Chapter V. 
PRACTICAL EGG FARMS. HOUSES AND YARDS; CONTINUOUS HOUSES WITH 
YARDS; COLONY POULTRY HOUSES. MANY SUCCESSFUL POULTRY 
PLANTS ILLUSTRATED AND DESCRIBED. 
T"* HERE are many practical egg farms 
4. in the Eastern States, and in this 
chapter we give several accounts of 
2 ) visits made to, and observations 
upon, several of those practical egg 
farms, with the purpose of contrasting methods 
and suggesting instructive comparisons. 
A study of these various articles will reveal 
that the great majority of these poultry farmers 
house and yard their stock upon what we may 
define as the continuous-house plan. The con¬ 
sensus of opinion among observant poultry- 
men is to the effect that yarded fowls are greater 
egg producers than fowls given free range,—the 
theory being that fowls kept on the semi-con¬ 
finement plan, (that is, kept confined to houses 
and yards), do not waste food-energy in ranging 
widely. Experienced dairy farmers have 
learned that cows yielded a substantially more 
liberal milk-flow if fed at the stable by the soil¬ 
ing system, and given perhaps two or three hours 
of outdoor exercise daily to keep them in good 
health, than if permitted to range widely; and 
as the conditions of milch cows and of fowls 
kept for egg production are decidedly anal¬ 
ogous, it seems reasonable to think that fowls 
which are somewhat restricted as to exercise, 
will have more energy for egg production. 
Where fowls are kept confined to houses and 
yards, scrupulous attention must be paid to 
cleanliness of floors, nests, roost-platforms, etc., 
exercise must be promoted in winter when the 
birds are shut in by inclement weather or snow 
on the ground, and plentiful supplies of animal 
and vegetable food must be provided; growing 
careless as to some of these essentials has fre- 
quently been the first step on the road to failure! 
It is the opinion of many poultrymen that the 
disadvantages of the colony-house plan de¬ 
cidedly outweigh the theoretical advantages, 
and Ave know of poultry farms where the semi¬ 
confinement plan has been adopted after giving 
the colony-house plan a full trial, it having been 
found that there was a decidedly greater cost in 
caring for the foAvls and smaller proportionate 
returns, also that in inclement Aveather, (the 
very time when most needed), regularity of feed¬ 
ing and watering was extremely difficult. In 
mild climates these objections would haA'e less 
Aveight, and there are situations Avhere the 
colony-plan would be most desirable, such as on 
a fruit farm where the services of the birds as 
insect exterminators and sca\ r engers avouIc! be 
decided helpful. The unprotected condition of 
the birds at all times would need to be con¬ 
sidered, as both tAvo and four legged enemies 
have to be guarded against; in the one locality 
AA'here colony egg farms haA'e been most success¬ 
ful, in the toAvns of Tiverton and Little Comp¬ 
ton, R. I., and the adjoining town of Westport, 
Mass., the conditions are exceptionally favor- 
able; it being practically a peninsula extend¬ 
ing out into the sea and with no railroad or other 
disturbing factor. Other things being favor¬ 
able, protection could be provided by a strong 
woven- wire fence enclosing the tract and a brace 
of stout dogs turned loose in the enclosure at 
night. 
If foAA’ls are to be confined in houses and yards, 
it is economical of both labor and fencing ma¬ 
terial to build the houses upon the continuous- 
pen plan, or on what might be called the semi¬ 
detached house plan. In the one case the at¬ 
tendant is wholly under cover in going from pen 
to pen, and in the other there is some exposure 
in the short distance between the houses; in the 
colony-house plan there is considerable ex¬ 
posure in traveling over the farm, visiting the 
different houses to do the essential work of feed¬ 
ing and watering and collecting the eggs. 
Where foAvls are kept confined in houses and 
yards their bodily wants must be carefully at- 
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