7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
A Modern Poultry-house 
The demand for information in regard 
to poultry-house construction, and the 
evident need of correcting some of the 
wrong teachings which have been widely 
adopted during the past few years, 
prompts me to xvrite this article and give 
details of a plan which has proved emi¬ 
nently satisfactory in every way. It is 
certainly discouraging to place a bunch 
of thrifty, well-grown pullets in a house 
which does not provide for their proper 
comfort and happiness, thereby inviting 
disease and loss, when it is just as easy 
and often less expensive to build the 
house properly to start with. 
It is a human trait to insist upon em¬ 
bodying one’s own ideas and pet theories 
when building a poultry-house, instead of 
accepting the plan of someone who has 
had years of experience and knows how 
best to construct the building. This, 
however, is not strange, as it is very 
difficult to decide whose teachings to fol¬ 
low, since those who make the most noise 
usually know the least. 
Poultry-house construction and poul¬ 
try-house management depend upon each 
other to such a great extent that it is im¬ 
possible to separate the two, and no at¬ 
tempt should be made to build a “fool¬ 
proof” house, as ordinary intelligence is 
required to adjust the openings according 
to weather conditions, keep good clean 
litter on the door, and the droppings 
boards clean. Any person who cannot 
attend to these simple details should not 
attempt to keep poultry, as a failure can 
be made of any house without proper 
management. 
This house which I will describe was 
built last Fall and filled with about 000 
pullets and hens. There has been abso¬ 
lutely no sign of moisture collecting on 
the'walls, floor or ceiling, and there has 
been no sickness or slump in egg produc¬ 
tion; but the production has gradually 
increased up to about 75 per cent from 
the pullets. 
The advantages of a house of this de¬ 
sign are, first, that the birds are more 
comfortable in cold weather, as there is 
no waste cold-air space in the top of the 
house for cold-air currents to carry off 
the natural heat from the fowls, yet 
there is plenty of ventilation from the 
combination of a straw loft to absorb 
dampness, and muslin curtains which are 
only closed to prevent freezing and severe 
storms from beating in the house. This 
combination makes almost ideal condi¬ 
tions where dampness can be absolutely 
prevented and loss by disease reduced to 
almost nothing in this part of the- coun¬ 
try ; but in sections which are infested 
with disease, such as chicken pox, every 
year or two, this house would not serve 
as a panacea, but would reduce losses to 
the lowest possible point. And, second, 
it is cheap and easy to construct, and the 
labor of caring for the birds is greatly re¬ 
duced. 
This house is 216 ft. long and 16 ft. 
wide. It consists of eight pens, each 25 
ft. long, with feed room 16 ft. square in 
the center. But I will describe only one 
pen, as they are all alike, and a house 
may be made of any number of pens de¬ 
sired. Each pen is designed to hold 125 
laying hens. A bouse 50 ft. long and 16 
or 18 ft. wide makes an ideal home for 
250 layers. In some locations which are 
subject to high winds this is a more de¬ 
sirable length than a longer house, as it 
is not subject to as strong air currents 
on the inside. Another reason in favor of 
the 50-ft. house is that a wagon may be 
drawn up to the door at either end of the 
house for removing litter and unloading 
straw, feed, etc. It saves some labor to 
be able to unload directly into the pen 
where the straw or other material is re¬ 
quired. 
The foundation for this house is built 
of cement blocks laid on a footing course 
of concrete set well down into the ground 
below the frost line. The top of the 
foundation should be at least a foot above 
rhe surface of the ground at the highest 
point of the ground, if fairly level. Even 
on side hills it is not advisable to dig 
into the bank any farther than is neces¬ 
sary to get good drainage and free circu¬ 
lation of air on the upper side of the 
house. Avoid bank walls if possible, as 
it is very difficult to keep a house dry 
when set close to a bank. 
