12 
COLORADO EXPERIMENT STATION 
of the hen’s body is water, and to lay she must have all she wants, 
whenever she wants it, and a full supply is necessary in digesting the 
feed. The chill should be taken off in winter, and the hens watched to 
see that three times a day they get all they will drink before it becomes 
frozen. Eating snow is a quick way to stop laying, and walking in the 
snow will promptly cut down the hen’s egg yield. 
The hen needs some kind of succulent feed every day; grass, 
alfalfa leaves, roots, potatoes, cabbage, sprouted grain, or even green 
sorghum. Too much will make the bowels loose and cut down the egg 
yield. Just enough should be fed each day to cause the droppings 
to be similar to those when the hen has the run of a field of grass. 
Few good poultrymen feed wet mashes. It pays to warm the 
grain in winter. 
The Hen House. 
The house for hens should be warm, well lighted, dry and well 
ventilated without draughts. The dry land farmer can use lumber, 
sod or straw in building it, and get equally good results from his hens. 
Good dimensions are four and one-half feet high at the back, seven 
feet high in front, and fourteen to sixteen feet wide, with a shed roof. 
It is not best to keep over fifty hens in a house, and thirty to forty 
hens will give better returns The length of the house will vary 
with the number of hens kept in it. If two roosts are used, allow 
five inches in length of house for each hen. If three roosts are used 
allow three and one-half inches in length of house per hen. Under 
this rule a house for 40 hens should be about 16 feet in length if two 
roosts are used, and 12 feet when there are three roosts. 
Poultry house for 40 hens,14 feet wide, 16 feet long, 4J/2 feet high at the 
back and 7 feet high in front. No openings except in front. Window 
frames covered with cloth and hinged at top so that they may be pushed 
out at the bottom, on warm days. A small slide door at the bottom and 
center of the large door permits the hens to pass in and out. 
All roosts should be on the same level and should not be over 
