28 EGG MONEY 



vice or method intended to promote exercise in flocks con- 

 fined in yards is not nearly so effective as the opportunity 

 to run free over the broad acres of the farm, or a tract 

 of considerable area on the plant of limited acreage. It 

 is the vigorous pullet that lays the eggs and the exei'cising 

 pullet is the most vigorous. 



Healthful Accommodations. 



In most latitudes where the poultry business is suc- 

 cessfully carried on, the weather continues comfortable 

 during the month of October and the maturing pullets are 

 l)etter off in the fields, with roosting coops in which to 

 find shelter and protection at night, than they are in the 

 permanent houses and yards. Fresh air is as necessary 

 during the night as it is in the daytime, and coops so con- 

 structed as to admit plenty of it, and at the same time 

 protect the flock from drafts, are to be desired. The writ- 

 er prefers coops about 3x6 feet on the ground, 3 feet high 

 at the rear and 5 feet in front. These require but little 

 framing and may be covered with tongued and grooved 

 lumber with the roofs covered with some waterproof 

 fabric to keep them dry. The north side and both ends 

 should be tightly boarded; but the south side may be 

 covered with three-inch slats, placed two inches apart. 

 If there is danger from animals, the front may be cov- 

 ered with inch mesh wire netting outside the slats or the 

 slats may be dispensed with entirely and the wire sup- 

 ported by an occasional upright. Each coop should be 

 provided with a door of convenient size which will be most 

 convenient if placed in the center of the front. The door 

 should not be solid,, but made in the same manner as the 

 remainder of the front side. 



As cold weather approaches and the nights become 

 chilly, a curtain of light cotton cloth, or of burlap, may be 

 rigged to cover the front of the coop when necessary to 

 protect the inmates from cold winds or from storms. 



Crowding is Dangerous. 



One of the principal dangers to flocks of maturing 

 chicks is from crowding. Frequently the broods are al- 

 lowed to remain in the small coops in which they were 



