YARDS AND FENCES 97 



required, because, with the tendency to sag and the further gradual 

 reduction of the width through repeated stretching, the width of 

 a strip of netting, after being taken down and put up again several 

 times,, may be from 3 to 5 or 6 inches less than it was when new. 



Turkeys, peafowls, guineas, and pheasants can be kept in con- 

 finement only by covering the yards. The pheasant is the only one 

 of these birds which may be profitably grown in this way, and the 

 profit in pheasants in close confinement is only obtained when they 

 are of a quality that will bring high prices. For protection from 

 foxes a fence should be not less than five feet high. Ostriches 

 require as high and as strong a fence as cattle. 



Area of yard. The use of low fences depends on the size of the 

 flock, on the character of the soil and the kind and condition of the 

 vegetation on it, and (to some extent) on the kind of fowls. As a 

 rule, the lighter and more active breeds are most destructive. Occa- 

 sionally individuals or flocks are found which differ from most of 

 their kind in this respect. A permanent yard is kept in good con- 

 dition with the minimum of labor and cost when in sod. On aver- 

 age soil, if grass is well established before fowls are allowed on it, 

 in a yard allowing 100 square feet per bird, sod may be maintained 

 in good condition over the greater part of the yard. It will be worn 

 rather bare near the house, and the grass may not be kept down 

 in the part of the yard farthest from the house. On poorer soil it 

 may be necessary to allow 200 square feet or more per bird to main- 

 tain grass. A flock of from thirty to thirty-five hens would require 

 from 5000 to 10,000 square feet of yard space. . When temporary 

 yards are used, they may be smaller, provided they are changed often 

 enough to prevent the destruction of the grass. As long as the yard 

 furnishes fairly good foraging, and there is nothing particularly at- 

 tractive just beyond bounds, the poultry are not likely to go over the 

 fences. They are much more likely to go under or through them if 

 the wire is defective or does not follow the ground closely. When 

 poultry are yarded on land occupied by a growing crop or by small 

 fruits, they will rarely attempt to leave the yard. If the plot is over- 

 stocked with poultry, they are more likely to damage the crop than to 

 go out of bounds. The poultry that is run in crops is usually young 

 stock, and the number of any kind that may be kept in any given 

 space varies with their age and size ; no definite rule can be given. 



