Live Stock. 



140 



[August, 1911. 



iron foiming the back of the house is 

 buried 6 in. deep in the ground and then 

 securely fastened to the top rail. As 

 3 ft. 6 in. sheets of iron are not made, a 

 7 ft. sheet cut in half serves the purpose. 

 The roof is made of 7 ft. sheets cut in 

 half and will then allow for a few inches 

 to overhang front and back, The house 

 divisions between the pens are best 

 made of plain (flat) galvanized iron 

 nailed to the posts and cut at top to the 

 slope of the roof ; the bottom should be 

 buried in the ground about 3 in. or 4 in. 

 A single sheet of corrugated iron, of 

 which 2 in. are turned back, fastened in 

 front of the house will provide ample 

 shelter and act as a screen giving pri- 

 vacy to the hen and allow 14 in. space 



A 



Wire 



Netting, 



A 



! 1 





Yard 



3ft. x 20ft. 



i 



I 



00 



House. | 





23ft. ..... 







Side Elevation of Yard and House. 



for the hen to enter. This front screen 

 may be held in position in several ways 

 so as to be readily removed, or it may 

 be permanently fixed. The opening left 

 is 1 ft. 2 in. wide, and as the house is so 

 small is sufficient to enable the eggs to 

 be reached and the house to be kept 

 clean. A shallow nest is hollowed out 

 in the ground and lined with short 

 straw or dry grass ; a perch 1 ft. long 

 and resting on a peg driven into 

 the ground is all that is required. For 

 a 20-ft. run two additional posts are 

 required, and should stand 6 it. out of 

 the ground and level with those forming 

 the front of the house ; the end post 

 should be strutted. The wire netting 

 covering may be of 2 in. mesh or smaller 

 and 6 ft. 6 in. wide. It must be let into 

 the ground 6 in. and should be fastened 

 to a galvanized wire, N. 8 gauge, tightly 

 stretched from post to post at the 

 bottom of the trench. This will prevent 

 the hens from scratching holes and pass- 

 ing from one pen to another. Gates 3 ft. 

 wide may be made of soft wood 2 iu. by 

 1 in. bolted together with J in. bolts and 

 hung on stout tee hinges ; the gate is 

 covered with netting securely fixed. 

 The pens should be roofed with wire 

 netting stretched tightly and laced with 

 binding wire to the netting forming the 

 divisions. The door or gate should be 

 provided with a reliable fastening, or may 

 be padlocked for greater security, The 



runs may be floored with grass, hay, or 

 short straw to a depth of 6 in. to afford 

 exercise to the hen in scratching for 

 grain, seeds, etc.; this is an imoortant 

 consideration with fixed pens. Portable 

 pens must be strongly constructed and 

 be placed on level ground; otherwise 

 there is some danger that the hen will 

 scratch her way out. Keep the hens 

 busily employed scratching all day. In 

 wet climates it may be necessary to 

 cover the runs to keep them dry, but the 

 hens will not remain so healthy. In 

 cold climates the construction must be 

 modified to suit low temperatures, and 

 the house must be deeper so that a drop 

 curtain may be used if necessary. There 

 should be near the gate a small movable 

 shelter, under which the food trough 

 and water vessel, grit, and charcoal 

 hopper may stand. In very severe cli- 

 mates (hot or cold) the back and roof 

 may be protected with a layer of several 

 inches of straw thatching, kept in posi- 

 tion by wire netting of large mesh. This 

 is very effective, and can be speedily re- 

 newed as required. 



Feeding. 



For Australia and similar climates I 

 recommend the following foods:— Wheat 

 bran (or sharps), wheat pollard (also 

 known as middlings), cut greenfood, 

 lucerne (alfalfa) hay chaff, clover hay 

 chaff, animal food (fresh meat or meat 

 meal), sharp grit, shell grit, small 

 charcoal, and fresh clean water. Grain 

 in variety according to climate ; in 

 Australia, wheat principally. The morn- 

 ing meal is prepared as follows :— One 

 part bran to two parts pollard, varied 

 slightly according to the amount of 

 flour left in the pollard ; to this 

 add one-third by bulk of chaffed green- 

 food, lucerne, clover, or lucerne hay 

 chaff which has been steamed for some 

 hours in hot water. The animal food 

 may be given in the form of soup made 

 either of fresh meat or of meat meal and 

 used to moisten the mash. Three or 

 four times a week animal food may be 

 given, but excess is a grave mistake. 

 Fowls may eat insect life almost without 

 limit, but animal food in the form of 

 flesh or meat meals has a different effect. 

 To give the quantities of meat scrap 

 advised for some countries would end in 

 speedy disaster in this country. Where 

 oats are milled, finely ground oats will 

 give good results as soft food or mash ; 

 and iu very cold climates a little barley 

 meal or corn (maize) meal may be added, 

 but with caution. At midday a handful 

 of chaffed greenfood (cabbage, kail, 

 silver beet, clover, or lucerne) may be 

 given. An hour before dark throw a 

 handful of grain (good wheat tor pre* 



