166 HOUSING 



work satisfactorily but they are often too small or too 

 badly arranged to answer the purpose. 



Plenty of Floor Space for the Birds. — The layers must 

 have all the floor space they need for exercise, especially 

 large laying flocks in winter. The house is built for the birds 

 and its capacity is determined by the floor space. All fix- 

 tures, such as hoppers, nests, water fountains, etc., should 

 be elevated above the floor, as this will increase the capacity 

 of the house. The birds must not be crowded. Crowding 

 increases the likelihood of disease, and creates unsanitary 

 conditions. Four to five square feet of floor space should 

 be allowed each bird. 



Protect the Birds from Extremes of Temperature. — Birds 

 can bear extremely low temperature without injury, if there 

 are no drafts and the air is dry. But if an air current, laden 

 with moisture, circulates rapidly through the poultry house, 

 it does not need a very low temperature to freeze their head 

 parts, and injure them for production. Frozen combs are 

 quite common with the light, active breeds, imless care 

 is exercised in designing the houses and manipulating the 

 ventilators. During winter the birds should be induced to 

 take all the exercise possible by scratching in the litter; 

 this keeps them warm by increasing the circulation. They 

 should be given considerable whole or cracked corn during 

 the winter, as it is a very heating and fat-forming feed, 

 therefore, beneficial to them. 



The Construction Should Be Rat=proof. — Whatever the 

 type of poultry house, every effort should be made to build 

 it so that rats can not get into it. The surest method is to 

 construct foundation of concrete, and after the house is 

 completed a concrete floor two or three inches thick should 

 be laid for further protection. The danger of rats carrying 

 off young chicks is great, and frequently there is heavy loss 

 from failure to guard against them. One-inch mesh poultry 

 netting tacked underneath wooden floors, or buried in the 



