20 OPEN-AIR POULTRY PIOUSES 



'romid. There are no curtains of any kind. The only protection 

 given to the opening in the south front is the overhang of tiie 

 eaves and the screen'of ^i-inch mesh galvanized wire netting. The 

 screen is used over the opening to confine the fowls and to keep 

 the small birds like sparrows out of the house. Being fine mesh 

 screen it serves as sulficient protection from driving wind, rain 

 and snow storms, and it is really surprising how little of a storm 

 gets tJirough the wire. 



During the fall of 1911 we had one of the worst wind and rain 

 storms Plymouth County, Massachusetts, has experienced for many 

 3^ears. It blew a howling gale from the south and west right off 

 the pond and lake, damaged trees, and drove loose boards around 

 like bits of paper, the wind blew the torrents of rain on a slant 

 that was but little more than the horizontal and it literalh' washed 

 the paint from the south front of the new barn. In spite of 

 rubber clothing I was soaked to the skin going from my dwelling 

 to tlie open-front poultry house, less than 100 yards away. Inside 

 of the house, except for the noise of the wind and rain outside, 

 one would not be aware of the fury of the storm. The wind coukl 

 iiot be felt at all in the house at a distance of four feet from the 

 open front. The fowls were comfortable and happy. A little 

 water came in througli the wire screen, but only a very little, and 

 less than one yard of the floor immediately back of the wire front 

 screen received a wetting. This house is the one shown in the 

 illustrations from photographs showing construction of the Woods 

 House. 



It is less trouble to operate an open- front house than any other 

 kind of poultry building. Being always open, there is no ventila- 

 tion or ventilators, or opening and closing of windows to worry 

 about. You can go to bed and sleep through hard storms and 

 cold nights with no occasion for worry about the fowls or whether 

 yoxi should have left the windows or ventilators open or shut. 



A dozen years ago there were very few open-front houses for 

 poultry. A few poultrj-men scattered over this great country have 

 used open-front sheds and partly open poultry houses for many 

 years, but such houses were not in anything like general use. 

 Most "authorities" used and recommended the closed type of poul- 

 try house. Within the past twelve years open-front houses have 

 been gaining enthusiastic admirers and advocates ever^'where. All 

 over the country you will find open-front open-air poultry quar- 

 ters, of one type or another, that are giving most satisfactory 

 results. 



The open-front house has won its place on merit and it will 



