PO UL TR r- CRAFT. 



55 



lengthwise, making two pieces each 

 5 x 8 in. These are for the ends. 

 Cut the remainder of the board in 

 two, lengthwise, making one piece 

 4^ in. wide, the other 5^ in. wide. 

 Nail the wide piece to the narrow 



Fig. 40. Front of Reversible Nests, showing nests at o o, 



open; atss, closed. one ; nail on the ends. Many poul- 



trymen use a shallow flat-bottomed box trough, 6 or 8 in. wide. A labor 

 saving trough of this kind is made by using for the sides pieces 4 or 5 in. wide 

 nailed at the middle to the edges of the 

 bottom, thus making a reversible trough. 

 A trough on the floor of a pen catches 

 some litter and dust, which have to be 

 removed before food is placed in it. 

 This is usually effected, with an open 

 trough, by turning it over. The revers- 

 ible trough saves the movement of turn- 

 ing the trough back quite a saving in 

 a year on a large plant. Fig. 41 shows 

 two feed troughs designed to keep fowls 

 from getting in the troughs and fouling 

 the food with their feet. Such troughs F! *' 41> Fecd Troughs ' 



should be used if soft food is allowed to stand before the fowls. In a clean 

 house and for fowls fed only what mash they will eat " clean and quick," the 

 plain troughs are just as good. Those who want something nicer than the 

 homemade trough of the practical poultryman will find several good feed 

 troughs on sale. 



55. Drinking Vessels. There are a number of different styles of drink- 

 ing fountains made especially for fowls, on the market. Many poultry keepers 

 prefer open drinking vessels. These may be of iron, galvanized iron, granite 

 ware or tin. Objections to the use of tin drinking vessels because oxide of 

 tin is a poison, are very far fetched. The amount of poison a fowl would take 

 from the drinking water is infinitesimal. It is not advised to buy tin drinking 

 vessels, for in the end they are most expensive, but often it is found 

 convenient to use as drinking vessels tinware discarded for kitchen purposes. 

 In a modern poultry house the water pans are placed on shelves, high enough 

 from the floor to keep the " rough" of the dirt out, either in the hall partitions 

 or in partitions between pens. They are sometimes protected by slats, but 

 such an arrangement does not favor dispatch in cleaning and refilling vessels. 

 Devices of this kind are often strongly recommended by those accustomed to 

 their use, though the benefits are, all things considered, questionable. No 

 matter what arrangement is made to keep coarse dirt out of the drinking pans, 

 the fine dust, which is the objectionable and more injurious dirt, settles in them, 

 and should be removed as often as fresh water is given. 



