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POULTRY HOUSES AND FIXTURES 



FIG. 35 LAYING HOUSE WITH LOUVERED VENTILATOR 

 Photo from Mo. State Poultry Exp. Station. 



making the house more comfortable in winter, but also 

 makes it cooler in summer. The straw also absorbs 

 moisture and helps to keep the house dry. Where straw 

 lofts are used, louvered ventilator openings should always 

 be provided in the gables, thus permitting the gradual 

 passage of air through the straw and out at the gables. 

 See pages 45 and 46 for plans for a straw-loft house. 



King Ventilating System 



In brooder houses and in buildings of special con- 

 struction, where muslin fronts are not desired, the method 

 of ventilation shown in Fig. 38, known as the King Ven- 

 tilating System, will be found practical and satisfactory. 

 In this the air is admitted to the intake near the ground 

 and passes up between the inner and outer walls, where 

 the building has a double wall, or in a specially provided 

 flue in single-walled buildings, and thus enters the build- 

 ing near the ceiling, as indicated by the arrows. A cen- 

 trally located flue, the opening to which is about a foot 

 above the floor, carries the foul air out through a louvered 

 ventilator in the roof. Where this system of ventilation 

 is adopted, the cross section of both intake and outtake 

 should provide about four square inches per adult bird, or 



w/A/a BAFFLER 



Arrows .S/iot* /iow H/rnd 

 through 



<: 



in that proportion. The air circulation is controlled by 

 the adjustable doors at the top of the intake flues, and 

 a door is also provided in the outlet flue near the ceiling, 

 for supplementary ventilation in hot weather. 



Building Temporary Poultry Houses 



The labor cost of building poultry houses always 

 amounts to a large part of the total expense, though this 

 fact is often overlooked when the poultryman himself 

 does the work. In fact, the common tendency to place 

 no money value on special work done by the poultryman 

 or his assistant leads to a great deal of wasted effort. 

 It is a good plan, therefore, to form the habit of placing 

 a definite valuation on time, either by the day or the 

 hour, systematically charging the same against all work 

 performed. This practice will bring about a very differ- 

 ent estimate of the actual worth of things done and par- 

 ticularly will be found to discourage temporary expe- 

 dients, which invariably cost all out of proportion to 

 their practical value. 



For example, in planning cheap, temporary buildings 

 or shelters, the poultryman should consider not only the 

 actual cost of materials, but of his labor as well, and also 

 should make a careful estimate of the length of time that 



PIG. 36 CORNELL WIND BAFFLER 



FIG. 37 REAR VENTILATOR AND WINDOWS 



House here illustrated is provided with rear venti- 

 lator extending 1 entire length of building, immediately 

 under eave. Also has single-sash windows next to floor. 

 This greatly improves the lighting under droppings plat- 

 form, and with ventilators and windows both open in 

 summer the house will be about as cool as it is possible 

 to make it. Photo from Mo. State Poultry Exp. Station. 



they may be expected to last, and the cost of keeping 

 them in repair during that time. If this is done there 

 will be vastly fewer of the makeshift structures that dis- 

 figure so many poultry plants at present. There is no 

 question about the fact that, under average conditions, a 

 well-built, permanent house is cheaper in the long run 

 than the succession of cheaper structures that would be 

 required to answer the same purpose for the same length 

 of time. It is not meant by this to condemn as imprac- 

 tical, all temporary structures for poultry uses. There 

 are many practical conditions under which these are re- 

 quired; but both sides of the matter should be looked 

 into before making such investments. 



The poultryman who has decided that a temporary 

 building is needed, should consider carefully the kind 

 and quality of materials that are to be used in it. It is 

 as impractical to use high-grade lumber or heavy roofing 

 on a building that is only expected to last two or three 

 years, as it is to use the inferior material or one-ply 

 roofing on one that is expected to be permanent. In the 

 one case material is wasted, and in the other, labor. In 

 putting up temporary structures, true economy lies in 

 placing a definite estimate upon the period for which they 

 are to last and then selecting the cheapest suitable ma- 

 terial which will give that length of service. 



