OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



FIG. 72. Neat house for six hens 



plant fertilizer is not great enough to pay for the extra trouble 



which is made by saving them for the tanners. Poultry manure 



is one of the most valuable 

 fertilizers and can always be 

 used to good advantage on 

 lawns and gardens. 



If the floor is of wood or 

 of cement, a thin layer of 

 earth or sand spread upon it 

 makes it more comfortable 

 for the fowls. On all kinds 

 of floors the modern practice 

 is to use a few inches of litter 

 of some kind. There is a 



great variety of materials that will serve this purpose. Lawn 



clippings raked 'up after they are dry, dried weeds and grass 



from the garden, leaves collected when dry and stored to be used 



as wanted, straw, hay, cornstalks cut into short lengths, and 



shavings, such as are sold 



baled for bedding horses and 



cattle, are all good. Fresh 



litter should be added in small 



quantities about once a week. 



About once a month the 



coarse litter on top should be 



raked aside, and the fine litter 



mixed with droppings under- 

 neath removed. Once or 



twice a year all the material 



should be taken out and a 



fresh start made. 



When kept in a house having an earth floor, fowls will scratch 



aside the litter from small spaces and wallow and dust themselves. 



In houses having hard floors, shallow boxes about 2 ft. square, 



FIG. 73. House for a dozen fowls. 



Floor, 8 ft. x 8 ft. ; height at sides, 4 ft. ; 



height in middle, 7 ft. 



