126 POULTRY CULTURE 



of the land. This may not be a serious fault if there are tight 

 cross partitions at short distances, 1 but if the length of the space 

 between close division walls is greater than about thirty feet, there 

 is likely to be a quite marked difference in temperature between 

 the higher and lower ends, and drafty conditions on that account. 

 The exterior of such a building is unsightly. When the ground is 

 so uneven, the best way is to make a series of sections on different 

 levels, each higher section one or two steps above the next lower 

 one, the length of the sections to be determined by the grade. 



Eccentric features in poultry houses and coops are to be avoided. 

 As a rule, the plainest, simplest style of structure that will answer 

 the purpose gives best general satisfaction. Exterior features de- 

 signed to give special adjustments of a coop or house to a variety 

 of conditions are often objectionable because of the attention that 

 they require. Elaborate interior arrangements designed to save labor 

 rarely accomplish that object. Extra features, outside or inside, 

 add greatly to the original outlay for equipment, and to the amount 

 of investment on which interest, taxes, etc. must be earned before 

 actual revenue is obtained. With capital limited, as it usually is, 

 it is much better policy to cut out all unnecessary features and to 

 save as much as possible for stock and for working capital. One 

 of the most common mistakes in poultry keeping is that of put- 

 ting so much of the available capital into buildings that the poultry- 

 man is hampered for a long time for money for other expenses. 



Materials used for poultry structures. Wood is more extensively 

 used than all other materials combined. Nearly all movable build- 

 ings and coops are made of wood, and it is the principal material 

 in most of the larger structures. When it is desired to make the 

 cost of construction as low as possible, and a tight construction is 

 necessary, the cheapest of lumber is used, and the inside of the 

 building covered with a substantial roofing paper. If it is not 

 necessary to have tight walls and roof, a grade of boards as much 

 better as the builder desires may be used. With common boards 

 this gives the cheapest construction. Shingles were formerly used 



1 1 have seen long nursery brooder houses for ducklings with floor following 

 the slope of the land, that seemed to work well without partitions, but these were 

 artificially heated, and the partitions between pens were much higher than the 

 height of the ducklings. 



