The accumulation of filth and 

 droppings on the floor of the poultry houses, 95 per cent of which 

 have dirt floors, opens the way for the invasion of many infectious 

 diseases, and the droppings from one sick fowl may be the means of 

 infecting the entire flock. In one or two instances the houses were 

 equipped with a dropping board under the roosts. This practice is 