The floor is concrete, mixed one part 
cement, two parts sand and three parts 
gravel. This is spread about 1% in. 
thick, and when set it is covered with 
thin waterproof insulating paper and 
then finished with 1 in. of cement mixed 
one part cement and two parts sand. It 
is advisable to give this floor a pitch of 
about 1 in. to 10 ft. toward the front, so 
it can be easily washed. This makes a 
pei-fectly dry floor which is easily kept 
clean. 
The sills are 2x4-in. bolted soldidly to 
the foundation with bolts set in the ce¬ 
ment. The sills are placed before the 
floor is laid, and the top of the floor 
comes even with the top of the real sill, 
but lower in front. The studs are cut 5 
ft. 10 in. long, so that by placing a 2x4- 
in. plate on them we have just 6 ft. in the 
clear from floor to ceiling. If more head- 
room is wanted, the collar beams can be 
raised up from the front plate 3 or 4 in. 
and nailed fast to the rafters, instead of 
resting on the plate. One of the prin¬ 
cipal featui-es of this house is the even- 
span double-pitch roof, which gives plen¬ 
ty of head-room in all parts of the house 
without any waste room. 
The rafters are 2x4 in. by 10 ft. long. 
This length is just right to give the roof 
a quarter pitch and leave about 1 ft. 
ovex-hang for cornice. The x-afters are 
placed in pail’s 2 ft. apart the whole 
length of the building, and the lower ends 
of every other pair are tied together se¬ 
curely with 2x4-in. collar beams 16 ft. 
long, braced with a board 4 ft. long, the 
lower end of which is nailed secui’ely to 
the center of the collar beam, and the 
upon which they hang. The arrangement 
of this front is very important, as it al¬ 
lows pei-fect ventilation, when propeidy 
used, by the best method in existence at 
the pi*esent time. Never hinge windows 
or screens so they tip or swing in from 
the top or bottom, as when partly open 
they act like a funnel, catching the wind, 
and ci-eating undersirable air curi-ents in 
the house. The worst method of ventila¬ 
tion that I have ever seen is what is 
called wind bafflers used in the front of 
the house. This _ method, while widely 
used at one time, is rapidly disappeai-ing, 
as the fowls cannot do their best in egg 
production, as they are very uncomfort¬ 
able when kept under these conditions in 
cold weather. 
In the i*ear of each pen there are two 
windows, each containing two lights of 
7x9-in. glass, arranged under the drop¬ 
pings boards so as to give the maximum 
amount of light on the floor, so the birds 
f 
I I I I 
Strmo Loft Laying House. Front and End 
upper end to both rafters where they 
meet at the peak. This makes a sort of 
truss which is strong enough to hold any 
weight required without sagging, yet 
there are no posts and no timbers in the 
whole building larger than 2x4 in., there¬ 
by using the least possible amount of 
lumber for the frame construction. 
The back and roof are covered with 
North Carolina pine roofers, planed and 
matched, over which is laid a good qual¬ 
ity slate-surfaced roofing, the strips run¬ 
ning horizontally on the roof and per¬ 
pendicular on the back of the house. The 
can see to scratch and find their feed. I 
consider a house 16 ft. wide, with win¬ 
dows properly arranged in both front and 
rear, fully as efficient for the same num¬ 
ber of hens as one 18 or 20 ft. wide, with¬ 
out rear windows. 
The roost platform is 4 ft. wide, run¬ 
ning the whole length of the house in the 
reai', 3 ft. from the floor. The nests, 24 
for each pen, are arranged in two tiers 
hung from the ceiling against the parti¬ 
tions, and extend down to a distance of 2 
ft. from the floor. These nests are about 
11 in. square on the inside, and are con¬ 
Floor Plan, Shotting Feed, Water and 'Nest Arrangement and Roost 
Platform in Rear 
ends of the house are double-boarded, 
using matched roofers on the studs, and 
covered with pine novelty siding, with 
paper between. The front is boarded with 
novelty siding only. A slat floor is laid 
on the collar beams overhead, using 6-in. 
boai‘ds laid 2 or 3 in. apart, so as to pi*o- 
vide plenty of ventilation, and the whole 
loft is filled with straw, which makes the 
house cool in Summer as well as wann in 
Winter. A small window is placed in 
each gable end for ventilation above the 
straw. 
