GROVE HILL POULTRY YARDS. ,,^ 79 



Jittle patch of shade here ami Uiere in whiuh the fowls crowd for shade instead of dispersing as 

 they should. 



The land for a poultry farm should be bouf;ht, not rented or leased. In making this assertion 

 I am aware that there may be cases where renting or leasing is better. At the same time I do 

 not think [ have ever known of an instance where it proved best not to l)uy — that is not after 

 what was intended or desired to be a permanent business was undertaken. 



Some riodel Plants — Grove Hill Poultry Yards. 



Before making any statement of methods, rules or systems for lading out poultry plants I 

 will present plots and descriptions of several plants which will serve as models. 



The first is the plot of Grove Hill Poultry Yards at Waltham, Mass., which so far as buildings 

 and equipment go is two complete plants. 



The original plant is at the foot of the hill from which it takes its name, and occupies a part 

 of the estate upon which are the residences of Mr. Bright and of his mother. There are some 

 seven acres in this estate, half, or perhaps a little more of it, being occupied wholly or in part 

 by the poultry. 



The estate fronts upon Main street, which is the thoroughfare between Watertown and 

 Waltham, Grove street beginning' at Main street and starting at right angles to it, but later, 

 taking a Hjinding course, intersects the land, dividing it into two nearly equal parts. It is on 

 the easterly of these divisions that the two residences and all the poultry buildings, also a small 

 dwelling for a man, are located. 



The residence of the elder Mrs. Bright is at the corner of Main and Grove streets, and at the 

 loot of Grove Hill ; that of Mr. W. E. Bright is high up on Grove Hill, which at the back makes 

 quite an abrupt descent. Half way down this descent are the dog kennels. At the foot of the 

 hill back there Is a triangular space of gently sloping land. Here it is Ihat the poultry yards 

 are located. 



The principal building, A in the diagram, is close to the foot of the bill; in fact, in places the 

 hill has been dug out a little for it. It is 18a fti long, 12 ft. wide, except the central part, and 

 contains a central two story building (K) li x 15 ft., used downstairs as a cook and feed room, 

 and upstairs as an office; and two wings, one 98 ft. long, containing 12 pens, and one 72 feet 

 long, containing 9 pens. This building faces southeast. It is lathed and plastered, and has a 

 cement walk In the rear of the pens in each wing. A half tone from a photograph of this 

 building appears on page 78. 



On a line with the front of this building, at the end of the east wing, is a small housie (C) 

 which was probably once the poultry house, but it is now used for surplus stocli, sitting 

 hens, chicks, or whatever is convenient; this house is 55 ft. long, with a central pen having a 

 hexagonal front, and two 20 ft. wings. The wings are 8 ft. 6 In, wide, and each contains 

 lour pens. The hexagonal front pen is, at the widest part, 3 ft. wider than the wings. 

 Between A and is an open shed, R. 



Each pen in A has an outside run of th same width as the inside pen, 8 ft., and 35 ft. in 

 length. Then for every three of these pens there is a grassy yard, 24 x 40 ft., set with fruit 

 trees, to which the pens have access in turn. There are no separate outside runs for the pens 

 in C, these opening in common into the yard between C, the east line of the yards of A, the 

 east l)oundary fence, and the north end and fence of the cockerel house B. 



This cockerel house B is a story and a half house 60 ft. long by 10 ft. wide. It runs 

 almost exactly north and south, and has full windows in each lower pen on both east and west 

 sides. The first floor is divided into five sections, the north one, into which the door opens, 

 being used as a store room. Upstairs are the cockerel pens. At the east side of the house are 

 yards corresponding to the inside pens. The fowls in the south pen also often hive the 

 run of the large triangular yar<l, T. In this yard T are several roosting coops for chicks. Gen- 

 erally a number of brooils of Leghorn chicks are started in small coops in this yard, trans- 

 ferred later to the roosting coops, and tinally the cockerels put in the end pen of C, the 

 pullets going to other quarters. 



There is a small yard south (properly soutlieast) of the dwelling house which Is used 

 lor c-hicks. Then at the west end of A, between this house and its yard and Grove street. 



