68 



OPEN-AIR POULTRY HOUSES 



slides are in east and west ends near the front. The open-front 

 is 3i/;x9 feet and is never wholly closed. Balance of front, excejat 

 doors, is boarded. There is a door 3% feet wide on either side of 

 open front. Each has a solid matched board door which opens 

 in, and another door (top half wire netting and bottom half cot- 

 ton cloth) which swings out. The solid door is kept open all day 

 in winter, except in extremely cold storms. In summer the solid 

 door is kept open all the time. The screen door of wire and cloth 

 is used when solid door is open and it is desired to confine the 



SIB£ . fl-EV/tT/O// 



Fig. 17. Side elevation Gillette open-air poultry house; "a" is 2 feet 

 square, ventilating door for vfarm weather use; "b" is glass window, 

 two half sash each, six 8x1 2-inch lights. 



fowls to the house, or in very windy weather when it is not con- 

 sidered desirable to have front so wide open, "d, d" are remov- 

 able boards that are used to keep litter and sand out of the door- 

 way. It will be noted, in illustrations of this house from photo- 

 graphs, that a cloth screen is shown which slides up over open 

 front, partlj' closing it. This cloth screen slides in a groove of 

 wooden cleats and is held in place by a wooden pin. Detail of 

 curtain slide is shown in "curtain detail" in plan. It will be 

 noted that curtain does not fit close against front of building, 

 but is some 2 inches from it, leaving an air space between cur- 

 tain and front of house. It has been used but seldom in ex- 

 tremely hard winter wind storms and has never been wholl)'' 

 closed. I am of the opinion that the curtain or cloth screen is 

 not necessary to successful use of this house. It will be seen from 

 the plan that roof projects about 1 foot bej'ond side walls of 

 building, which is considered a desirable feature. 



"Fig. 19, Ground Plan," shows the square floor plan of house 



