164 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I907. 



fastened to the front of the trough at an angle of about 45 

 degrees to catch the fine meal that the birds pull out and would 

 otherwise waste. They clear it up from this little catchall and 

 so waste is mostly prevented. 



Two lines of 4 by 4 inch spruce are arranged as an elevated 

 track above the doors. The track extends the entire length of 

 the building and being faced with narrow steel bands on top, a 

 suspended car is readily pushed along, even when heavily loaded. 

 The platform of the car is 2 by 8 feet in size and is elevated a 

 foot above the floor. All food and water are carried through 

 the building on this car. The 10 iron baskets, into which the 

 roost platforms are cleaned every morning, are put on the car 

 and collections made as the car passes through the pens to the 

 far end of the building, 400 feet away, where the roost cleanings 

 are dumped into the manure shed. As the car is pushed along, 

 the guard at the front end comes in contact with the doors and 

 pushes them open and they remain so until the car has passed 

 through, when the spring hinges force them to close again. This 

 car is a great labor saver as it does away with nearly all lugging 

 by the workmen. It has enabled one man to take good care of 

 the 2,000 hens throughout the year, except on Saturdays when 

 the litter has been removed and renewed by other men. 

 . At one end of the building there is a temporary food and 

 water house for dish washing and scalding and where the car 

 remains when not being used. 



There is a walk outside of the building extending along its 

 entire front. It is 4 feet wide and is made of 2 inch plank ; it is 

 elevated 2 feet above the floor of the building, which allows the 

 doors, through which the birds pass to the front yards, to be 

 opened and closed without interferences. The door which opens 

 out of each room through the curtain section, is above the out- 

 side walk and necessitates stepping up and down when passing 

 through, which is not a very serious objection, as the door is 

 used but little in the daily work, but mostly in cleaning out and 

 renewing the floor litter. A guard of wire poultry netting, a 

 foot wide along the outside of the walk, prevents the birds from 

 flying from the yards up to the walk. The advantage of the 

 elevated walk, over one on a level with the sill of the building is 

 that it is unobstructed by gates, which would be necessary were 

 the low walk used, to prevent the birds from passing from one 

 yard to another. 



