POULTRY KEEPING 595 



tance from the floor depending entirely upon the breed kept. 

 (Mich. B. 266.) 



Dust Boxes. Chickens never wash, as many other birds do, but 

 cleanse themselves of insects by wallowing in soil. Where board or 

 cement floors are used, some means for dusting should be provided 

 during the winter months. For a flock of 50 to 60 fowls a dust box 

 3 by 5 feet or 4 by 4 feet will be found large enough in most in- 

 stances, and should be placed where it can be reached by sunlight 

 during as much of the day as passible. Fine, light, dry dust is the 

 best, but sandy loam is good. Road dust is recommended by many, 

 but it is apt to be filthy. Coal or wood ashes may be mixed with the 

 soil if desired. 



Watering Devices. A convenient place should be provided for 

 water. It is best to construct a small stand about 1 foot above the 

 floor and place the water dish on this. This stand can be constructed 

 in the partition so that the hens in two pens drink from one dish. 

 It is, however, usually better to give each pen a separate drinking 

 dish. The water stand should be placed where it is light, and also 

 where it is convenient to empty the dish and re-fill it. As a rule the 

 water dish will keep cleaner if near the south side of the building, 

 as the hens scratch the litter toward the north much more than to- 

 ward the front of the house. A hen faces the light usually when dig- 

 fing in the straw for her feed and the result is that the litter works 

 ack. 



There are numerous drinking devices on the market, many of 

 which are valuable. A large number of farmers, however, use either 

 a small pail or pan. A low pail makes a very convenient water dish 

 as the bail enables it to be readily handled with one hand. A pan 

 also makes a convenient watering dish. Care should be taken not to 

 use watering devices of any kind which have parts that cannot be 

 readily cleaned. A dirty drinking dish is frequently a source of 

 disease and should never be permitted in any poultry house. 



(Publications Consulted. Wis. B. 215 ; F. B. 287 ; Mich. B. 266 ; 

 Ark. B. 99; Minn. B. 91; F. B. 357; N. Y. Cornell B. 248; Mont. 

 Circular 9; Colo. B. 164; Md. B. 146; Oreg. B. 96; Utah B. 51; Pa. 

 B. 87.) 



Yarding. As perfect sanitation is one of the prime requisites 

 to success, the larger the yards are the more easy it will be to main- 

 tain healthful conditions among the flocks. If the yard areas must 

 be small more care will have to be exercised. While there is no 

 fixed rule relative to the amount of yard space required, if whole- 

 some conditions are maintained one hundred and forty square feet 

 per chicken will suffice. 



Yard fences are not invariably used. There may be exceptional 

 surroundings and special lines of production rendering them unnec- 

 essary. Single, double, and triple yard systems are in use. The 

 single yards or those extending out from one side of the house the 

 width of the individual pen are unsatisfactory, being too narrow, 

 thus rendering it difficult to use horses and implements with which 



