16 



POULTRY HOUSES AND FIXTURES 



For this purpose, half-inch bolts should be set in the 

 foundation wall at intervals of about ten feet. These bolts 

 should be about one foot in length, with washers for 

 both ends. The bolts should be embedded in the con- 

 crete, with the head down, and the threaded end extend- 

 ing three or five inches above the top of the foundation, 

 depending upon whether a single or double sill is to be 

 used. This method of anchoring the sill is Indicated in 



Fig. 11. The joists 

 in board floors 

 should always be 

 bridged by the use 

 of diagonal strips, 

 as shown in Fig. 

 15, which stiffen 

 the floor and add 

 greatly to its 

 strength. 



Various methods 

 are used in con- 

 structing the frame 

 work. It is possible 

 to frame a building 



FIG. 13 FRAMING SILLS FOR 

 BOARD FLOOR 



very cheaply, especially where upright boards are used for 

 the walls. Fig. 19 shows a cheap but practical frame, 

 consisting of a single 2x4 sill, single studs at each cor- 

 ner, with wall studs every five to ten feet to support the 

 top plates and girders or stringers, one of which should 

 always be provided midway between sill and rafter plate 

 to stiffen the walls and prevent warping of the boards 

 used for siding. Under ordinary conditions, a building 

 constructed in this way, with the outside covered with a 

 good grade of prepared roofing, will answer, though it 

 is too light for a permanent building or one of large size. 

 Where tongue-and-grove siding is to be used, the 

 method of framing illustrated in Fig. 16 is commonly 

 employed, the wall studs being spaced two feet frorn 



FIG. 14 LAYING A DRAFT-PROOF BOARD FLOOR 



center to center. Doubling studs at corners, doors, and 

 windows, as indicated in illustration, is customary among 

 carpenters, but rarely is necessary in poultry-house fram- 

 ing. The horizontal plate shown in middle of back wall 

 is to support the rear edge of droppings platform. 



The framing of a house wi.th combination roof does 

 not differ from a shed roof house except in the rafters. 



One method of framing these is shown in Fig. 17. 

 The plan of supporting the ridge and preventing side- 

 thrust by means of short tie pieces should prove entirely 

 satisfactory with houses not over 16 feet wide, but where 

 the width is 20 feet -or over, especially if the house is 

 a long one, the ties should reach substantially from front 

 to rear plate to give strength, or they may be entirely 

 omitted except at partitions, and a girder-and-post sup- 

 port provided instead, as in cross section shown in Fig. 

 73, page 42. 



Constructing the Walls 



For cold climates, also for permanent buildings, it 

 will be found more satisfactory, as a rule, to use tongue- 

 and-groove siding, which makes a tight, fairly draft- 

 proof wall, and in a term of years will cost less for up- 

 keep. Only under extreme conditions need the walls be 

 ceiled. 



In all cases where a double wall is provided, special 

 attention must be given to making the house rat-proof, 

 as it is practically impossible to dislodge rats after they 

 have once established themselves in such a building. If 

 the house has a concrete foundation, and the first few 

 inches of the walls are filled in with concrete, it will be 

 impossible for the rats to obtain entrance. 



One method of constructing the walls of a poultry 





FIG. 15 BRIDGING JOISTS TO STRENGTHEN FLOOR 



house is shown in Fig. 18, consisting of tongue-and- 

 groove siding lined with paper, held in place with strips. 

 In lining a new building the paper may be secured with 

 less trouble simply by tacking it to the outside face of 

 the studs before putting on the siding. This construction 

 is practical and satisfactory where fowls do not have ac- 

 cess to the paper. Where this is the case, no matter how 

 carefully it is nailed on, they will soon tear it off. 



In some sections the poultry-house wall consists of 

 sheathing boards' covered with waterproofed building 

 paper, over which shingles are nailed. This is excelk>nt 

 construction, but rather expensive. (See Fig. 20.) 



With most of the buildings illustrated in this book 

 there is no necessity for bracing, except as indicated in 

 special cases. However, where the house is to be ex- 

 posed to severe winds, it is safer to put braces at 

 all corners, and, in the case of long houses, to put in in- 

 terior braces, locating them at partitions, so that they 

 will not be in the way. 



Different Types of Poultry House Roofs 



The types of poultry-house roofs in common use are 

 shown in Fig. 23. Choice between them is determined 

 by the width of the building, the use to which it is to 

 be put, and the personal preference of the builder as to 

 appearance, etc. Shed roofs are by far the most com- 

 mon, with gable roofs probably second in popularity. 

 Monitor roofs are seldom used except where there is to 

 be a passageway through the middle of the house with 

 pens on each side. The combination roof is employed 

 mainly on wide houses, the object being to secure suf- 

 ficient pitch with minimum height. The semi-monitor 

 roof provides a means of getting direct sunlight into the 

 rear of the house in combination with a low front. 

 A-shaped roofs are in use mainly on small colony houses. 

 (See Fig. 52.) 



