AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 
count of fighting vermin, as explained early in this 
chapter. My personal preference is for the hori- 
zontal droppings board rather than the slanting 
one, because fowls that happen to fall or get 
pushed off the perches can obtain no foothold on 
a slanting platform, but must slide (through drop- 
pings and all) until the horizontal base board is 
reached. 
For the benefit of those who wish to make their 
own fixtures, the dimensions and details of con- 
struction are given herewith. The nests are 11 x 14 
inches in size, inside measurement. ‘The fixtures 
illustrated are five feet in length, but may be made 
any convenient length. Any number of perches 
may be used on the fixture, but not more than three 
are desirable. With very small flocks, sometimes 
only one perch is necessary. A fixture, five feet 
long with two perches will accommodate about fif- 
teen medium-sized birds—more of small breeds, 
and fewer of large breeds. As a rule it is best to 
have the fixture long and narrow; this not only 
gives sufficient length in the fixture in which to con- 
struct all the nests necessary for the hens, but also 
conduces to the good health of the fowls while 
sleeping, as it is not best for them to be bunched 
up in too concentrated a mass. The droppings 
boards are fourteen inches above the bottom of 
nests, allowing the hens plenty of head room in the 
nests. 
64 
