POULTEr-HOUSES.] 



POULTEY. 



[POULTET-HOUSBS. 



about lO^d. ; the ofFal fetches Sd. ; the feathers 

 and down about Is. 2d. ; making a total of 

 5*. 8d. All the profit, consequently, is derived 

 from the liver, which is sold, according to its 

 size and quality, from 2s. 6d. to 4s. Qd. The 

 value of the liver is said to depend, like beer, 

 chiefly on the quality of the water. 



POULTRY.HOUSES. 



Previous to the laying-in of a stock of poultry, 

 a house must be made ready for their reception, 

 or more harm may be inflicted on them than 

 will ever be repaired, by setting them to roost 

 in a cold place, or cooping them up in what 

 may be called little better than a hole, where 

 the heat of their bodies engenders an atmo- 

 sphere at once deleterious and destructive. 

 A poultry-house may easily be erected, and 

 at very little cost. In nine cases out of 

 ten, some outhouse, without preparation or 

 alteration, is appropriated to the poultry ; but, 

 if consistent with the owner's means and posi- 

 tion, a proper house should be constructed. 

 If this be done, a piece of gravelly soil, 

 well drained on a slight declivity, near trees 

 which will afford shade from the sun, and 

 shelter from winds, should be chosen. The 

 building must be sufficiently high to admit 

 the poultry-keeper without stooping, and the 

 roof should be kept weather-tight. Thatch is 

 ■warm and ornamental, but apt to brued vermin. 

 If, therefore, slates or tiles are employed, the 

 house should be ceiled, in order to protect the 

 fowls from draughts and sudden changes of 

 temperature. In the absence of lath and 

 plaster, a piece of patent asphalted felt, closely 

 nailed, forms both a cheap and efficient pro- 

 tection. 



The best perch is made in the shape of a 

 broad double ladder, and in such a way as to 

 form a wide angle — the bars being placed so far 

 apart, that one fowl shall not overhang another. 

 If roosting-bars are so placed as to run across 

 the fowl-house, care should be taken that a 

 convenient hen-ladder is attached to them, and 

 that they are not placed too high. Perches, 

 if lofty, and unaccompanied with a ladder, 

 are dangerous to the heavier fowls, as they fre- 

 quently break their breast- bones in descending 

 by flight from them. After the fowls have 

 taken up their roosting-places for the night, 

 the poultry-keeper should see that they are all 

 878 



comfortable, and not too crowded, with sufficient 

 room for the weak ones to remove themselves 

 from the strong, which are apt to peck them. 

 The floor must be sound, dry, and strewed 

 with fine gravel or sand, and it should be swept 

 clean every day. Nothing injures the health 

 of fowls more than bad smells, A basket of 

 slaked lime or cold mortar ought always to be 

 kept in a corner, with a shovel, so that it may 

 be shaken over any droppings. For the same 

 reason, the interior wal'ls should be frequently 

 whitewashed, and the window opened in fine 

 weather. The door should have a hole at the 

 bottom, with a sliding panel to admit the 

 poultry during the day ; and if there are no 

 windows, movable loose boards, fitted to the 

 door, may be useful to admit air. As warmth 

 is very requisite to poultry, one side of the 

 poultry-house, if it can be done, might stand 

 against the outside wall of a kitchen or boiler- 

 house ; or a hot-water pipe, running through 

 it from the hot-house, will well repay the out- 

 lay. With a sweet, warm, clean poultry-house, 

 a good supply of eggs may be expected as the 

 result. 



lu reference to the nests, the great object 

 should be to have them near the ground, that 

 they may be easily cleaned, and of moderate size. 

 If they are too large, two fowls will often try 

 to sit in one nest at the same time ; and 

 if tliere is any difficulty in getting at them, 

 hens are apt to drop their eggs on the ground. 

 Nests may be made of wood, uuglazed earthen- 

 ware, or basket-work. If of the first, there 

 should be a small ledge to prevent the eggs 

 from rolling out. A little old mortar, or wood« 

 ashes laid at the bottom, will tend to keep the 

 nests clean. Straw and heather both make 

 good lining for nests ; but the latter must be 

 cut into short lengths. Should the ne-*ts be 

 arranged in two storeys, there ought to be a 

 broad ledge, sufficiently wide for a hen to walk 

 on, in front of the top row, and a hen-ladder 

 should be placed at each end; but nests are 

 better on the ground. It is of some advantage 

 to have fowls that are sitting placed in a retired 

 situation, where they will not be annoyed by 

 the others, and where, when the hatch takes 

 place, they can be cooped with their young, 

 out of danger, vrith a dry yard, or close- 

 cropped lawn in front to run on. Many 

 hens, as well as pea- fowl and turkeys, are 



