64 



POULTRY HOUSES AND FIXTURES 



FIG. 116 CROSS SECTION OF BREEDING HOUSE FOR MILD CLIMATES 

 Reproduced from Farmers' Bui. 574, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



pen contains a V-shaped trough for feeding wet mash 

 or other feeds, a hopper on the south wall for the 

 dry mash feed, and about four to six inches of dry straw 

 is kept on the floor. It is intended to put a concrete floor 

 in this house, but up to the present time a dirt floor is 

 being used. There are frames covered with muslin on the 

 inside of the open front, to be let down in 

 stormy weather, and yards 18 feet by 200 feet. 

 Division fences are boarded 30 inches high from 

 the ground with five-foot poultry-proof wire 

 fencing above. It will be noted that this arrange- 

 ment of yards allows each pen the use of a yard 

 at least every other day, as the pens are 9x18. 

 The following bill of materials for this house 

 is taken from Farmers' Bulletin No. 574, also 

 the plans shown in Figs. 114, 115, 116 and 118. 



BILL OP MATERIALS 



Use Size No. of Length Boaid 



Inches Pieces Keet Measure 



Sills 2x4 30 12 240 ft. 



Plates (double) 2x4 44 12 352 ft. 



Ties for rafters 1x5 30 16 220 ft. 



Rafters 2x6 56 14 784 ft. 



Rafters 2x6 56 10 560 ft. 



Studs _ 2x4 38 12 304 ft. 



Studs (front) 2x4 28 8 150 .ft. 



Roosts 2x3 36 8 144 ft. 



Sheathing surfaced one side, for roof 2860 ft. 



Matched flooring for walls, partitions, 



droppings board 3200 ft. 



Boards planed both sides for nests 300 ft. 



340 running feet of Ix3-inch furring for curtain frames. 

 300 sq. ft. of %-inch mesh wire netting for front. 

 300 sq ft. 2-inch mesh wire netting for partitions. 

 350 sq. ft. of muslin cloth for curtains. 

 8 outside doors. 



Prepared roofing paper to cover 2700 sq. ft. 

 Hardware (hinges, nails, staples, etc.) 



A BUILDING BLOCK HOUSE 

 Block Houses Are Especially Suitable 

 for Breeding Pens in Cold Climates. 

 Concrete Blocks Can Be Sub- 

 stituted for Tile. 



Poultry houses constructed of build- 

 ing blocks are particularly desirable, 

 though somewhat expensive for ordi- 

 nary use. The dead-air space between 

 inner and outer walls, which is pro- 

 duced by the hollow blocks, makes the 

 house warm in winter and cool in sum- 

 mer, and if properly ventilated it always 

 will be dry. Block houses are easily 

 kept clean and sanitary and afford few 

 harboring places for mites or lice. 

 Nothing but the high cost of building, 

 this way prevents the use of tile blocks 

 in poultry houses of all kinds. When 

 carelessly constructed such houses are not particularly 

 pleasing in appearance, but with careful workmanship 

 they can be made quite attractive, as is the case in the 

 house illustrated in Fig. 117, which is one of the poultry 

 buildings at Iowa State College. 



This house is built of tile blocks, but concrete blocks 



PIG. 117 BUILDING BLOCK HOUSE AT IOWA STATE COLLEGE 



FIG. 118 FRONT ELEVATION OF BREEDING HOUSE 



Reproduced from Farmers' Bulletin 574, U. S. Department 



of Agriculture. 



can be used where the former are not available. It is 

 14x100 feet with a plain shed roof and is divided into five 

 pens 14x20 feet each, providing comfortably for a breed- 

 ing flock from about 40 to 50 hens. If single pens are 

 preferred instead of flock matings, temporary partitions 

 can be used, thus affording accommodations for ten 

 breeding flocks of 15 to 20 fowls. 

 The house is built with a concrete 

 floor, and the general interior ar- 

 rangement is similar to that shown 

 in other houses in this chapter. 



Ventilation is provided by special- 

 ly constructed windows consisting^ of 

 narrow sashes arranged in sets of 

 four three sets for each 20-foot pen. 

 These sashes are balanced on dowel 

 pins turning in holes in the sides of 

 the window casing, and are connected 

 by means of a chain so that by rais- 

 ing and lowering the chain, each set 

 of sashes can be adjusted to uniform 

 position at a single operation, thus 

 providing any degree of ventilation. 



