270 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



after the crops are harvested. A flock of five hundred 

 cockerels were kept on thirty acres of wheat stubble by the 

 Oregon Station for two months in the fall, without addi- 

 tional food, the houses being moved several times. 



Clean Yards. Where it is necessary to keep the grow- 

 ing chickens in yards it is important that they be kept 

 clean. If possible a crop should be grown on the yards 

 every year. By plowing them and seeding them in the fall 

 there will be a green crop in the spring on which the 

 chickens may run. This will also help to keep the ground 

 in a sanitary condition. If the yard is small, frequent 

 spading or cultivation will lessen the danger of soil contam- 

 ination and the fowls will scratch in the loose soil and get 

 exercise in that way. 



Shade. Another essential of success in growing chickens 

 is that they have an abundance of shade. Fruit trees or 

 other trees may be planted in the yards, or part of the 

 yards may be planted to corn or sunflowers. The latter 

 make an excellent shade and at the same time furnish con- 

 siderable feed. Where the shade cannot be secured in this 

 way, artificial shade of some kind should be provided, such 

 as frames covered with burlap or building paper. 



Houses. Ventilation or fresh air should be the first con- 

 sideration in housing growing chickens. For a small house 

 one side should be entirely open. If used in the cold 

 weather of spring it would be an advantage to have the 

 opening adjusted so as to prevent chilling during the cold 

 nights when the chicks are small and not feathered fully. 

 A house 7x10 feet will accommodate one hundred grow- 

 ing chicks or 5 x 8-foot house accommodate fifty chicks. 

 Before they approach maturity the number should be re- 

 duced. The perches should be about 12 inches apart. 



Size of Flock. Where kept in colony houses on range, 

 one hundred chicks in a flock should be about the maximum. 



