HOUSING AND HYGIENE 2{j!'> 



Evils of Overcrowding. — When bens are too closely penned 

 or are not allowed enough floor and yard space they are 

 naturally discontented. Following the laws of nature, that 

 l)oth plants and animals sliall reproduce themselves most 

 abundantly when the conditions surrounding them come 

 nearest to fulfilling their wants, egg production is likel}* to 

 suffer under close confinement. 



Besides this, certain vices generally appear in the flock 

 of considerable size that is closely confined or whose quarters 

 are too small. One of the first to appear is feather-pulling. 

 Starting at first as a manifestation of nervous impatience by 

 a few birds, it is likely to be imitated l)y most of the flock, 

 with the result that many fowls in the flock are kejjt rather 

 destitute of feathers. If it so happens that the featliers are 

 green and a little blood appears, cannibalism is likel\' to 

 develop, and at times is the cause of serious loss. At best, 

 protein that might otherwise be used toward the manufac- 

 ture of eggs must be used in constantly growing new feathers. 



Egg-eating is very much more likely to develop in a 

 crowded pen, largely due, perhaps, to the fact that eggs 

 are more often broken under such conditions. Nevertheless 

 the loss from such cause may be large. 



A further evil of crowding that must not be overlooked 

 is the curtailment of the production of the weaker indi- 

 viduals of the flock. Where generous space is allowed each 

 fowl the less vigorous ones have more opportunity and are 

 likely to respond with a stronger production. A fowl that 

 is being continually pecked around, as the least vigorous 

 ones are in crowded quarters, cannot be expected to be a 

 profitable producer. 



Size of the Pen. — The small flock is usually housed in a 

 building containing a single room or pen. Large flocks are 

 generally divided in groups even when kept in the same 

 house and each group given a separate pen. 



The question of just what constitutes a flock of the proper 

 size is a question upon which practical poultrymcn ditt'er 

 and upon which there is little experimental evidence. The 

 natural covey of the wild ancestors of at least a part of our 

 domestic hens is five or six. With ari unskilled poultryman 



