208 



HOUSING 



Scratching Shed House. — In many sections the prevailing 

 type of poultry house is known as a scratching shed type, 

 from the fact that an open shed adj oins the laying room. The 

 floor of this is kept covered with litter, and in winter when 

 they must be confined the birds have access to it. Figure 

 119 shows a scratching shed house with a broken span 

 roof. It is forty feet long and ten feet wide, and is divided 

 into four sections, the two in the center being the laying and 

 roosting quarters, and the outer ones open scratching sheds. 

 Such a house is ample for 100 hens. It is considerably more 



Fig, 119. — ^A double-pen, scratching shed, laying house with a broken or two- 

 thirds span roof. 



expensive than the multiple unit type, the material costing 

 $130.00. This house is used in cold, bleak climates, where 

 the birds must be closely confined for many months. 



A Gable Roof House. — Gable roof, or even span, houses are 

 quite popular. Thry cost more to build than the shed roof kind, 

 but, owing to the area in the peak are usually well ventilated, 

 and cooler in summer than the shed roof house. They are 

 apt to be cold in winter, unless special precautions are 

 taken against excessive cold. Figure 120 shows a good 

 type of gable roof house. This house has a floor surface 

 of sixteen by thirty-two feet, and is six feet high to the 



