Houses  and  Roosts. 
351 
certainly  realise  the  folly  of  neglect.  Gas  lime  should  also  he 
lightly  scattered  under  the  trees  and  roosts. 
Under  ordinary  farm  conditions,  and  more  especially  where 
by  reason  of  the  absence  of  trees  or  the  need  for  protection  the 
open  air  method  is  impossible,  the  turkeys  must  be  provided 
with  a house  or  shed.  Under  no  circumstances  should  they  be 
herded  with  other  fowls,  as  that  would  be  equally  bad  for  both 
species.  Such  houses  must  be  freely  ventilated.  Turkeys  need 
fresh  air  in  abundance,  and  without  it  they  cannot  be  expected 
to  thrive.  A poultry  house  of  the  ordinary  pattern  is  useless 
for  this  purpose,  no  matter  how  large  it  may  be.  If  a piece  of 
shedding,  facing  south,  open  in  front  but  closed  at  the  back 
and  two  ends,  is  available,  that  will  answer  the  purpose,  hut  it 
is  essential  that  there  should  be  openings  in  the  gables  above 
the  heads  of  the  birds.  It  should  not  be  less  than  9 ft.  high 
at  the  eaves  to  allow  plenty  of  head  room.  Or  a shed  may 
be  built  on  the  plan  given  in  the  accompanying  illustration 
(Fig.  4),  which  represents  a house  40  ft.  long,  15  ft.  wide,  and 
10  ft.  high.  Should  it  be  necessary  for  protective  purposes  to 
enclose  the  front,  laths  three  inches  wide  and  with  equal  space 
between  will  be  much  better  than  wire  netting,  as  the  latter  is 
not  strong  enough  to  resist  the  pressure  of  the  birds  when 
fully  grown.  Allowing  fifteen  square  feet  of  floor  space  for 
each  bird,  a house  of  the  size  named  would  accommodate  forty 
turkeys,  which  is  a large  enough  number  to  keep  under  one  roof. 
Perches  or  roosts  should  be  made  similar  to  that  already 
illustrated  (Fig.  3),  but  with  only  two  rods,  so  that  there  may 
be  a free  circulation  of  air  for  all  the  birds.  It  is  better  that 
the  pei’ches  be  made  in  short  lengths,  and  thus  be  easily 
removed.  The  floor  should  be  raised  to  ensure  dryness,  and 
be  covered  with  peat  moss  litter  below  the  perches.  If  the 
front  half  of  the  floor  is  littered  with  cut  chaff,  the  birds  can 
be  fed  there  each  evening,  thus  facilitating  the  work  of  getting 
them  into  the  house,  which  often  involves  considerable  labour 
