CIIAFTKil Vr. 

 HOUSING AND HYGIENE. 



Housing is Unnatural. — When tlic hen is confined in a 

 l)uil(ling she is placed under a liiglily artificial condition. 

 In lier wild state she does not ordinarily seek protection or 

 seclusion in caves or burrows as do certain other birds. The 

 ancestors of the domestic white-egged varieties were jungle 

 dwellers, and sought safety and rest on the high lin)b of a 

 tree or the seclusion of the underbrush. While the ancestors 

 of at least a i)art of tlie feather-footed varieties probably 

 had somewhat different habits, nevertheless, they never 

 left the open. 



Housing; is Necessary.— The housing of jioultry is necessary, 

 however, for, as IJrown' [)()ints out, there has been a "general 

 enfeeblement (of the races of poultry), which is the ])enalty 

 we have to pay for breeding under unnatural conditions, for 

 inbreeding to fix defined characters, and for using as stock 

 birds those s|)ecimens which, in res])ect to vigor of body, are 

 the least fit, e\'en though they show the racial type to tlie 

 highest degree." Artilicial protection is uecessaiy to oll'set 

 this general enfeebleineiit. 



It is also necessary in order that as much as possible of 

 the energy derived from feed may be used for productive 

 ])urposes, rather than in withstanding heat or cold winds and 

 dampness. The tree-roosting hen is usually vigorous, but 

 she is not a great producer except in very favorable weather. 



Comfort the Prime Essential. — Other things being ecpial, 

 ])rodnction of meat or eggs is in direct pro])ortion to the 

 cdUifort of the hens. So far as the hens are concerned, 

 egg production is essentially reproduction. I'he balance of 

 the process of bringing a new creature into the world may 

 be accomplished w'ithout the aid of the hen. The conditions 



' Races of Domestic Poultry. 



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