FIRST LESSONS IN POULTRY KEEPING. 67 



A House for a Dozen Fowls. 



The accompanying illustration shows a small house that I built in the fall of 1902. I had 

 two broods of chicks hatched the last of June that had run together all summer, making their 

 night quarters in an old dry goods box, and having the run of about an acre of mowing land. 

 When they outgrew the dry goods box, all other accommodations were full, and I was very 

 busy and had little time to plan or build. The house was designed almost impromptu, and 

 built in the spare time of a few days. I did not try to keep account of time, but think it 

 was about a day's work, as I did the work piecemeal and alone. Originally I had no thought 

 of making it a model, or building others like it. In fact, intended to use it only for the 

 chicks for which it was built until I had room for them elsewhere, and afterwards to use it 

 as an extra house for any purpose for which a building of its size would- be convenient, as 

 for sitting hens, fattening cockerels, breaking up broodies, for a small breeding pen, to store 

 leaves in, for any such use, or if not needed let it stand idle. It seemed so very satisfactory 

 in use, however, that 1 afterward built one other like it except in one particular in which the 

 change does not apper to be an advantage and from experience with these two houses I 

 would for my own use make this the model for small colonies of fowls. 



Dimensions and Materials. 



This house Is S ft. square on the ground ; 4 ft. high at the sides; 7 ft. high in the middle. 



It has only a part of a frame of dimension stuff. No upright studs or posts are used 

 except at the door, and these are not absolutely necessary. It is built with 2x6 in. stuff for 

 sills, 2x3 in. stuff for plates, rafters, and other frame part* ; is covered with common hemlock 

 boards surfaced on one side, is battened on the back and half way forward on each side, and 

 the roof is shingled over a close covering of boards. 



The material for this house cost me $ 12 (approximately). I was buying other lumber at the 

 same time, and used out of the general supply, and it is quite likely that in cutting up for 

 this house, and other purposes at the same time, I used some odds and ends, and made the 

 actual cost slightly less than I have figured it in the list of materials given below. In many 

 places the lumber could be bought much cheaper than in the immediate vicinity of Boston. 

 Lumber (except shingles) for this house cost me about 10% more than for the next house to be 

 described in this lesson, which was built the year before. Shingles cost 20% more. 



List of Materials and Prices When House Was Built. 



2 pieces hemlock, 2 x 6 x 16, 32 sq. ft. 

 4 pieces hemlock, 2 x 3 x 16, 32 sq. ft. 



3 pieces hemlock, 2 x 3 x 10, 15 sq.^ft. 



79 ^q. ft. & $20 per M., $1 58 



250 sq. ft. hemlock boards $20 per M., 5 00 



4-5 M. 2d clear shingles @ $3 per M., 2 40 



Battens, 1 00 



Sash 60 



Nails, hinges, hooks, etc., 1 00 



Total, $11 58 



That $11.58 is about as near as I can estimate it now, and is close enough. We will call the 

 <;ost of the house, for material, in round figures $12. The cost of building should not exceed 

 $3, giving ua the total cost of the house $15, not the cheapest possible house, but a neat looking 

 serviceable building at a relatively very low cost. 



How to Build the House. 



The two pieces of 2 x 6 x 16 are for the sills. I have given the ground dimensions of the 

 house as 8 ft. sq. As a matter of fact the house is 8 ft. by 8 ft. 4 in. on the ground. That Is 

 the measurement from outside to outside of sills. 



