The Hen's House. 



hens comfortable. This house is 14 feet 

 wide and 150 feet long. The back is 5^ 

 feet high and the front six feet eight inches. 

 The ridge is nine feet from the floor. Fig 

 23 shows the interior fixtures of one room, 

 it being 20 feet wide. In this space — 20 x 

 14 feet — 50 hens are kept. The house is 

 boarded, papered and shingled on roof and 

 walls. The rear wall behind the roosts and 

 four feet of the roof above are ceiled on 

 the inside of the studding and plates, and 



Fig. -z-l. 

 COLD COUNTRY HOUSE. 

 the space between packed hard with dry sawdust. As will be seen from 

 the picture, each room of this house has two 12-light windows screwed 

 ,on to the front. The space between these windows, eight feet by three, is 

 covered with wire netting. The lower part being boarded prevents 

 the wind from blowing directly upon the hens. During stormy days and 

 cold nights a curtain consisting of a light frame covered with 10-ounce 

 duck swings down in front of the wire and covers it. The picture shows 

 how this curtain frame swings from the top. The roost platform extends 

 the whole length of the room. It is three feet six inches wide and three 

 feet from the floor. The roosts are 2 x 3-inch stuff placed on edge and arc 

 two inches above the platform. They are 16 inches apart; the backs are 

 11 inches from the wall. • Two curtains similar to the one in front are 

 noticed hung over the roost platform. They are 10 feet long and 30 

 inches wide, hinged at the top and arranged with pulleys, so as to be 

 pulled up or let down easily. Six trap nests, as are shown on page 15, 

 are arranged in the corner as shown. The door leading to the ne.xt room 

 is 2^/2 feet wide. This door is a light frame covered with 10-ounce duck, 

 such as is used in making the curtains. It is made with double-acting 

 hinges, so as to swing both ways — a great advantage in passing through 

 such a house. Strips of old rubber belting are nailed to the studs, which 



the doors rub against so they 

 will not swing too easily with 

 the wind. The wire front of 

 this house admits the air, but 

 the hens do not feel the direct 

 force of the wind. During 

 rough Winter storms or on 

 very cold nights the front cur- 

 tain is lowered and fastened 

 with a button, so that it comes 

 in front of the wire screen, 

 thus shutting out the wind and 



t. 



Fig. 23. 

 INTERIOR OF ABOVE HOUSE. 



