CHAPTER II 



Economical Back Yard Poultry Houses 



Back Yard Poultry Keeping is Profitable When Well-ManagedLaying Out the Plant so as to Utilize Space to the 



Best Advantage and Protect Health of Fowls Complete Plans for Building a Number of Inexpensive 



Houses Avoid Makeshift Buildings Even Low-Cost Houses May Be Made Neat and Attractive. 



NDER many conditions the back-yard poultry 

 flock can be made an important means of reduc- 

 ing the high cost of living and may also be util- 

 ized as a source of revenue. 

 Where they are given proper care and attention, the 

 number of fowls that can be kept on a small tract of 

 ground is surprisingly large. Extremely intensive methods 

 of poultry raising are not to be recommended for general 

 adoption especially for large-scale operations, but it is 

 entirely practicable to follow this method on a small 

 scale, and with good success. 



Where a back yard is available, a good-sized flock 

 can be kept to excellent advantage, and the space pro- 

 vided by the ordinary back 

 yard can frequently be util- 

 ized with more profitable re- 

 sults in poultry keeping than 

 in any other manner involv- 

 ing no greater outlay. 



Few persons realize how 

 much may be accomplished 

 in the space of an ordinary 

 back yard in the production 

 of eggs and fowls for the 

 home table. In one .year, a 

 dozen pullets or young hens, 

 fed largely on scraps from 

 the kitchen, should produce 

 120 to 180 dozens of eggs, 

 having a market value of 

 $50.00 or more, at average 

 prices. If desired, it is prac- 

 ticable to go a step farther 

 and, in the space of the aver- 

 age back yard, raise a few 

 broods of chicks that will 

 furnish spring and summer 

 frys and roasting fowls for 

 fall and winter use, thus 

 keeping the table supplied 

 with this delicious and whole- 

 some meat a good part of 

 the year and reducing the 

 butcher's bill to a small frac- 

 tion of what it otherwise 

 would be. 



Fowls can be kept successfully in quite limited 

 space, and where it is desirable to do so, the average 

 back yard affords sufficient room for a flock large enough 

 to form an important source of additional income through 

 the sale of surplus eggs and fowls to the neighbors, many 

 of whom will be glad of an opportunity to buy these 

 special quality products, and will cheerfully pay an ad- 

 vance over the ordinary market price for them. All the 

 work of caring for such a flock may be done outside of 

 regular work hours and the time will scarcely be missed. 

 There are other .ways of deriving an income from the 

 back-yard flock, such as the production of standard-bred, 

 exhibition-quality fowls and the sale of eggs for hatch- 

 ing, also day-old chicks. Not only may substantial sums 

 be realized in this way, but the experience thus gained 



PIG. 41 AN ATTRACTIVE B 

 HOUSE 



may be made the basis for the development of an ex- 

 tensive poultry business that will enable the poultryman 

 to drop less profitable or congenial employment and give 

 his entire time to this interesting and comparatively easy 

 work. Many of the most successful breeders of today es- 

 tablished their prize-winning strains and laid the founda- 

 tions for their success within the limits of an ordinary 

 back yard. Remember however, that it is especially im- 

 portant to avoid overcrowding where breeding fowls are 

 kept in close quarters. 



Laying Out the Back Yard Poultry Plant 

 There are various ways of laying out the back yard 

 to accommodate a small flock of fowls, but one convenient 



manner of doing this is 

 shown in Fig. 42. 



Special attention should 

 be called to the fact that 

 the back-yard poultry plant 

 does not necessarily have 

 to be an eyesore-. The poul- 

 try house can be built in a 

 neat and attractive manner 

 at only a slight increase in 

 cost over ramshackle con- 

 struction, and when this is 

 done the owner is much 

 more likely to retain his 

 interest in the work. 



Temporary, inconvenient 

 structures, hastily and care- 

 lessly built, have been re- 

 sponsible for poor results 

 and for loss of interest in 

 thousands of cases where 

 suitable buildings would 

 have encouraged the owner 

 to continue in this most in- 

 teresting and profitable 

 work. A good illustration 

 of neatness in back-yard 

 poultry house construction 

 is given in Fig. 41. It 

 costs a little more to build 

 in this manner than to put 

 up a "shack," but when 

 built such a house should 



require no repairs for many years and without doubt it 

 adds substantially to the value of the property. 



Fig. 42 shows how the back yard can not only be util- 

 ized for a flock large enough to supply the family table 

 with eggs and fowls practically the year round, but also 

 to produce a surplus for sale at good prices. This can be 

 done without sacrificing the lawn and without making the 

 back yard unattractive. 



This plan provides for a poultry house of three pens, 

 each of which will accommodate twenty-five fowls. The 

 amount of yard room allowed is comparatively small, but 

 if the yards are regularly swept and occasionally spaded, 

 they will keep clean and free from odor and, with proper 

 care, the fowls will do as well as on free range. The 

 lawn and the small, separately fenced plot in the rear 



CK-YARD POULTRY 



Even though only a very limited amount of room is 

 available, it will pay to give the fowls an outdoor run. 

 Above illustration shows how to make a small yard look 

 neat and trim with but little trouble or expense. 



