22 POULTRY HOUSES 



may be placed. The foundation on which the house 

 is placed must correspond in size to that of the house. 

 The ground inside the house should be fairly dry and 

 free from stones and lumps of earth. It should be 

 stirred frequently and kept loose so that the fowls 

 will have to scratch in it when small grain is fed. When 

 the soil inside the house becomes tainted, it should be 

 changed as directed in a preceding paragraph. When 

 a house is moved to the second foundation, the tainted 

 soil of the first foundation may be freshened by passing 

 it through a coarse sieve and by the addition of new 

 soil; if the soil is tainted to a considerable depth it 

 should be plowed or spaded into the ground and fresh 

 soil put on the surface. By moving the houses frequently 

 and by judiciously caring for the soil, the houses and 

 surroundings may be kept in a fairly sanitary condition, 

 and as long as such a condition exists the health of the 

 fowls will be maintained. The vitality of fowls kept 

 in this way will nevertheless gradually decrease. 



The brood coops to be used in connection with the 

 laying house shown in Fig. 9 may be made as shown 

 in Fig. 13 (a). The coop shown is 7 ft. long, y/ 2 ft. wide, 

 2 l / 2 ft. high in the rear, 2 ft. high in the front, and 3 ft. 

 high in the middle. Coops of this type may be made 

 larger or smaller than the dimensions given, and they 

 may be made single, as shown in (a), or in sections, 

 as shown in (&) ; if made in sections, the coops may be 

 thrown into one large compartment or each coop may 

 be kept separate. The coop may have either a fixed or a 

 movable board floor, or the ground may be used as a 

 floor. The most satisfactory results will be obtained, es- 

 pecially when fireless brooders are used, if the rear half 

 of the floor is made of boards and the other part of dirt. 

 When the chicks are to be reared artificially without 

 heat, fireless brooders e can be placed on the board 

 floor at the rear of the coop. 



The passage of currents of cold air through the coop 

 is prevented by hanging muslin or canvas around the 

 front of the roof; this also prevents the chicks from 



