74 OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



and renew it once a year by removing the soil that has become 

 mixed with droppings of the fowls and putting in fresh earth. 

 When a house stands on wet land or on clay soil, it is better to 

 have a floor of boards or of cement. 



Fowls may be confined to a house for a year or more and lay 

 well and be in apparently good condition at the end of such a 

 period, but as the chickens hatched from the eggs of fowls that 

 have been so closely confined for even a few months are almost 



FIG. 70. An old-style small poultry house and yard 



invariably less vigorous than those produced from fowls that live 

 a more natural life, this plan is not much used except by those 

 who keep a few fowls for their eggs only and renew the stock by 

 purchase as often as necessary. 



To give a flock of a dozen fowls outdoor air and exercise 

 enough to keep them in good condition, a yard containing about 

 300 sq. ft. is necessary. There is no perceptible advantage in 

 giving more yard room than this, unless the yard can be made 

 so large that grass will grow continuously in the greater part 



