POULTRY HOUSES 



27 



Number of Fowls per Acre. The number of fowls 

 that are kept on 1 A. by intensive methods varies 

 considerably. Under most conditions 500 fowls is a 

 large number to keep on an acre. The number of fowls 

 that can be successfully kept per acre depends to some 

 extent on the purpose for which the fowls are kept. 

 Fewer laying hens can be kept on an acre than fowls 

 that are intended only for market poultry. As many 

 as 1,000 laying hens have been kept on an acre with 

 fair success. Some instances are recorded where more 

 than this number have been kept on an acre, but the 

 common yteld of hens so kept never equals that of hens 

 that are equally well cared for on a larger area. 



As many as several thousand broilers can be raised 

 to marketable size on an acre of ground in a single 

 year when houses suitable to the purpose are used, 

 but even among most skilful poultrymen there is seldom 

 any attempt to raise as many as this on an acre. 



In some systems of poultry raising, as many as 650 

 half-grown and mature fowls are confined upon a plot 

 of ground 50 ft. wide and 60 ft. long. This allows only 

 3,000 sq. ft. for 650 fowls, or but a trifle over 4.6 sq. ft. 



per fowl. This is at the rate of 9,400 fowls to the acre. 

 Under such conditions the problems of sanitation and 

 providing the fowls with sufficient exercise are very 

 serious. 



