176 POULTRY CULTURE 



The laying hen must have exercise. Exercise is essential to 

 good health and egg production, as well as for fertility. By a 

 study of the blue-print sketch, it will be seen that the entire 

 floor of the buildings is to be used for scratch room, and that 

 it is planned to provide 4 square feet of floor space for each 

 hen. The compartments in Fig. 68 are 20 by 20, which will 

 give a floor space of 400 square feet or room for 100 birds. 



It must not be overlooked that it is essential to make the 

 house as nearly rat-proof as possible. Rat-proof floor con- 



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Fig. 67. — A partial view of colony house poultry plant, with a group of 

 students in poultry science in the foreground. 



structed of concrete is the best. Rats sometimes cause death 

 of the pullets and consume large quantities of mash, unless the 

 mash hopper be provided with a proper drop door and kept 

 closed during the night. The amount of mash a family of 

 rats will eat will amount to quite a number of dollars in the 

 course of a month. 



The internal construction of the house should be as plain 

 as possible, so as to allow of as Kttle chance of the harboring 

 of filth and vermin as possible. By simple construction the 



