616 



THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. 



As, however, houses of this kind, being raised above the ground, must 

 have a wooden floor, it is found that they are colder in winter than 

 where the ground is the floor. To meet this difficulty, arrangements 

 have been made to dispense with the floor by means of a lever arrange- 

 ment, so that the house can be raised on wheels for removal, and then 

 dropped down after that has taken place. In this way there is a great 

 saving of labour so far as cleaning is concerned, as the ground forms 

 the floor and the manure falls on to it, and is simply left when the 

 house is changed from one place to another. In this way the manure 

 is utilised without any labour, and a great improvement in the crops 

 results. If portable houses are used in districts where foxes are 

 preserved, it is frequently necessary to have a fitted run, so that the 

 birds may be protected against these enemies. By the adoption of such 



Fig. 169. Fixed Poultry-house. 



a plan the birds are shut in at feeding time in the afternoon, allowed 

 to go to roost when they think fit, and in the morning they can come 

 out of the house as soon as they like. 



In many cases, however, it is desirable to have fixed houses, and 

 where that is the case larger buildings are to be recommended, and here 

 what is called the open-fronted house is found to give the best results 

 (fig. 169). There is, however, one important point to keep in view, 

 namely, that an open-fronted house must necessarily be larger than one 

 of the former type, and thus they are less suited for portable structures, 

 although we have found that the latter can be so arranged as to ensure 

 a plentiful supply of ventilation. In the fixed houses it is desirable to 

 provide not only for the roosting and laying portions, but also to give 

 a considerable amount of space to what may be utilised as a scratching 



