UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 



Now Taking an Interest in the Poultry Industry and Rendering Valuable Service — Issues Prac- 

 tical Instructions on the Construction of Poultry Houses, Feed Dishes, the Selection of 

 Breeds, Breeding, Feeding, the Use of Green Food, Grit, Meat Food, Etc. 



Also the Feeding of Young Chicks, the U^e of Incubators and Brooders, Treatment of Diseases, Dressing, Shipping, Etc. 



THE IMPOETAAfCE of the poultry industry will be at 

 once appreciated by the casual observer and re- 

 spected by him when it is known that the govern- 

 ment considers it worthy of -cs close attention and 

 experiments, the results of which are embodied in pamphlets 

 and distributed to those interested, through the Department 

 of Agriculture. 



In the introduction to the latest bulletin on "Fowls; 

 Care and Feeding," Mr. Wilson, the author, writes of the 

 wide distribution of poultry over the United States, the im- 

 portance of eggs and fowls as food, the excellent home mar- 

 ket, and the remunerative prices received for them when 

 judgment is exercised in the management of the business. 

 He further says: 



' ' Although fowls require as wholesome food as any 

 class of live stock, they can be fed perhaps more than any 

 other kind of animals oiji unmerchantable seeds and grains 

 tnat would otherwise be wholly or partially lost. These 

 seeds often contain various weed seeds, broken and unde-' 

 veloped kernels, and thus furnish a variety, of food which 

 is always advantageous in profitable .stock feeding. There 

 is less danger of injury to poultry from these refuse seeds 

 than is the case with any other kind of animals. As a 

 rule, noxious weed seeds can be fed to fowls without fear of 

 disseminating the seeds through the manure, which is not 

 generally true when the weed seeds are fed to other classes 

 of live stock, particularly in any considerable quantity." 



The bulletin then goes on to deseripe and illustrate'the 

 practical construction of poultry houses, with interior ar- 

 rangements as follows: 



Selection of Site for Buildings. 

 ' ' In caring for the various classes of live stock, the 

 question of labor is always an important item, and the class 

 that requires the closest attention to petty details, aa a 

 rule, requires the greatest amount of labor. As poulfry 

 keeping is wholly a business of details, the economy of 

 labor in performing the necessary work is of great import- 

 ance. Buildings not conveniently located and arranged be- 

 come expensive on account of unnecessary labor. 



"As it is necessary to visit poultry houses several times 

 each day in the year, convenience is of more importance 

 than in case of almost any other farm building. The oper- 

 ations must be performed frequently, so that any little in- 

 convenience in the arrangements of the buildings will cause 

 not only extra expense in the care, but in many cases a 

 greater or less neglect of operations that ought to be per- 

 formed carefully each day. It is generally best to locate 

 tlie poultry house at some distance from other farm build- 

 ings, especially if grain is kept in the latter. Convenience 

 of access and freedom from vermin are two desirable points 

 to be 'secured, and they depend largely upon the location. 

 Everything considered, it is the safest to have the house 

 quite isolated. 



"A dry, porous soil is always to be preferred as a site 



for buildings and yards. Cleanliness and freedom from mois- 

 ture must be secured if the greatest success is to be obtain- 

 ed. Without doubt, filth and moisture are the causes, either 

 directly or indirectly, of the majority of poultry diseases. 

 Poultry can be successfully kept on heavy soils, but an open, 

 porous soil can be kept comparatively clean with much lesa 

 labor than a clay soil. When fowls are confined in build- 

 ings and yards, that part o^f the yard nearest the buildings 

 will become more or less filthy from the droppings and con- • 

 tinual tramping to which it is subjected. A heavy or clayey 

 soil not only retains all the manure on the surface, but by 

 retarding percolation at times of frequent showers aids ma- 

 terially m giving the whole surface a complete coating of 

 filth. If a knoll or ridge can be selected where natural 

 drainage is perfect, the ideal condition will be nearly ap- 

 proached. When natural favorable conditions as to drain- 

 age do not exist, thorough under-drainage will go a long way 

 toward mating the necessary amends to insure success. 

 Construction of Houses. 



"In general, it may be said that the house should 

 provide warm, dry, well-lighted and well-ventilated quarters 

 for the fowls. 



"In order to meet these requirements it will be neces- 

 sary to provide a good roof, with side walls more or less im- 

 pervious to moisture and cold, suitable arrangements for 

 lighting and ventilating, and some means for excluding the 

 moisture from beneath. Where permanent buildings are to 

 be erected some provision should be made against rats and 

 mice; and for this reason, if for no other, the structure 

 should be placed on cement walls with foundation below the 

 frost line. Cheap, efficient walls may be made of small field 

 »tone in the following manner: Dig trenches for the walls 

 below the frost line; drive two rows of stakes in the 

 trenches, one row at eacn side of the trench, and board in- 

 side of the stakes.' The boards simply hold the stones and 

 cement in place until the cement hardens. Eough and un- 

 even boards will answer every purpose except for the top 

 ones, which should have the upper edge straight and be 

 placed level to determine the top of the wall. Place two or 

 three layers of stoiie in the bottom of the trench, put on 

 L'oment mixed rather thin, and pound down; repeat this 

 operation until the desired height is obtained. The top of 

 the wall can be smoothed off with a trowelor ditching spade 

 and left until the cement becomes hard, when it will be 

 ready for the building. The boards at the side may be re- 

 moved, if desirable, at any time after the cement becomes 

 hard. 



"For the colder latitudes a house with hollow 'or double 

 side walls is tp be preferred on many accounts, although a 

 solid wall may prove quite satisfactory, particularly if the 

 building is in the hands of a skilled poultryman. Imperfect 

 buildings and appliances, when under the management of 

 skilled and experienced men, are not the hindrances that 

 they would be to the- amateur. Buildings with hollow side 



