432 Effective Farming 



214. Poultry houses. Two general types of houses for 

 poultry are in use the colony house and the continuous 

 apartment house. Colony houses are small and are usually 

 built on skids, or runners, and moved about from place to place 

 as occasion demands. Continuous apartment houses are 

 built where they are to stand permanently. Many different 

 styles of houses of each type are in use. A farmer or a pupil 

 desiring to build poultry houses will profit by corresponding 

 with officers of his state experiment station and with the Divi- 

 sion of Poultry Investigations of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture at Washington from whom he can secure much informa- 

 tion and plans for the buildings. Among the requirements 

 to be considered in building poultry houses are : (1) they must 

 be on well drained soils ; (2) they should face the south or 

 southeast ; (3) they should be so built that they can be kept 

 clean ; (4) ventilation must be provided for ; (5) room for a 

 scratching place near the house must be available. 



215. Natural incubation. The hen should be moved from 

 her regular laying nest at night and dusted thoroughly with 

 insect powder before putting on the new nest. At first one 

 or two china eggs should be put under her and a board placed 

 in front of the nest to keep her from leaving. On the second 

 day, in the evening, the board should be removed and feed and 

 water placed where the hen can reach it. If she leaves the nest 

 and after feeding returns to it, she really desires to sit. The 

 china eggs should then be removed and those that are to be 

 incubated substituted. During the period of incubation, 

 twenty-one days, plenty of feed and water must be provided for 

 the hen. At hatching time she should not be disturbed unless 

 she becomes restless and pecks at or steps on the chicks, in 

 which case the chicks that are hatched should be removed as 

 soon as they are dry, placed in a basket that is lined with a 

 piece of wool cloth, and put in a warm place. When all 

 of the eggs are hatched, these chicks are put back with the 

 hen and all removed to the brood coop. 



