i906.] 



Poultry Fattening. 



75. 



Buildings and Pens.— The rooms or sheds in which the birds 

 are penned must be kept scrupulously clean by continual lime- 

 washing and the daily removal of all manure and stale food. 

 The ventilation must be very free, but draughts must be avoided. 

 The birds are usually placed in tiers one above the other, 

 allowing room in front of each row for the food trough, so 

 that starting about 3 ft. from the ground, each row of pens 

 gradually comes nearer and nearer to the wall. 



There should not be many windows ; one is usually sufficient, 

 to give light to the attendant, and this can be draped when the 

 birds have done feeding. When the birds are penned out of doors, 

 as they often are in the Heathfield district, the fronts of the pens 

 or cages must be furnished with curtains of any dark material — 

 sacking will do, which must be let down when the birds have 

 done feeding. The birds must not be allowed to see other 

 birds running about, or be rendered fidgety and restless by 

 looking at grass or other green stuff, for which they are sure to 

 have a great longing ; this retards them considerably. Semi- 

 darkness between meals, so that the birds may doze and digest 

 their food, is an absolute necessity. 



The above arrangement of pens applies where barns or sheds 

 are utilized for fattening purposes. Where sheds are built 

 purposely, it may be better to erect rather low sheds on the 

 span-roof principle, allowing for only one tier of pens. This 

 ensures more perfect ventilation. 



The pens should be 20 in. high, 20 in. deep, and 7 ft. 6 in. long. 

 These are divided into three cages ; each cage is then capable of 

 holding four or five birds. They are usually made of a frame- 

 work composed of any sort of stout wood — i-in. batten does 

 well — the whole of the rest of the structure being composed 

 of wooden rods. The rods are placed in. apart all over, 

 except in the front, where they are about 2 in. The writer has 

 found that batten used throughout is very serviceable. 



The floors in the Heathfield district are made of wood 

 about I in. wide on the top and i in. in depth, narrowing to 

 ^ in. at the bottom to enable the manure to drop through 

 more easily. Battens with the lower edges planed away do 

 very well, whereas the above has to be specially cut. 



Troughs. — Troughs in the Heathfield district are very often 



