36 



haps one of the best if you do not use trap nests. You can build a 

 bracket of 2x4 's at each end so the nests will slide underneath the 

 droppings boards and be easily removed. Or where the nests are 

 built of light material, we have seen others take four screw hooks 

 and eyes and fasten the hooks in the top corners of the nest box and 

 the eyes in the bottom of the droppings board, and this allows the 



Inexpensive poultry houses. 



iest to hang underneath out of the way. AYe turn the front of the 

 nests to the wall, and the board on the back of the nests is on hinges, 

 and can be raised and the eggs gathered and the hens looked after. 

 "We prefer to have a narrow board extending out along the front of 

 the nests so the hens can get upon this before entering the nest. Have 

 the roosts, droppings board and nests high enough so there will be 

 sufficient room underneath the nests for the litter and the hens to 

 scratch. Provide an opening in the front of your house, at least three 

 by five feet, to admit fresh air, and cover the opening with one-inch 

 mesh galvanized wire, and on the inside provide a cloth curtain or 

 cloth-covered door to protect your fowls in case of a blizzard. Build 

 your house and equip it as suggested, and if you do not get results, it 

 is no fault of your house. 



A concrete floor is the most sanitary and easiest cleaned. If it 

 is put in properly there is no danger of dampness. Fill inside the 

 foundation with cinders or gravel until the floor is six or eight inches 

 higher than the earth on the outside of the building. Cover this with 

 one and a half or two inches of concrete. Tamp well. Make your top 

 dressing of pure cement and water. After it has dried sufficiently to 

 trowel, trowel until the floor is perfectly smooth. When the floor is 

 in use in winter months, keep it covered with eight to twelve inches 

 of straw and you have a most satisfactory floor. This applies to any 

 house mentioned in this book. 



Housing is one of the most important subjects connected with 

 poultry production, for both the comfort and health of the fowls de- 



