54 CONVENIENT EQUIPMENT 



Next is the run or yard, where the hens spend 

 most of their time during favorable weather. This 

 is the summer exercising place and playground, 

 supplying the fowls with two important necessities 

 for their health and productiveness fresh air and 

 mother earth to scratch in. 



Personally I prefer a good sized runway, but it 

 is not an absolute necessity to have this so large. Of 

 course, if the run is small it must be more often 

 cleaned and spaded so as to keep it fresh and sani- 

 tary. Whatever the size of the yard, it should be 

 well drained, free from low places where water will 

 stand, and free from soil which will bake hard 

 during hot weather and get muddy after a rain. 



The best soil for a run is one which absorbs the 

 water, leaving the top soil quite dry shortly after 

 a rain. I do not advise using cinders or ashes as 

 a covering for the yards, although it is sometimes 

 necessary to resort to them where the soil is 

 unfavorable. 



Where space permits, it is a good idea to have a 

 double run for each pen, which permits the seeding 

 down of the runs with oats or other quick growing 

 grains, and then alternating the fowls from one run 

 to the other. By this plan the hens can help them- 

 selves to their green food, and they certainly do 

 enjoy such freshly grown tender grasses. 



After the house and the runs are completed equip- 

 ment necessary for the operation of the little poultry 



