POULTRY KEEPING 593 



Metal covered walls are becoming more common and give fair 

 service. They must be kept constantly painted in order to be dura- 

 ble. Most poultry houses are built with wooden walls. It is usual 

 to use 2x4's about two feet apart for studding and either matched 

 lumber or rough lumber with roofing paper or battens to make the 

 wall windproof. Matched lumber, such as drop siding, is usually 

 placed on horizontally and is used quite extensively as a house pre- 

 sents a good appearance and can be built rapidly. Where siding of 

 this kind is used it should always be painted before being placed on 

 the house, care being taken to have the tongues, grooves, and edges 

 carefully painted. The boards should be placed on the house before 

 the paint becomes too dry. Matched siding of any kind should be 

 dry, well driven together and well nailed so as to be wind proof. 

 Care should be taken that all matched lumber used in this way is of 

 good grade and free from loose knots or other such defects. To add 

 warmth, tar building paper or one-ply roofing paper are often placed 

 between the siding and studding, thus insuring a wind-proof wall. 



Many old poultry houses are built with rough boards running 

 up and down and the cracks covered with battens. As a rule, this 

 method of construction is not satisfactory as the battens become loose 

 leaving cracks which are very undesirable. Rough boarding, either 

 perpendicular or horizontal, is also being used quite extensively. 

 When using roofing paper to cover rough boards it is advisable to 

 cement the joints thoroughly and then batten with thin strips, at 

 least every two feet, and then paint the entire outer surface with two 

 coats of good paint. Other walls are constructed by nailing rough 

 boarding to the outside of the studding, covering with tar building 

 paper, and then with ordinary siding such as is usually used on 

 houses. Just which form of wall is best to use will depend very 

 largely upon the locality. With any of these, or with their modifica- 

 tions, which are many, a tight wall can be constructed so that which 

 is advisable depends to a large extent upon the necessity of presenting 

 a good appearance or the necessity of keeping the construction at a 

 low figure. Where the boarding runs up and down, less studding are 

 used and in this way this type of construction becomes advantageous. 

 In the poultry house, however, this requires more cutting and more 

 labor to build. Where the boarding runs horizontally it is hard 

 to construct a wall which will always be wind proof. (Wis. B. 215.) 



Perches. They should be all on the same level in the warmest 

 part of the pen away from drafts, and should be readily removable. 

 If the perches are not all on the same level the fowls will fight for 

 the highest perches, and may be injured by falling from the perch. 

 The perches should be in the warmest part of the pen as they need 

 the most protection from the cold during the night when the fowls 

 are inactive. At this time the house is also usually colder than dur- 

 ing the day. The perches should be easily removable to facilitate 

 cleaning, disinfecting, and fighting mites. They should be so con- 

 structed that a disinfectant can be readily applied to all parts. They 

 should be as simple as possible and made in such a way as to have 



