The Hen's House. 57 



is on the level with all the land except south of barn; third is up one 

 flight from entrance. In Summer I let each floor run as one flock, 

 having a large field and orchard, and only have division fences run- 

 ning about 300 feet, and I find that a hen very rarely gets around 

 the end. The upper flock have a run which starts about 10 feet from end 

 of barn, and runs through the middle pen to the ground. I use poultry 

 wire for partitions and doors. I have no walks, and have doors rigged 

 with pulleys and weights so that they keep shut. Troughs are made of 

 10-inch boards for mash, and I feed dry grain on floor in litter. Water 

 dishes are elevated on a wide board about 12 inches from ground, which 

 keeps water clean. For roosts I use 2 x 3-inch pine planed and simply laid 

 on stringers two feet from the ground, which makes them easy to clean, 

 and roosts are placed so that two flocks roost close together. Sometime I 

 want to use the space over the big beams as a pigeon roost to raise squabs. 

 I am only using two floors this Winter, as I have but 400 hens, but I would 

 not exchange my barn for any henhouse, as the work is all in a bunch. 



CONFINE HENS.— Fig. 30 shows one of the 600 houses on the 

 poultry farm of C. E. L. Hayward, Hancock, N. H. The houses are eight 

 feet square and of the same height, having a double floor with a square 

 base 15 inches high of two-inch plank, to which the roof boards are nailed. 

 The roof and back are shingled. The front is boarded down from top 

 and up from bottom about 15 inches. The door and spaces each side are 

 covered with wire netting one inch mesh. Thus the south end is nearly 

 open to the weather the year around. The houses are in rows two rods 

 apart, four rods between the rows, all facing the south. Each house has 

 14 hens. No chickens are raised. In October and November every hen 

 is sold and a new stock of pullets, raised by contract in Vermont and 

 Canada, put in. 



