FATTENING 405 
junctions, in order that stock for fattening can be secured from 
a large surrounding territory. 
Two types of crates are used, the stationary and the portable. 
These crates are usually constructed so that a number of them form 
a unit, each unit being called a battery. The stationary batteries 
are rapidly falling into disuse, and portable ones are taking their | 
place, much less labor being required to operate the portable 
ones. They can be arranged so as to fit any room or building. An 
excellent feeding battery is shown in figure 185. It is constructed 
as follows:* This battery is divided into eight coops, four tiers of 
two coops each, and holds eighty spring chickens or sixty-four 
hens. It is 2 feet 714 inches wide, and 5 feet 9 inches high. The 
slats in front are 17 inches 
apart. Each set of slats is coe pa 
814 inches wide,and isfastened am MUMlllt 
by buttons, so that it can be ome > 
easily removed and a set of 
slats closer together or farther 
apart quickly inserted. As the 
chickens’ heads vary consider- 
ably in size during the season, 
this adjustable front is neces- 
sary. The dropping pans are 
1% inches below the floors, 
which are made of heavy, : a -_ 
square-mesh wire, roosting Ae 
poles are 2 inches wide, 34 of an weighing, feeding, and moving of the birds can 
inch thick, and 2 feet 6 inches (Pnotoby US. Bureau of Chemistry) 
long. The first floor is 6 inches 
from the ground, and it is 15 inches from the wire floor to the 
top of each coop; thus each tier, including the dropping pans, is 
1634 inches deep. The battery rolls on four wheels, two double- 
pivot wheels in front, and two wheels connected by a bar in the 
rear. The sliding doors on the sides are fitted with hooks which 
fasten into eyes on the battery. The whole battery is made of 
furring, 17% by % inches, covered with 2-inch-mesh wire and 
laths. The feeding troughs are 3/4 inches across the top, inside 
measurement, and 3 inches from top to bottom, outside measure- 
ment. A wire partition divides the battery into two equal parts. 
* Planned by the Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of 
Agriculture. 
