48 



SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



tightly by" means of cords or chains answers the purpose 

 admirably and may be constructed with little expense. The 

 ease and convenience of operation are important points, and 

 should not be neglected when the building is being con- 

 structed. It is a simple matter for the attendant to open 

 or close a ventilator as he passes through the house if the 

 appliances for operating it are within easy reach. Fig. 2 

 represents an efEicient and easily operated ventilator. 



Ilg. Z.-^Ventilator for a Poultry House. 



Perches. ' 



•'Perches should not be more than two and a half feet 

 from the floor, and should all be of the same height. Many 

 fowls prefer to perch as far above the ground as possible, 

 in order, without doubt, to be more secure from their natur- 

 al enemies; but when fowls are protected artificially from 

 skunks, minks, foxes, etc., a low perch is just as safe and a 

 great deal better for the heavy-bodied fowls. It must be 

 borne in mind that the distance ' given at which perches 

 should be placed from the floor applies to all breeds of 

 fowls. It is true that some of the Mediterranean fowls 

 would not in any way be injured in flying to and from the 

 perches, but some of the heavy breeds would find it almost 

 impossible to reach high perches and would sustain positive 

 injuries in alighting on the floor from any considerable ele- 

 vation. Convenient walks or ladders can be constructed 

 which will enable the large fowls to approach the perches 

 without great effort, but there are always times when even 

 the most clumsy fowls will attempt to fly from the perch 

 tc the floor and come down with a heavy thud, which is 

 often injurious. And furthermore, ladders or stairs for the 

 easy ascent of fowls are more or less of a nuisance in the 

 poultry house. The ideal interior arrangement of the house 

 is to have everything that is needed in as simple a form as 

 possible and not to complicate the arrangement by any un- 

 necessary apparatus. The fewer and simpler the interior 

 arrangements the easier the house can be kept clean, and 

 the greater the floor space available for the fowls. 



"There is no reason why all perches should not be 

 placed near the floor. Movable perches are to tie preferred. 

 A 2x3 scantling set edgewise, with the upper corners round- 

 ed answers every purpose and makes a satisfactory perch. 

 The perches should be firm and not tip or rock. The form 

 of the scantling makes it easy to secure them firmly and 

 still have them removable. 



"Underneath the perches should always be placed a 

 smooth platform to catch the droppings. This is necessary 

 for two reasons: The droppings are valuable for fertiiiziig 



purposes and ought not to be mixed with the litter on the 

 floor; then, too, if the droppings are kept separate and in a 

 convenient place to remove, it is much easier to keep the 

 house clean than when they are allowed to become more or 

 less scattered by the tramping and scratching of fowls. The 

 distance of the plattorm from the perch will be governed 

 somewhat by the means employed for removing the drop- 

 pings, li a broad iron shovel with a tolerably straight han- 

 dle is used, the space between the platform and the perches 

 need not be more than six inches. The droppings should be 



removed every day. 



Nests. 



"In constructing nest boxes, three points should be kept 

 constantly in mind: (1) The box should be of such a nature 

 that it can be readily cleaned and thoroughly disinfected; 

 if it is removable, so that it can be taken out of doors, sO' 

 much the better; (2) it should be placed in the dark, or 

 where there is only just sufficient light for the fowl to dis- 

 tinguish the nest and the nest egg; (3) there should be 

 plenty of room on two or three sides of the nest. It is well 

 known fact that some hens in seeking a nest will always 

 drive ofl' other hens, no matter how many vacant nests may 

 be available. If the nest is so arranged that it can be ap- 

 proached only from one side, when one hen is driying an- 

 other from the nest there is likely to be more or less of a 

 combat, the result of wnich is often a broken egg. This, 

 perhaps, more than any other one thing, leads to the vice 

 of egg eating. To the writer's knowledge, the habit of egg 

 eating is not contracted where the nests are arranged in 

 the dark and open on two or three sides. Nests for Leg- 

 horns or Hamburgs may be made of six-inch fence boards 

 nailed together so as to form boxes 8x10 inches and six 

 inches deep. Where perches are arranged with the platform 

 underneath to catch the droppings, as previously described, 

 the nests may be placed on the floor underneath this plat- 

 form, the opening in front closed w — a door which either 

 lets down from the top or lifts from the bottom. Where 

 nests are placed side by side it is necessary to have the 

 partitions between them of sufficient height so that it will 

 be impossible for a hen to draw eggs from one nest to, 



anotner. 



Drinking Fountains. 



"One of the difficult problems for the poultryman to 

 solve is how to easily provide pure, fresh water for his fowls. 

 Many patent fountains which are on the market are auto- 

 matic and keep before the fowls a certain quantity of water. 

 Under certain conditions these fountains serve an admirable 

 purpose. Under more adverse conditions many of them fail 

 to give satisfaction, because it is impossible to keep them 

 clean. If fowls were fed only whole grain and the weather 



were always cool 

 it would be a com- 

 paratively easy 

 matter to proT 

 vide satisfactory 

 automatic drink- 

 ing fountadms, 

 but as soft food 

 forms a consider- 

 able portion of 

 the diet for lay- 

 ing bens and_ fat- 

 tening fowls 

 these fountains 



are necessarily 

 rig 8 — Drinking Fountain. „„,„ , 



more or less 



fouled and in warm weather soon become unfit for use as 



