202 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



disease-producing germs, and losses through sickness and 

 decrease in vitality will render it unprofitable to keep 

 fowls. Dr. Salmon says: "Accumulations of excrement 

 harbor parasites, vitiate the atmosphere, and breed conta- 

 gion/' It may be possible, but it is doubtful, to keep yards 

 sufficiently clean by disinfection and other means to pre- 

 vent troubles of this kind. At any rate, the expense of 

 disinfection and cleaning would render it impracticable. 



Size of Yards. The size of yards will be governed 

 largely by, first, amount of land available ; second, nature 

 of the soil ; third, the cost of fencing ; and fourth, number 

 of separate breeds or breeding yards. 



As to the first, the larger the yard the more exercise the 

 fowls will take. Large yards, therefore, mean greater vigor 

 in the stock. "Where the soil is dry and porous with plenty 

 of sunshine, probably double the number of fowls can be 

 kept on the same area or yard as where the soil is heavy 

 and wet. The larger the yard, the better for the fowls; 

 but it is possible to make them so large that the cost of 

 fencing will offset the advantages. In other words, the 

 fencing becomes prohibitive when a certain limit of yard 

 is exceeded. 



The main, if not the only excuse for small, separate 

 yards, is for keeping distinct strains or breeds separate for 

 breeding purposes. Where as many as 500 fowls are kept 

 and there is no object in making up small breeding pens, 

 one large yard may be fenced in and the fowls allowed to 

 run together in the yard. So far as there is any reliable 

 data or experiments, the results in egg yield will be prac- 

 tically as good as where they are separated into small yards 

 of 50 or 100 fowls. Again, the larger yard is more easily 

 cultivated and cropped than small yards. 



Fencing is expensive, and if the yards are very large the 

 cost may exceed that of the houses. It requires more fenc- 



