108 



POULTRY HOUSES AND FIXTURES 



construction is easily understood from the illustration. 

 The bottom is slatted so that the fowls cannot sit on the 

 floor and so that the droppings will fall to the ground, 

 thus avoiding the necessity for frequent cleaning. The 

 top is made movable so that it can be lifted off to change 

 the hens or to clean and disinfect when that becomes 

 .necessary. If placed under a tree or open shed the hens 

 will be quite comfortable, and if well fed .will soon be 

 ready to resume laying again. 



Labor-Saving Watering Device 



Where large numbers of fowls are to be watered, and 

 a water tap is available, a convenient, labor-saving method 



is to provide a 

 barrel with an 

 ordinary wooden 

 faucet near the 

 bottom, a'r- 

 ranged to drip 

 into an earthen- 

 ware crock, gal- 

 vanized pan, or 

 trough of suita- 

 ble size (see Fig. 

 229), from which 

 the fowls drink. 

 The barrel is 

 filled by means 

 of a hose and 

 the faucet is set 

 to drip just fast 

 enough to meet 

 the requirements 

 of the fowls. 

 Where water has 

 to be hauled and 

 practicable to 



FIG. 230 KNAPSACK SPRAYER FOR 



DISINFECTING AND GENERAL, 



SPRAYING 



FIG. 229 A LABOR SAVING 

 WATERING DEVICE 



must be avoided 



it 



waste 



use a regular hog-watering device which is attached 

 to the bottom of a barrel, or a suitable tank, 

 and provided with a float by means of which a fresh sup- 

 ply is turned on whenever the water in the drinking cup 

 is lowered to a certain level. 



Outdoor Feed Hopper 



The feed hopper for grain and mash, illustrated in 

 Fig. 228 is especially designed for outdoor use. It can 

 be made in any desired size, but for 

 use on the range should be large 

 enough to hold two or three weeks' 

 supply of feed at a time in order to 

 avoid frequent refilling. The com- 

 partments can be adjusted as to num- 

 ber and size according to individual 

 requirements. The extended sides 

 and top protect' the feed trough from 

 both wind and rain, and the top is 

 covered with a good grade of pre- 

 pared roofing. Top is fastened in 

 place with hooks so that it cannot 

 blow off. In illustration, one side of 

 roof is unhooked and set aside to 



show interior construction and the middle supports that 

 prevent roof from bending out of shape. 



A Box for Carrying Fowls 



Another useful, in fact almost indispensable article 

 around the poultry yard, is a carrying box or crate. It 

 often is necessary, especially where one is somewhat 



r-amp4 for room, to ehatige young stock from one yard 

 or house to another, separate pullets from cockerels, or 

 double up yards in order to make room for others. With- 

 out a carrying crate the poultryman is obliged to carry 

 the fowls by the 

 legs, five or six 

 at a time, which 

 not only tends 

 to make them 

 wild, but there 

 is danger of in- 

 juring many fine 

 birds. With this 

 crate, which ha^ 

 a small door or 

 a loose lath in 

 the top, a dozen 

 or more can be 

 caught at a time 

 and transferred 

 wherever t h e y 

 are wanted, and 

 this can be done 



quietly and rapidly without injury to the birds and with 

 much less labor than carrying them in the usual way. 



A Sparrow Trap 



In many localities sparrows are a source" of con- 

 tinual loss to poultry keepers. Often clouds of them 

 will regularly .visit outside feeding places, especially 

 where chicks are fed, and will go through inch-mesh win- 

 dow netting, to get at indoor feed hoppers. As poison- 

 ing is unsafe because of the danger to fowls, about the 

 only means of exterminating them is by the use of traps. 

 The one shown in Fig. 232 is practical and convenient. 



This trap is made of galvanized wire cloth, or half 

 inch poultry netting. As here illustrated is about a yard 

 in length, and 15 to 18 inches high and wide. The ends 

 of the trap are bent in as shown, and provided with a 

 3-inch hole next to the ground. About this hole sharp- 

 ened wire spurs are bent in so that while the birds have 

 no trouble in passing through, it is impossible for them 

 to fly out again. The white spot near the center of the 

 trap is a piece of bread, used as bait. This trap is to be 

 set on the ground on the lawn or in the poultry yard, 

 and its efficiency will be increased if two or three spar- 

 rows always are left in it as decoys. 



C 



FIG. 231 SIMPLE CARRYING CRATE FOR FOWLS 



Wheelbarrows and Carts 



A good wheelbarrow is an essential article of equip- 

 ment on every poultry plant, and there is no economy in 

 trying to get along without it. One with a flat bottom 

 and removable sides is much better adapted to the poul- 

 try keeper's requirements than the cheaper kind with 

 sloping bottom made for handling dirt, sand, etc. Hand- 





