ON A TOWN LOT 47 



inch mesh. It is fastened from the inside to prevent anyone from entering 

 the building, and is used for the chickens to go in and out, and also by 

 the attendant for taking the litter in and out. 



It will be found that in such buildings as these, healthy, vigorous 

 and happy stock will be raised. I have stood across the fields fifteen 

 hundred feet distant from the houses in the dead of Winter, in zero 

 weather, and could hear my birds singing their merry song as in the 

 good old Summer time. The important features or the most valuable 

 assets the modern poultry house can have are plenty of light and fresh 

 air ; and the open front is the one that fills the bill. 



The chicken parks should be as generous as the ground will permit. 

 The ideal park would have a southern exposure. It is a good plan to 

 plant fruit trees in the parks, and these will furnish the chickens with 

 shade as well as the table with lots of fruit. The parks should be culti- 

 vated often in the early Spring. If the parks are long enough it is well 

 to fence ofif the part farthest from the laying house and sow it with 

 rape. This not only furnishes the chickens with an excellent green food, 

 but also keeps the ground sweet and fresh. It is important to have the 

 parks built on high ground as well as the houses. In case the high ground 

 cannot be secured, be sure that the parks are well drained, because the 

 chickens will not do well where they have to stay in parks that are wet 

 for several days after every rainstorm. 



Do not overlook the necessity of keeping the poultry houses clean, 

 and especially the brooder. The brooder should be cleaned nearly every 

 two or three days, and sprayed well with some strong disinfectant. This 

 will keep them free from insects and keep the air pure. The litter should 

 be changed often. After the chicks are a month old it will be found 

 easier to clean the brooder or colony houses by throwing in some line 

 earth. This will prevent anything from sticking to the floors. After they 

 are three or four months old the roost may be put in the colony houses, 

 and by keeping in a fair supply of dirt it will not be necessary to clean 

 them more than twice a week, as the earth absorbs the strong odors. The 

 laying houses should be sprayed once a month during the winter season. 

 The roosts should be painted with some good disinfectant every week. 

 A mixture of slack lime and crude carbolic acid will make protection 

 against vermin and diseases, but as the lime will affect the color of the 

 legs, spraying will be found more satisfactory where show birds are being 

 raised. 



