114 POULTRY APPLIANCES AND HANDICRAFT 



Most transportation companies will return ship- 

 ping crates free of charge, and m this case it pays to 

 have good, neat coops. Such coops should be made 

 strong, but of light, thin material, lath for instance. 

 Trapdoor in top, side strips up and down, not length- 

 wise. Wheat or other food in the bottom of a coop 

 often hurts the sale of fowls if they are sold by weight. 

 When coops are stripped up and down, then, when 

 desirable, feed may be given the fowls in vessels 

 placed outside the coop. Neat appearance helps to 

 sell all products and is one of the essential factors in 

 securing top-notch price. 



More fowls are shipped by express in cloth coops 

 in winter than at anv other season. A cloth-covered 



FIG Hi: SHIPPING CRATES 



coop is scant protection to prevent frozen comb. Take 

 the same coop, put cover pieces on outside the cloth 

 cover, as suggested in the sketch at the right of Figure 

 in, and over these stretch another covering of cloth, 

 and we have an air space between that will protect the 

 fowls from cold. Have a tight cover except the slit 

 for the hand of the expressman, which will also afford 

 ventilation. With plenty of chaff in the bottom to 

 keep the feet warm, birds ought to be very comfort- 

 able in such quarters, even in very cold weather. For 

 mild weather the crate shown at the right of Figure 

 1 1 1 is one of the best and is quickly made from a box 

 or second-hand egg case. 



