HOUSING AND HYGIENE 28o 



If a dropping board is used in connection with tlie perclies 

 it should be of tlie very best of matched material and tightly 

 made so that there will be no cracks for mites to find their 

 way into. It should be removable so that the ends may be 

 easily accessible when spraying. The dropping board should 

 be far enough below the perches to permit its being cleaned 

 without removing them. 



Dust Wallow. — The advisability of furnishing hens with a 

 dust bath is a question upon which poultrymen diti'er. The 

 great arguments in its favor are that the hens like it and it 

 helps to keep down the lice. However, even where a covered 

 wallow is furnished, it makes the house dirty and fills the air 

 with dust particles. Almost invariably the hens will come 

 outside the inclosure before shaking themselves. If it lessens 

 the labor of fighting lice it increases the necessity of the 

 rather frequent cleaning of the house. 



Broody Coop. — The broody coop is a great convenience for 

 breaking up broody hens, isolating injured fowls, or for keep- 

 ing extra male birds where one is alternating males. For its 

 main purpose of breaking up broody hens it should be con- 

 structed with a slatted bottom. It is often convenient to 

 locate the broody coop at the end of the dropping board, 

 but it may be fastened to the wall or suspended from the 

 roof. 



Feeding Shelf. — It is necessar.y to have a place where the 

 watering device and feed hoppers can be kept so that the 

 hens cannot scratch the litter into them. For this a shelf, 

 as sliow n in Figure 157, is convenient. It should be placed 

 high enough so that the hens will not be tempted to lay under 

 it and it will not be an obstruction in cleaning out the litter. 

 It is well to place it near the door for the convenience of the 

 caretaker and toward the front of the house. Hens are likely 

 to face the light as they scratch and the litter flies toward 

 the back of the house more often than any other direction. 



Types of Houses. — Houses are usually classified according 

 to the number of rooms or pens they contain, their porta- 

 bility or permanence, or their style of roof. 



The term "continuous house" implies that several pens 

 have been incorporated in one building and several separate 

 groups of birds may be housed under one roof. 



