462 



Profitable Egg Farming. 



[Aug., 



a separate unit house, having a capacity for 500 chickens, is 

 used, the heat in this case being provided by a stove and large 

 hover. The fuel used in both cases is anthracite coal. 



Success has been obtained by both methods, but on the whole 

 perhaps the majority favour the pipe system. With the pipe 

 system only one fire has to be attended to whereas with the 

 hover it may mean 6 or 8 or even more separate fires to be 

 stoked and attended to, which greatly adds to the labour. 



On the other hand, when the hover system is used the house 

 is generally made of sufficient capacity to accommodate the 

 pullets until they are about five months old and ready to be 

 placed in their permanent laying quarters, the land adjoining 

 the house being so penned off that a change of ground can be 

 given, and the land completely rested for seven months of the 

 year. 



With the pipe system the chickens up to 6 weeks of age are 

 allowed comparatively small outside earth runs which are only 

 occupied for a short time. They are then thoroughly disinfected 

 and seeded down so as to produce a certain amount of green 

 food w T hilst unoccupied. After leaving the brooder house, the 

 growing stock are accommodated in small colony houses. 



All grain is fed in the house litter, so as to promote exercise, 

 and the mash is given in a dry state, in suitable hovers to 

 prevent waste, a system which reduces labour considerably. 



The water supply is a problem on which great care must be 

 bestowed, and whenever possible it is a great advantage to have 

 it laid on in close proximity to the houses, otherwise a large 

 labour bill for carting would have to be faced. 



Laying Houses. — The general practice now with regard to 

 the laying houses is to make them somewhat deeper than is 

 recommended in Mr. Hanson's book, 14 ft. being considered 

 about the best dimension. The construction is cheaper, the 

 houses need not be so long, and they are easier to work. It has 

 been found that old Army huts make excellent laying houses. 

 Also, brooder houses for use with the pipe system are now, as 

 a rule, constructed with the roof sloping from front to back. 

 It should be noted that April is considered the most suitable 

 month for hatching out White Leghorns for producing pullets 

 for autumn laying, and as in some seasons the weather is hot 

 during that month, it has been found that the type of brooder 

 house used by Mr. Hanson is apt to become over-heated during 

 the day. 



