14 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



with two-inch chicken wire to support the rubberoid. At the bot- 

 tom of the walls, next to the ground, it is boarded up for about two 

 feet all the way round ; this is to keep in the straw, for all the floor 

 space of the house is used as a scratching pen. The sides and back 

 above these boards are made of panels of rubberoid, nailed to light 

 frames without the chicken wire. These panels are taken down on 

 all fine days to sun and air the house. The panels are kept in place 

 by large wooden buttons. The front is entirely open or only closed 

 by chicken wire, except when it rains, then a burlap curtain is let 

 down. The perches are near the back of the house, about six inches 

 above the dropping boards. The dropping boards are made of the 

 rubberoid on frames. They are four feet wide and are placed on 

 cleats two feet from the floor. This is a double house and each 

 side will hold from twelve to twenty hens. The above description 

 is of the Hoffman house. 



/SIT. 



Hoffman's Combination Open-front House and Scratching Pen 



A cheap and substantial house can be made of two piano boxes. 

 The simplest way to make such a house is as follows : Removing 

 the backs of the piano cases, place the cases back to back thirty 

 inches apart, on light sills. Use the boards which were the backs 

 to fill up the thirty inches on the sides and roof; cover the roof 

 with rubberoid or with oilcloth, and you have a comfortable house, 

 that will hold about a dozen or twenty hens, at a small cost. The 

 front of the piano box house should either be hinged so it can 

 always be kept open, except during the rain, or it may be entirely 

 dispensed with and a burlap curtain used to keep out the rain. The 

 cost of this piano box house is about three dollars. 



Inexpensive Colony Houses 



An inexpensive colony house is pictured below. This house 

 is of resawed redwood, four by six feet. It is light and easily moved. 



