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SUGGESTIONS FOR BREEDING AND LAYING HOUSES. 



(Wm. F. Greer, Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 



These breeding and laying houses are built with two-foot run- 

 ways under the main building, which provides a nice cool place dur- 

 ing the hot days of summer. The earth floor in the runway is elevated 

 six inches above the ground on the outside. The floor of the main 

 building is of boards covered with one inch of earth and sand. The 

 scratching shed is covered with eight inches of litter. The roosting 

 room has a litter of straw scattered OA^er the earth. We prefer a yard 

 on the north side of the house to be used in summer, and one on the 

 south side to be used in winter. In this way something can be kept 

 growing in one yard and the ground kept fresh. 



The small door in the north side of the house is opened when the 

 hens are using the north yard. The perches are on hinges, so the 

 dropping board can be easily cleaned. The main rooms are seven feet 

 high in front and five feet in the rear. A drop curtain, made of cloth, 

 which covers a light frame, is hung on hinges and is used to let down 



Iff* 



over the wire netting during winter and stormy days. The north, 

 east and west walls are built of eight-inch shiplap. The roof is built 

 likewise and covered with some roofing material. If thought neces- 

 sary, a drop curtain can be made to let down in front of the perches 

 in severe weather. There is a six-inch wall of concrete, which forms 

 the foundation and reaches about six inches above the ground on the 

 outside, and even with the ground on the inside of the building. 



No one can deny the many advantages of the scratching shed in 

 this type of house, but the argument of most poultry men is that it 

 costs more to build a house with a scratching shed, but this house can 

 be built for about $1.15 per hen, which is about as cheap as any build- 

 ing could be put up of a like substantial nature. You will notice that 

 there is an open doorway between the roosting room and the scratch- 

 ing shed, and a twelve-inch board holds the litter in the front of the 

 scratching shed. 



