PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 403 



permit the air to enter and leave the house slowly and provide 

 ventilation when the windows are closed to keep out the wind. 

 In higher houses than we have described, a loft is built in the 

 top of the structure by placing boards an inch apart, high 

 enough to clear the head of the caretaker and covered with 

 a thick bed of straw or hay. " Openings are made in the walls 

 of the house above this straw or hay and the air enters and 

 escapes from the house by slowly passing up and down through 

 this material. 



No system of flues and pipes will work satisfactorily unless 

 artificial heat is applied to create a draft in them. In warm 

 parts of the country where the buildings have one side en- 

 tirely open, except perhaps for a wire screen to keep the hens 

 in and other animals out, the ventilation takes care of itself, 

 though frequently it is necessary to have open spaces in other 

 sides of the house to keep it comfortable in the hottest weather. 



Other types of poultry buildings, including those with the 

 roof divided into two equal pitches and those with the roof 

 divided into two unequal pitches, can readily be adapted to 

 suit the back yard poultry keeper's needs, if they seem to 

 better suit his convenience and fancy. 



Whatever the type of the house, it should be so constructed 

 that it will be dry. If it is on a damp location, or one which 

 is not well drained and likely to be damp at any season of the 

 year, a floor is necessary. If, however, it is on a dry location, 

 the floor may be made by filling in with gravel and sand 

 to a height a few inches above the ground level. The last 

 named method makes the most healthful and the warmest 

 floor. 



Interior Equipment. The equipment of the back yard 

 poultry keeper's hen house should be very simple. The roost 

 platform should be placed two feet above the floor, so that 

 the hens can use the floor space under it, against the north 

 wall of the house and the roosts should be set from six to 

 eight inches above the platform. These roosts may be made 

 of small dimension stuff that is not more than two inches wide 

 on its upper surface, with the corners rounded, or of round 

 pieces not more than three inches in diameter. It should be 

 remembered that when the hen sits down on the roost her 

 toes automatically curl and for that reason the upper surface 

 of the roost must be rounded. If more than one roost is used, 



