HOUSES FOR COMMERCIAL LAYING FLOCKS 



43 



be about six feet long and is built into 

 the partition where it is least in the way 

 of the caretaker. 



We consider the outside dust wallow a 

 great improvement over the old style in- 

 door dust box. It has the advantage of 

 being outside, out of the way. It gives 

 additional floor space -at little cost. It 

 receives the sunlight from three sides and 

 very little dust can get into the house. 

 The dust wallow should have a concrete 

 floor which is on a level with that of the 

 house. The roof is made on a frame so 

 that it can be lifted off by two men for 

 convenience in renewing the supply of 

 fine sand, which seems to be the most 

 satisfactory material for this purpose. 



There will be little necessity for labori- 

 ously handling fowls and dusting or oth- 

 erwise treating them for lice. 



FJG . 76 CROSS SECTION OP MISSOURI OPEN-FRONT POULTRY HOUSE 

 Reproduced from 'Bui. 80, University of Missouri. 



THE MISSOURI POULTRY HOUSE 

 Is Proving Quite Popular in the Middle West, Partic- 

 ularly On Farms. Is Lighted On All Sides 

 and Has Straw Loft. 



By PROF. H. L. KEMPSTER* 



The Missouri Poultry House has been designed by 

 the Poultry Department of the University of Missouri, 

 College of Agriculture, to meet the demand for a house 

 of such size as to accommodate the average Missouri 

 farm flock and also be adapted to Missouri conditions. 



Since the average farm poultry flock in Missouri is 

 from 100 to 150 hens, this house is 20 feet square, the 

 square house being the most economical to construct and 

 affording a maximum amount of floor space. The ridge 

 of the roof runs north and south, the roof being of equal 

 spans. The walls are five feet at the eaves. It is eleven 

 feet high at the peak. The south side contains a door in 



TTiT 



PIG. 75 FLOOR PLAN OF MISSOURI OPEN-FRONT HOUSE 

 Reproduced from Bui. 80, University of Missouri. 



the center and a window 2x3 feet on each side of the door. 

 These windows are placed high enough to afford a 30-inch 

 opening beneath, one foot above the floor and extending 

 the entire length each side of the door. This opening is 

 covered with wire screen, which keeps the hens in and the 

 sparrows out. 



On the east and west sides are two windows, each 

 two feet high and three feet wide. On the north end next 

 to the floor is a six-light 8xlO-inch glass window. An ar- 

 rangement which admits light from all directions has de- 

 cided advantages, because the light is so distributed that 

 there are no dark corners, thus discouraging the laying 

 of eggs on the floor. Also, when light comes from one 

 direction the hen always faces in that direction when she 

 scratches. In consequence, there is a gradual movement 

 of the litter toward the back side of the house. When 

 light is evenly distributed this trouble is eliminated. One 

 hen scratches in one direction and another in another and 

 the litter never piles up on the dark side, be- 

 cause there is no dark side in such a house. 



Another decided advantage in having open- 

 ings on all sides is the excellent summer venti- 

 lation which can be afforded by removing the 

 windows. This is an important point and should 

 not be overlooked in constructing a house un- 

 der Missouri conditions. Summer ventilation is 

 as important as winter ventilation. 



During the winter the success of ventilation 

 of this type depends upon having the east, west 

 and north sides and the roof entirely air-tight, 

 so that wind will drive into the house only a 

 short distance and never back to the roosts, 

 which are on the north side. There is a grad- 

 ual movement of the air from the inside out, 

 thus insuring an abundance of ventilation with- 

 out drafts. Open-front ventilation has an ad- 

 vantage over all other ventilation because it re- 

 quires no adjusting, never plugs up, and always 

 works. This type of ventilation will adapt it- 

 self to temperature changes without the con- 

 stant attention of the attendant and in this way 

 reduces to a minimum the labor of caring for 

 the house. It probably meets the require- 

 ments of a simple efficient farm poultry house 

 more nearly than any house that has been pre- 

 viously designed. The walls are of car siding, 

 funning up and down which forms a tight and 

 attractive wall. The roof is made up of ship- 

 lap covered with shingles. 



