HOUSING AND HYGIENE 251 



wliicli lead to rapid reproduction are those wliich tend toward 

 comfort. The natural laying and l)reeding season is in the 

 spring, because conditions are those which furnish comfort. 

 The successful hen-house will furnish its occupants with 

 permanent protection from dampness, drafts, wind, filth, 

 vermin, or other causes of discomfort and disease, and 

 from their larger enemies. At the same time it will give 

 free access to the sunlight and fresh air. It furnishes all the 

 protective advantages of the tree limb or hedge row without 

 furnishing their discomforts or adding others, and insofar 

 as possible duplicates spring conditions the year round. 



Location. — Comfort in the poultry-house is as much a 

 matter of location as it is of construction, and the location of 

 the building has very much to do with its success. In a 

 general way the house fixes the center of the circle which 

 marks the limits of the birds' range. This is increasingly 

 true under modern methods of feeding, where each flock of 

 fowls is always fed in or near its own house, whether it 

 be fed by hopper or out of hand. 



The house marks the spot wdiere they spend much of their 

 time in the winter, which is the season that most taxes the 

 producer's skill. The well-located house will be so situated 

 that its occupants spend a maximum of time out of doors. 

 This is desirable because it adds to the fowl's health and 

 lessens the relative cost of the house. The greater the 

 proportion of time that the fowls remain outside, the larger 

 is the number of fowls the house will accommodate. 



Shade and Shelter. — Extremes of temperature lessen pro- 

 duction, and should be modified insofar as it is practicable. 

 Although the ancestors of many of our common \arieties of 

 chickens are believed to have come from a warm country, 

 the domestic fowl does not seem to be very well equipped 

 to withstand high temperatures. There are no sweat glands, 

 as in the horse, to aid in keeping the body cool. The molt 

 comes as a preparation for w'inter rather than for the purpose 

 of keeping the hen cool, as does the shedding of other animals. 

 About the only means for reducing her l:)ody temperature 

 when it is too high that has been furnished the hen is panting, 

 and panting steals productive energy. 



