10 



Housing of Poultry. 



[APRIL, 



number of fowls increased to a considerable extent, without 

 danger to crop or pasture ; whilst the manure produced is 

 distributed without labour, and at periods of the year when 

 it will prove of the greatest benefit to the land. These houses 

 are only intended for fowls which are given full liberty. The 

 capital expenditure is small, as the use of fencing is entirely 

 avoided, and they can be moved at will. In summer it is de- 

 sirable to give them the shelter of trees, or to select a 

 position least exposed to the sunshine ; in winter it is well 

 to protect them from wind and driving rain by placing them 

 under the lea of a copse or hedge, and where they can get 

 as much sunshine as possible. 



Houses which are intended to be moved frequently must be 

 of a small size, to accommodate from fifteen to twenty-five birds. 

 It has been proved by the experience of poultry-keepers, both 

 at home and abroad, that a flock of twenty-five hens will give a 

 higher average of returns in egg production than when they are 

 massed together in larger numbers, even though the same care 

 in selection be exercised in the greater as in the smaller flock. 

 The explanation appears to be that in the latter case the birds do 

 not get sufficient fresh air at roost. Where one hundred fowls are 

 herded together the greater proportion must breathe air which has 

 already been vitiated, but in a smaller house practically every 

 inmate can obtain an abundant supply of fresh air. 

 Hence it is more advantageous to keep down the size than 

 might otherwise be expected, and the slightly increased capital 

 expenditure is fully compensated by enhanced productiveness of 

 the hens. 



The simpler forms of houses or " huts," as they are called in 

 the North of England, are wooden erections standing upon the 

 ground, and built in sections. To move these it is necessary 

 to take them to pieces, and, as a consequence, the ground cannot 

 be changed frequently, or the labour becomes too heavy- 

 Upon waste land no injury would result, but on pastures the grass 

 within and for a few yards around the house is killed or injured, 

 and the manure produced in the house has to be removed 

 regularly. Where the land is arable, either the site of the 

 house must be changed more frequently or the building must 

 be left unoccupied for several months of each year. 



