152 EQUIPPING THE POULTRY HOUSE 



house of this type and have the partition between the pen and the 

 alley so arranged that all the work of cleaning the dropping boards, 

 collecting the eggs, watering, and feeding can be done directly 

 from the alley, but it is doubtful if the work can always be done 

 with the greatest degree of efficiency in this manner. 



There are a number of disadvantages in having an alley in the 

 house. The alley, being at the rear, requires the building to have 

 a high roof. The house is much colder, as there is from one-fifth 

 to one-seventh additional head room to heat up and no extra in- 

 crease in floor space. The roosting quarters are not in a desirable 

 location, the centre often being drafty, and no means is provided 

 for conserving the heat from the bodies of the fowls. Such houses 

 cost more to construct compared with the number of birds. They 

 are always more or less drafty, as the long, narrow alley in the back 

 offers an unobstructed passage for air to sweep from one end of the 

 building to the other. The use of cloth doors at intervals across 

 the alley may be used to check the draft. The house with an alley 

 is not desirable except in the case of a long exhibition house for 

 display purposes, brooder houses, or fattening sheds, in which 

 case the alley should be in the centre if the house is wide enough. 

 In every case the alley should be wide enough to allow an attendant 

 to pass easily with a load in each hand. 



Feed boxes and troughs are frequently used in the feeding of 

 wet mash, sprouted oats, and chopped vegetables. There are a 

 number of different types of construction (Fig. 101); the idea 

 should be to make them deep enough to hold the feed and to 

 protect the contents, so as to prevent their leaking and wasting 

 when wet, sloppy mashes are fed. 



The best material for the construction of feed troughs is planed 

 lumber one inch thick and from eight to twelve inches wide. All 

 joints should be made tight, and they should be so constructed 

 that they cannot be overturned by the birds. It is better to have a 

 number of small troughs from six to twelve inches wide and two to 

 five feet long than one large one, as they can be readily carried from 

 place to place and are more easily cleaned. The birds can shift from 

 place to place, thus allowing the weak ones a better chance at the 

 feed. They should be made so that they can be easily cleaned; 

 this is necessary, as they are used for material which sours easily. 

 A nail or cleat should be provided in each pen upon which the 

 feed trough can be hung when not in use, thus keeping them 

 clean and out of the way. 



