maine agricultl'ral hxperimkxt statiox. 55 



Housing The Hens. 



\A'hen work in poultry management was first undertaken at 

 the University of Alaine, the hens were kept in small colonies in 

 accord with what was at that time believed to be the best prac- 

 tice. Houses 10 feet square were erected with the idea of ac- 

 commodating about 15 birds each. Although the houses were 

 veil warmed they were apt to be damp and lined with white 

 frost in very cold weather, when the windows had to be kept 

 shut to protect the birds from cold at night. Another disad- 

 vantage of this kind of house is its small size. A person ca-n 

 not care for hens in such small pens without getting them into 

 a condition of unrest for fear of being cornered in such a small 

 room. The question of extra labor in caring for hens in these 

 small colonies scattered over quite a large area is an important 

 factor in a commercial plant. When the Maine Station began 

 experiments in 1897 a warmed house 150 feet long by 16 feet 

 wide was erected. This house was burned the next spring, but 

 was replaced by another of the same kind. This warmed 

 house, while constructed after the most approved model of the 

 time, was never a satisfactory house for laying hens. For some 

 years it was used only for the keeping of surplus stock and for 

 carrying cockerels over the winter. Finally it was abandoned 

 entirely in favor of curtain-front houses to be described be- 

 low. 



THE ROOSTINC-CEOSET HOUSE. 



Fourteen years ago one of the lO-foot square houses described 

 above was taken for a nucleus and an addition made, so that the 

 reconstructed house was 10 feet wide and 25 feet long. The in- 

 side end of the old house was taken out, so that there is one 

 room with a floor space of 250 square feet. The walls are 

 about 5 1-2 feet high in the clear inside of the building. The 

 whole of the front wall is not filled in, but a space 3 feet wide 

 and 15 feet long is left just under the plate. This space had a 

 frame covered with white drilling, hinged at the top on the 

 inside, so that it could be let down and buttoned during driving 

 storms and winter nights, but hung up out of the way at all 

 other times. The cloth of the outer curtain was oiled with hot 

 linseed oil. The roost platform extended the whole length of 



