Care and Management of Poultry 341 
546. Location of house. — The poultry house should be located 
in a spot dry and well drained. If the ground is not naturally 
dry, it should be made so by underdrainage. Damp ground will 
produce a damp, cold, unhealthy house. Low places should also 
be avoided as they may be several degrees colder than higher 
places only a few rods distant. If possible, the poultry house 
should be placed on ground that slopes to the south. If this can- 
not be done, face the house toward the south so as to get the sun’s 
rays throughout the day to keep the house bright and cheerful 
inside. This is especially desirable during the winter, when the 
poultry house is most needed. 
547. Size. — As arule the size of a poultry house will be gov- 
erned by the number of fowls in the flock. In estimating size, 
four to five square feet of floor space per hen is generally thought 
to be sufficient. For a given floor space, the nearer square a house 
is the less it will cost for material and labor. While there are 
many types of poultry houses in common use, in a general way they 
can be grouped into two classes, the colony house and the long 
house. 
548. Colony house. — This consists of a small house or cot 
adapted to a small flock or colony. In the case of large flocks, 
the fowls are divided into many colonies. Colony houses are of 
two types, the portable and the non-portable. The former has 
many advantages over the latter, especially for growing stock. 
The usual method of construction is to place the small house on 
runners and then have a team draw it from place to place as 
wished. This type of house makes possible the utilization of 
grain after harvest, which would otherwise be wasted, as the 
houses may be moved to the fields. This provides free range, 
and as the fowls are kept on clean ground, they get more insects 
than would be possible around the farm buildings (Fig. 134). 
549. Long house. — This type of poultry house has the ad- 
vantage of being comparatively less expensive to build. It re- 
quires less labor to care for the-fowls, as the attendant can go 
