776 



Popular Science Monthly 



Making a Small Colony 

 Poultry House 



ANY American boy is carpenter enough 

 . to build this small colony coop, if these 

 drawings and instructions are followed. It 

 is a modern coop that will house from 

 fifteen to twenty full-grown birds. It has 

 been used with success at the Iowa Agricul- 

 tural Experi- 

 ment Station. 

 It is built on 

 skids or runners 

 so that it can 

 be hauled about 

 to any desired 

 place. The 

 whole house is 

 built on a frame 

 made of 2 by 4- 

 in. material well 

 spiked together. 

 This frame is 

 covered with 6- 

 in. flooring 

 boards. The 

 roof is covered 

 with a prepared 

 paper. The 

 windows are the 

 improved ven- 

 tilating type as found in up-to-date coops, 

 there being four small pivoted sashes. The 

 poultry man can then open the windows 

 part way or wide to suit the weather condi- 

 tions. This way of ventilating the coop 

 does away with the dangerous drafts that 

 chill the fowls. The air here rises and mixes 

 with the warmer air at the ceiling. 



The lumber bill has been listed here and 

 each item is marked so that the builder 

 can tell just where each item is to be used. 



With this t ype of windows fresh air can be admitted to the 

 house without causing dangerous drafts that chill the fowls 



The list shows the sizes and the lengths of 

 the lumber. Cut them all first and then 

 spike the frame together. Cut all the 

 framing lumber neatly and squarely, and 

 to the exact lengths designated in the list. 

 The first illustration clearly shows how the 

 coop looks after it is all completed and 

 ready for use. 



First cut the skids or runners from timber 



4 in. square, 9 

 ft. long. The 

 ends should be 

 rounded off a 

 little, if the 

 house is to be 

 hauled about. 

 Holes are bored 

 in the ends of 

 the skids so that 

 a team can be 

 hitched to it if 

 wanted. Do the 

 framing work 

 on some level 

 platform if pos- 

 sible. The skids 

 are placed 6 ft. 

 apart and then 

 the sills are cut 

 and set in place. 

 Lap the corners 

 and spike them well. The sills, you will note, 

 are 2 by 4-in. pieces, but they are double 

 thick. This is clearly shown. The outside of 

 the sills are 6 by 8 ft. ; that is to be the size of 

 the house, outside measurement. Study 

 the diagrams carefully and you will see just 

 how all the 2 by 4-in. pieces fit together 

 and where they belong in framing the front 

 wall. The upright wall studdings are 7 ft. 

 long and are capped off at the top with two 

 2 by 4-in. pieces spiked to the studding. 



q'X4"X4" SKIDS FRAMING OF FRONT 



The studs for the framework are fastened on the upper surface of two sills shaped like the 

 runners of a sled so that the entire house can be moved if desired with a team of horses 



