CHAPTER IX 



HOUSING OF POULTRY 



Environment has much to do in the matter of getting 

 eggs; that is, there is a close relationship between en- 

 vironment and egg yield. "What is environment? The 

 house or shelter is part of the environment of the hen. 

 The kind of soil the hen ranges on or scratches in; the 

 climatic conditions, rain-fall, snow-fall, wind movement, 

 the size of yard or the amount of land, mode of getting 

 feed, disturbing elements or noise that will cause fright, 

 number of fowls in the flock, all these and many other 

 things are part of the environment of the hen. If these con- 

 ditions are favorable her environment is favorable for egg 

 production. 



Changes in environment have had a great deal to do 

 with improvement in egg-laying qualities of fowls since the 

 days of domestication. This point, however, is discussed 

 under breeding. Taming the wild hen, putting her under 

 more favorable environment as to shelter and feeding, is 

 responsible for a large part of the increase in her egg- 

 laying. Probably no other domestic animal is so sensitive 

 to environment as is the laying hen. A dog running past 

 the poultry yards and scaring the hens, and strangers 

 going into the poultry houses, will cut down on the egg 

 yield perceptibly, so sensitive is the hen to her environ- 

 ment. A slight disturbance in mode of living a change 

 from one yard or one house to another, a change in atten- 

 dant, neglect or sudden change in the feeding is reflected 

 immediately in a lower egg yield. 



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