CHAPTER V 

 Poultry Fixtures and Devices 



Much of the comfort of a poultry flock and much 

 of the convenience to the poultryman depend 

 upon the fixtures and devices adopted in the houses 

 and yards. Scattered throughout this volume, there- 

 fore, are drawings illustrating many devices for 

 the convenience of the poultry raiser and the com- 

 fort of the fowls. It will' not be necessary to discuss 

 these at length, because the drawings furnish suffi- 

 cient means for any one handy with tools to make 

 them without difficulty. A few words, however, may 

 be said in a general way as to the desirability of 

 certain styles of apparatus. 



Roosts should preferably be placed comparatively 

 near the floor of the poultry house, so that fowls 

 will not have difficulty in flying up or down. This 

 is especially desirable where heavy breeds are kept, 

 because these fowls not only find trouble in reach- 

 ing high roosts, but in flying down they are very 

 likely to injure their feet or legs, and even fowls of 

 the light breeds may injure themselves in the same 

 way if the floor is hard, as it usually is. All roosts 

 should be on the same level to prevent fowls from 

 crowding one another, as they will do if one roost 

 is even a trifle above another. The desire of the 

 fowls is to reach the topmost boughs of the tree to 

 be out of the reach of enemies, but as enemies are 

 kept out of the poultry yard there is no reason why 

 fowls should climb high. 



