It is not necessary that the buildings should be elaborate in construc- 

 tion, but they should be just large enough to accommodate the number of 

 birds you wish to put in them, allowing 15 to 20 cubic feet of air-space 

 for each bird. It is a fatal mistake to have fowls overcrowded; therefore 

 scatter them as much as possible into small flocks. 



As a general principle, a house 7 ft. square and the same in height 

 will accommodate twenty-five fowls. 



Place in the fowlhouse a large window facing the north-east, in order 

 to admit as much of the sun's rays into the buildings as possible. This 

 is a provision that is too frequently overlooked. The front of the breed- 

 ing-pens should face the rising sun. 



If galvanised iron is used for roofing the building it should have 

 boarding under it, owing to the iron being a rapid conductor of heat 

 and cold. 



The building must be well ventilated, but there must be no draught. 

 The importance of this is very generally ignored, so that it is quite the 

 exception to find poultry-houses constructed with any attempt at ventila- 

 tion. If the house is visited two or three hours after the birds have gone 

 to roost it can be readily ascertained whether it is sufficiently ventilated 

 or not; the atmosphere should strike rather warmer than that of the 

 outer air, but there should be an absence of closeness or smell. To enable 

 the proper medium to be arrived at, a small opening about 12 in. by 

 6 in. should be made at the upper part of the house, and covered with 

 perforated zinc or small-mesh wire netting, and arranged so that it may 

 be entirely or partially closed; a board to slide in grooves, similar to 

 those generally made to cover the hole by which the fowls enter the house, 

 will be as suitable as anything. 



A boarded, concrete, or asphalt floor should not be used; earth only 

 is required, and should be built up inside the fowlhouse 6 in. higher than 

 the surrounding ground, in order that it may be kept dry. 



The perches should not be placed high, or so that the heads of the birds 

 can come on a level with the ventilator. They need not be more than 

 12 in. from the floor, and they should be all on a level. The step-ladder 

 style that is often adopted is a mistake; the fowls will invariably try to 

 get on the top perch, which is generally near the roof, and the air they 

 breathe becomes vitiated, and disease follows. Do not nail the perches, 

 but have them fitting into a slot, so that they can be easily removed, and 

 the ends dipped into kerosene occasionally. A perch should be 2 in. wide 

 by 3 in. deep, made of sound timber (if there are any cracks they will 

 harbour vermin), with just the rough edge taken off. 



The buildings shown in this pamphlet are those in use at the Govern- 

 ment poultry-stations, and are suitable in every way as breeding-pens. 

 The main flocks are put out about the farm in movable houses, 7 ft. by 

 5 ft., an arrangement I strongly recommend to farmers, as the fowls 

 by this system require very little feeding, so long as the houses are moved 

 on to fresh ground once a week. 



The movable house referred to is illustrated on page 16. 



