Hubbard's poultry secrets. 59 



lay a good grade of tar paper over the cement, and over that 

 another inch of cement, which will bring the floor to the top 

 of the sill. When this is thoroughly dried, you will have a 

 perfectly dry floor the year around, a floor that is easily kept 

 clean and one that is rat proof. The coop should be jYi feet 

 high in front, and 5 feet in back. Use good matched lumber 

 for side walls, and shingles for the roof. Have one door in 

 one end. In place of glass for windows, use muslin. (There 

 is no glass in any chicken house on Foxhurst Farm.) 



The windows should be thirty inches wide by 4 feet high. 

 The frame that the muslin is tacked on should be hung with 

 hinges. These windows should be closed only during show- 

 ers in the summer. In cold weather, they should be shut 

 every night, opened every morning, and left open all day, even 

 when the weather is 20 below zero. The windows should not 

 be less than 2 feet from the floor. 



The roost should be at the back of the coop and as far as pos- 

 sible from the windows. It should be about 2j4 feet from 

 the floor, and one foot from the wall so that the male bird's 

 tail will not get ruined. As I breed only five females to a male, 

 one roost is all that is needed for that number of birds. I do 

 not use dropping boards, but two feet from the back of the 

 coop I put a board six inches high so as to keep the chickens 

 from scratching the droppings in the litter. I use a Nor- 

 wich Hopper and Exerciser in each breeding pen. 



There should be three good roomy nests in each breeding 

 pen. These should be placed so that they won't interfere with 

 the floor space, and so that the chickens cannot roost on them. 



I have used this style of house now for seven years, and 

 find it gives perfect satisfaction in every way; if I were to 

 build twenty-five breeding houses to-morrow, I would use this 

 one kind. My chickens have never had any swollen eyes, 

 colds, or rattles since I have adopted this style of breeding 

 houses. 



