66 POULTRY FOR PROFIT 
has therefore supplied something along this 
line, by erecting round poles, made of wood, 
so that the birds will have a convenient place 
to rest for the night. A few precautions must 
be guarded against here, however, as very few 
poultry men have given their birds suitable 
perches yet. The perches should be round, 
about two inches in diameter, and erected on 
the same level with each other. Too many 
perches are arranged in a ladder formation, 
having the rear perch the highest, and the 
front perch the lowest. When the birds get 
ready to go to roost, there is always an argu¬ 
ment as to which bird will have the rear roost, 
as they all want the highest place to roost, or 
perch. If the perches are all on the same 
level, then there is no preference, and things 
are more peaceful at roosting time. We should 
plan on allowing about ten inches per bird for 
perching room. Plan to have a distance 
of about fourteen inches between each perch, 
or pole. Arrange these perches at the rear 
of the house, running parallel with the rear 
wall. 
All modern poultry men have what is known 
as a dropping board under the perches, so that 
