io6 



POULTRY CULTURE 



I'lU. loS. Uld shoe box used as 

 a chicken coop 



Fig. 



109. Box coop with wire front, 

 used without run 



Fig. iio. Box coop used with run, as shown 

 in Fig. 112 



appears to have been first made of 

 barrel staves. This style of coop 

 has been made in all sizes, from 

 the small coop, barely large enough 

 for a hen to stand and turn in, to a 

 building capable of accommodating 

 a hundred fowls. Such large sizes 

 are, however, unusual. The most 

 common size of coop of this type 

 for a flock of adult fowls is about 

 8 feet square on the ground and 

 from 6 to 8 feet high, designed to 

 accommodate from twelve to fifteen 

 hens. This style of coop, in small 

 sizes, was probably designed quite 

 as early as the barrel was used, and 

 has been used ever since. It is not 

 known that at any time, down to 

 within a few years, those making 

 such coops gave any thought to 

 the point of conformity to correct 

 principles. The idea in building 

 them seems always to have been 

 to make the cheapest thing that 

 would serve the purpose. Those 

 who, within the past few 

 generations, have tried to 

 make the best possible 

 coops and houses for 

 poultry have generally 

 kept away from this type, 

 considering it not much 

 of an advance over the 

 makeshift barrel coop or 

 the improvised shelter of 

 poles and straw or corn- 

 stalks sometimes used on 

 farms. They overlooked 



