126 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



to permit the passage of a wheelbarrow or push-cart for cleaning, 

 replenishing the litter and other routine work. In houses fifty 

 feet in length and longer it will be found advisable to have a door 

 at each end of the building. With this convenience a great many 

 unnecessary steps may be avoided. 



Yard Space. — Chickens do not require unlimited range to give 

 results, providing the deficiencies of a small enclosure are met 

 by supplying them with an abundance of green food, animal food, 

 and so on from other sources. Yet it is a bad plan to attempt to 

 keep a large flock in a very small yard, unless considerable labor 

 is expended in spading or plowing up the soil at frequent in- 

 tervals. 



The earth in a yard crowded with fowls, especially if the soil 

 is heavy, will become contaminated by their droppings, which is 

 particularly objectionable in wet weather. It is therefore best 

 to have double yards, one on either side of the house, or if this 

 is not practicable, have them arranged side by side ; so that when 

 the flock is occupying one yard, the other may be sown to clover, 

 rye, rape, or other green crop, and given time to make a start. 

 This cultivation not only sweetens the soil, but it will provide a 

 large portion of the necessary green food. 



Permanent Pasture. — If the yards are intended to be kept in 

 permanent sod and furnish all of the green food, it will be ad- 

 visable to allow at least lOO square feet per fowl, otherwise the 

 birds will destroy the entire growth. If yards are intended for 

 exercise only, and the greens are supplied from other sources, 

 about 25 square feet per bird is sufiScient. 



In any event, it is well to remember that the nearer square a 

 yard is made the less it costs to fence a given area and the flock 

 is more easily confined. Obviously, the small yard requires a 

 higher fence than the large one, although the question of height 

 is largely determined by the breed one keeps. The meat breeds, 

 such as the Brahmas, may be confined within a 3- to 4-foot fence, 

 general-purpose fowls within a 4- to 5-foot fence, and the egg 

 breeds within a 6- to 7-foot fence. 



Erecting wire netting is sometimes attended by difficulties, 



