FEEDING AND CAKE OF POULTRY 383 



damp or filthy. Two or three times a year the house and all fixtures 

 should be thoroly disinfected. 



The quarters should be located on well-drained soil, and preferably 

 on a south slope, an east slope being next best. The site should have 

 good air drainage and have ample range adjacent. Trees near the 

 house provide summer shade and keep out the wind. Fowls also ap- 

 preciate some low shrubbery nearby under which they may hide. 



Poultry houses are of three types: (1) The portable colony house 

 with a single pen, (2) the long, continuous house of two or more pens, 

 and (3) the large, single-unit house. The permanent house has cer- 

 tain advantages for housing the flock in winter in the northern states, 

 but on every farm where a good-sized flock is kept there should be 

 at least one portable colony house. In this the young stock may be 

 reared on the range and later the pullets be kept apart so that they 

 will not be abused by the older fowls. 



Preparation of feed ; dry and wet mash. — It has been pointed out 

 previously that grinding grain does not increase its digestibility for 

 poultry. However, poultrymen have found it profitable to feed fowls 

 about one-third of the ration ground in the form of a "mash," as 

 this saves the birds considerable energy. The rest of the ration com- 

 monly consists of grain, fed whole, except in the case of corn, which 

 is often cracked coarsely. The grain is usually thrown on the straw 

 used for bedding the house, where the fowls must scratch to secure it, 

 thus getting ample exercise. Feeding the mash dry in self-feeding 

 hoppers saves labor and gives the best results except for fattening 

 fowls, which may be induced to eat more if the mash is moistened and 

 fed in a trough. It is well, for variety, to give all fowls a wet mash 

 three times a week, perhaps made of the same feeds that make up the 

 dry mash but moistened with water or milk. For chickens a wet mash 

 should be crumbly and not sticky. 



Green feeds. — Some green food is essential for the best results with 

 poultry. The value of these feeds lies not so much in the nutrients 

 they furnish as in the stimulating effect on the appetite and on the 

 digestive tract. Where poultry have plenty of range, they will secure 

 an abundance of green feed during the growing season. Successful 

 poultrymen agree that provision should be made to continue the sup- 

 ply of green feed thruout the winter. Where little or no range 

 is available in spring and summer, soilage or pasture crops should 

 be specially grown. 



Types of fowls. — Two classifications may be followed in grouping 

 the various breeds of fowls: (1) the so-called "standard" classifica- 

 tion of the American Poultry Association, which is based primarily 

 upon the origin and distribution of the breeds, and (2) the utility 



