86 OPEN-AIR POULTRY PIOUSES 



of the fresh-air type you never get the deadly cliill that is common 

 to a dosed house in winter. Floor and litter keep dry longer and 

 keep sweeter than in dosed houses. Though the front is always 

 open, the house is not a cold one in winter and is much warmer 

 than a shed-roofed building. 



"As to results in open-air houses I do not believe that they can 

 be duplicated in buildings of the closed type. Reports from all 

 over the covmtry for several years past from users of open-front 

 poultry buildings show Ijetter liealth of the breeding stock, better 

 egg yield, better fertility, and better chicks from the eggs used for 

 hatching. I have had remarkable success and attribute it chiefly 

 to open-air housing of both breeding and growing stock. Si.x 

 hundred White Plymouth Rocks were wintered from October 1 to 

 March 1 with the loss of only six Jjirds, foirr of these being crop- 

 bound from eating straw litter. These birds gave a GO per cent egg 

 yield in Deccml)er and the fertility ranged from 75 to 85 per cent, 

 with excellent hatches. 



"Eight years ago, after eight )'ears of experience with poultry 

 in closed buildings, I was nearly down and out. Adopting fresh- 

 air methods put me on my feet again and enabled me to make a 

 success of my poultry keeping. Now, after eight winters of fresh- 

 air housing of breeding and laying stock and fresh-air rearing for 

 the 3'oung flocks I am planning to build more open-front buildings 

 and a large fresh-air brooding system. Two seasons ago I put in 

 a GOO-egg Hall mammoth incubator and have shipped chicks all 

 over the country that have made good by developing husky, vig- 

 orous breeding stock. This season the demand for da3'-old chicks 

 has been so great that T have been unable to fill many orders and 

 am now preparing to install another mammoth incubator of the 

 same make. Fresh-air methods made this possible for me." 



