HOUSES FOR COMMERCIAL LAYING FLOCKS 



35 



is boarded, papered and shingled on roof and walls. The 

 rear wall and four feet of the lower part of the rear roof 

 are ceiled on the inside of the studding and plates, and 

 are packed, very hard, with dry sawdust. In order to 

 make the sawdust packing continuous between the wall 

 and roof, the wall ceiling is carried up to within six 

 inches of the plate, then follows up inclining pieces of 

 studding to the rafters.- The short pieces of studding are 

 nailed to the studs or rafters. By this arrangement there 

 are no slack places around the plate to admit cold air. The 

 end walls are packed in the same way. The house is divided 

 by close board partitions into seven 20-foot sections, and 

 one 10-foot section is reserved at the lower end for a 

 feed storage room. 



"Each of the 20-foot sections has two 12-light out- 

 side windows screwed onto the front, and the space be- 

 tween the windows, which is eight feet long and three 

 feet wide, down from the plate, is covered during rough 

 winter storms and cold nights by a light frame, covered 

 with 10-ounce duck, closely tacked on. This door, or cur- 

 tain, is hinged at top and swings in and up to the roof 

 when open." 



After giving the house a thorough and severe win- 

 ter's test, Prof. Gowell, who was in charge of the Poultry 

 Department at the Maine Station at that time, wrote re- 

 garding it as follows: 



"I wish I had delayed writing the bulletin till now, 

 for we have just gotten through the coldest weather 

 ever known in this section and the cloth-front house has 

 proved itself equal to the demands made upon it. The 

 300 pullets were not put in * * * until December 6th, 

 but by the end of that month they had gotten under way 

 and increased every week regularly in egg production all 

 through January and February, and have laid from 160 

 to 180 eggs every day this month. They came down from 

 the perches and engaged in digging a breakfast out of 

 the straw litter in a way that showed that life was worth 

 living. Every head was blood red. There has not been 

 even a snuffle heard or seen in that house." 



The above description was written a good many 

 years ago. but, in the main, it fairly represents the exper- 

 ience of poultrymen generally with the curtain-front 

 house, other conditions being equal. It should be noted 

 in this connection, however, that while in this particular 

 house 10-ounce duck was used for the shutters, poultry 

 keepers generally consider a good grade of unbleached 

 muslin amply heavy for the purpose. 



CURTAIN FRONT LAYING HOUSE FOR 100 FOWLS 



A Practical House for Commercial or Farm Flocks. Is 



Well Ventilated, Convenient and Comfortable 



for the Fowls. 



There is no room for argument over the statement 

 that hens will give better average production when housed 

 in comparatively small flocks. The experience of practical 

 poultry keepers, however, is that the saving in labor 

 which results from keeping hens in large flocks more 

 than offsets the decreased production resulting from this 

 practice. The point at which lower labor cost is met and 

 overbalanced by decrease in production has never been 

 clearly determined, but the general practice among egg 

 producers is to keep fowls of the large breeds, such as 

 Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, etc., in flocks of about 100. 

 On large commercial egg farms, where Leghorns are kept, 

 this number often is greatly exceeded, flocks of 500 being 

 common. 



To provide sufficient room for 100 hens there should 

 be about 400 square feet of floor space. This require- 

 ment is approximately met by the house here illustrated 

 and described, which is 16x24 feet. In its general out- 

 lines it meets the requirements of the average poultry 

 keeper to an unusual degree. For houses of moderate 

 size, a width of sixteen feet is almost invariably preferred, 

 and there are sound practical reasons for doing so. A 

 house much narrower than sixteen feet brings the perches 

 too close to the front, and the hens on the perches are 

 exposed to direct currents of air when the curtains are 

 open. Narrow houses cost more to build than those of 

 medium width and are more difficult to care for. On the 

 other hand, extremely wide houses call for heavier fram- 

 ing timbers and more bracing. In long compartment 

 houses a width greater than sixteen feet often is consid- 

 ered desirable, but it is of no advantage in single-pen 

 houses. Even for use on commercial farms where ex- 

 tremely large flocks are the rule, there are many who pre- 

 fer buildings not over sixteen feet in width. The gen- 

 eral plans, with all needed dimensions, etc., are shown 

 in Figs. 60, 61, 62 and 63. 



The details of lighting and ventilation in this house 

 are planned to meet the requirements of cold climates, 

 but these .can readily be modified to suit a wide range of 

 climatic conditions. Where extreme cold is to be ex- 

 pected, it will be found desirable to reduce the size of the 

 curtains and increase somewhat the amount of glass pro- 

 vided. In warmer climates glass windows will be omitted 



PIG. 59 THE HISTORICAL MAINE STATION CURTAIN- FRONT HOUSE 



The curtain-front house shown in above illustration was one of the first houses of this type to be built. It has 

 been in successful use at the Maine Experiment Station for many years. Note raised platform in front of the build- 

 ing, which takes the place of an inside passageway. 



