LOCATING AND PLANNING POULTRY HOUSES 



13 



windows placed 4, 6 and 7 feet high, respectively, is clear- 

 ly shown in Fig. 7, on this page. In the wintertime, with 

 the window 4 feet high, direct sunlight will never reach 

 farther back than 9 feet from the front (see dotted line). 

 With the window 6 feet high it will penetrate to 13^2 

 feet (see line of dashes), and at 7 feet it will reach the 

 rear of a 16-foot house (see solid line). In the summer- 

 time when the sun is higher in the sky, the penetration 

 will be much less, as shown by the second series of 

 lines. 



It should be understood that in each case these lines 

 represent extreme penetration, which lasts for but a short 

 time, and occurs only when the sun is rising or setting 

 and when the rays have comparatively little power. Pro- 

 vision for securing direct sunlight on all parts of the 

 pen floor, therefore, is practical only to a limited extent, 

 and the advantage of doing so probably is very slight. 

 It is much more practical to be sure that the window 

 and shutter openings are placed so as to light and ven- 

 tilate the house properly and conveniently, without ex- 

 posing the fowls to diafts, and without being too greatly 

 exercised over the theoret- 

 ical advantages of "flooding 

 the house with sunshine." 

 The height of the house, 

 as has already been sug- 

 gested, is determined 

 chiefly by the require- 

 ments of the attendant. 

 The rear or north wall sel- 

 dom need be more than 

 five feet high, and where 

 prepared roofing is used, 

 the front need not be over 

 seven or seven and a half 

 feet, up to a width of 

 twelve feet. If fourteen to 

 sixteen feet wide, the front pIG 7 _ DIRECT SUNLIGHT IN 

 should be eight feet high, 



where a shed roof is provided, and about nine feet with a 

 twenty-foot house. For a width of sixteen feet or over, 

 a combination roof generally is recommended, usually 

 with a seven-foot front and a ridge about nine feet high. 



In order to insure a dry floor it should be six inches 

 to one foot above the ground level, whether it is of earth 

 or concrete. If a board floor, it should be elevated at 

 least one foot above the ground level, and in damp loca- 

 tions, three feet or more. When the house is built on 

 sloping ground, the site should be leveled, with a ditch on 

 high side, to drain the water off after rains (see Fig. 5.) 



Squaring the Foundation 



In squaring the foundation the method shown in Fig. 

 6 will be found convenient and practical. In using this 

 method three stakes (a, a, a) are driven at each corner, 

 about one foot outside of where the permanent wall is to 

 be located, and about three feet apart, connecting them 

 at the top with strips of board (b, b) about four inches 

 wide, after which a cord should be looped around small 

 nails (c. c), driven into the boards, as indicated in draw- 

 ing. The points at which the cord crosses itself repre- 

 sents approximately the corners of the .building. 



Now, taking one corner as a trial corner, measure 

 from the point where the cords cross (d).to a distance of 

 six feet on one side (e) and eight feet on the other (f). 

 With these two dimensions secured the corner will be 

 exactly square when the distance between the points e 

 and f, measuring diagonally, is just ten feet. If the diag- 

 onal line does not measure exactly ten feet, change the 



position of the nails holding the cord until the correct 

 measurement is secured. With one corner established in 

 this way, it is an easy matter to square up the others in 

 a similar manner. The corner strips should remain in 

 position until the frame of the building is up, so that no 

 matter how many times the cord may have to be removed 

 for convenience in construction, it will always exactly in- 

 dicate the corners when looped over the nails. 



Concrete Foundations 



The foundation of the poultry house should be sub- 

 stantial and well made. Only in the cheapest and most 

 temporary structures is it advisable to build without a 

 foundation, and there seldom is any economy in setting 

 the house on wooden posts. If it is not desirable to pro- 

 vide a solid concrete foundation, at least place the build- 

 ing on concrete posts, which cost but little more than 

 wood and are practically indestructible. 



Where the soil is firm, the simplest and easiest way 

 to build a concrete foundation is to excavate a trench 

 about eight inches wide and deep enough to extend below 

 the frost line, filling in to the ground level with concrete. 



Where the soil 

 is not firm, the 



Sun's rays from 



April 21st to 



Sept. 21st 



Sun's rays 

 at Dec. 21st 



trench should 

 be wider to ad- 

 mit form boards. 

 Wherever practi- 

 cable the trench 

 should slope to the lowest 

 point, from which a line of tile 

 may be laid to provide outlet 

 for any water that may ac- 

 cumulate within or under the 

 foundation walls. In damp 

 locations it is a good plan to 

 lay a line of two-inch tile 

 underneath the foundation, all 

 THE POULTRY HOUSE arQund the building . or to put a ~ 



few inches of coarse broken stone in the bottom of the 

 ditch, starting the concrete wall on top of this. 



W T here field stones are available, dig the ditch a foot 

 wide and fill it in with stone to a few inches below the 

 ground level, on top of which an eight-inch concrete 

 foundation is to be placed. Under ordinary conditions the 

 foundation should extend six to twelve inches above 

 ground level, being built by the use of form boards spaced 

 about six inches apart. See Fig. 8. Fig. 10 shows an- 

 other method of building the foundation where a wide 

 footing is desired. 



Where stone is easily secured, foundations of this 

 material may be used at less cost than concrete. Stone 

 walls should be about twelve inches wide, and should be 

 carried down to the frost-line, and underdrained as de- 

 scribed for concrete foundations. 



If wooden foundations are desired, cedar, locust, ca- 

 talpa, or chestnut posts will be found most desirable. 

 These should be placed at least two to three feet in the 

 ground, and spaced not over eight feet apart. All woo !en 

 posts should be treated with creosote to prevent decay. 

 There are few conditions, however, under which it is de- 

 sirable or economical to use wooden posts. If a solid 

 stone or concrete wall- is considered too expensive, or if 

 the building is to have a board floor elevated off the 

 ground so that a solid foundation wall is not necessary. 

 it will cost little if any more to provide stone or concrete 

 posts than wooden ones. 



Where wooden foundations are used with earth 

 floors, it is common practice to provide subsills of 2 by 



