1922.] 



Egg Farming. 



627 



with were all taken on Mr. Holdaway's farm and will make clear 

 the type of house in use. Fig. 3 illustrates the back of 

 one of the 110 ft. x 14 ft. laying houses having a capacity for 

 500 birds, and Fig. 5 shows a part of the front and also the large 

 double wire gates to the pen to allow a cart being driven 

 through them. 



The houses are of the lean-to type of roof construction, which 

 is by far the most common in use at the present time, and w^hich 

 in practice has proved successful. It is essential, however, that 

 care should be taken in designing houses of this pattern, for it 

 has been founr^ by experience that certain conditions are 

 necessary for thy best results. 



In considerino" the main dimensions it is first necessary to 

 decide on what unit of birds it is intended to house, and an 

 allow^ance of at least 3 sq. ft. of floor space per bird must be 

 given for scratching purposes. 



The depth is an important item. Houses of this type were at 

 first made 9 ft. wide, but it was found that this entailed a very 

 long building if, say, a 500-flock unit was to be accommodated, 

 and the tendency now is to make them wider and shorter in 

 proportion. With this type of roof it is not advisable to exceed 

 -3, depth of 14 ft. unless arrangements are made for back venti- 

 lation and also for the placing of windows in the back, an 

 arrangement which entails extra work in construction. Further, 

 if a deeper house is desired it is preferable to employ a difi^erent 

 roof construction. 



With 14-ft. houses the front should be 8 ft. high to ensure 

 good light at the back and also provide sufficient fall for the roof 

 without making the back too low. If the back is too low trouble 

 will probably be experienced with colds among the birds as there 

 will not be sufficient space above their heads whilst roosting, since 

 the dropping boards must be placed high enough to allow of the 

 space underneath being used for scratching purposes. Another 

 disadvantage of a low back is the discomfoi't caused to the 

 attendant when cleaning dropping boards. 



With regard to the front of the house Fig. 6 gives the details 

 of the front shown in Fig. 5, and shows the correct angle for the 

 hood, this latter being an important detail. The hood is pro- 

 vided to prevent driving rain from entering the open portion of 

 the front of the house during w^et weather, and to ensure this 

 the bottom of the hood should be brought down level with the 

 top of the glass. It also comes into operation during the hot 

 summer days, since if the angle is correct the glass front is 



D 2 