The front of the house is boarded up 
structed simply of two shelves 6 ft. long 
and 20 in. wide, placed 14 in. apart, upon 
which rests the framework of sides and 
ends set flush with the front edge of rhe 
shelves, so the hens enter from the rear, 
and a door is opened in front to gather 
the eggs Small doors at either end pre¬ 
vent the hens from i-oosting on the nests 
at night. 
The water arrangement is vei’y simple, 
consisting of two 12-quart pans set 16 in. 
from the floor on a frame 15x30 in. The 
pan rests on the two center cimsspieces, 
and the fowls stand on the outer rail to 
Feed Trough 
half way under the cloth screens. These 
screens ai-e made in 4 or 5-ft. sections, 
so they can be easily pulled up with a 
rope and pulley, and are held in place 
with grooves at either end, made so they 
will slide all the way to the top or bot¬ 
tom on the outside of the house. The 
space occupied by cloth screens is 3 ft. 
high and 13 ft. long, placed in the cen¬ 
ter of the fimnt, to each pen, on each side 
of which is a single sash window contain¬ 
ing 12 lights of 10xl2-in. glass. These 
windows are hinged at the top, and 
swing out at the bottom. Long hooks or 
sash adjusters are used to hold these win¬ 
dows out about 10 in. for increased ven¬ 
tilation when required, but during the 
hottest Summer months they are removed 
entii-ely by means of the loose pin butts 
drink. A piece of galvanized iron 0 in. 
wide and 30 in. long is nailed over each 
pan at a 45-degree angle. A three-cor¬ 
nered board at each edge keeps the fowls 
from getting into the pans. 
The feed trough is 12 ft. long, made of 
three 8-in. boards nailed together so as 
to leave an opening of 5 in. at rhe top 
for the fowls to eat through. A lx2-in. 
rail is fastened on each side 4 in. away 
and 2 in. above the bottom of the timugh. 
This trough sets up on legs 16 in. long, to 
keep the feed clean. All mash and 
sprouted oats are fed in this trough. Do 
not build larger hoppers for dry mash. 
Many people have built these large hop¬ 
pers for dry mash, only to find that their 
time and money were worse than wasted. 
No back ventilation is required in this 
773 
house except that furnished by opening 
the rear windows during the xrmest 
weather. c. g, gbeene. 
Bichloride of Mercury for Intestinal 
Disease 
I have on various occasions used bi¬ 
chloride of mercury, 1/100 gr. to the 
quart of water, for bacterial intestinal 
disease in poultry and, as I have thought, 
wuth good results. I have recently run 
across a formula, originating, I think, 
with Dr. Waup, in which six grains of 
the drug are used, in combination with 
the sulpho-earbolates, to the gallon of 
water, and this is given even to baby 
chicks. What would you consider to be 
the safe maximum dose of the bichloride 
to each quart of water for flock treat- 
w. w. L. 
Hudson Falls, N. Y. 
Ward and Gallagher, in “Diseases of 
Domestic Birds,” give four grains as the 
minimum amount of bichloride of mer- 
cui’y fatal to an adult fowl, and speak of 
a solution of the strength of one to 6,000 
being given over a period of 18 days 
without harm. This substance is but lit¬ 
tle used in internal medicine, being a vio¬ 
lent corrosive poison in overdose and of 
vei - y doubtful value as an internal anti¬ 
septic. In fact, I know of no drugs that 
will render the intestinal tract sterile, 
even if the accomplishment of that result 
would be beneficial. A great multitude 
of ‘ intestinal antiseptics” have been ex¬ 
ploited from time to time, only to have 
their claims discounted or disproved 
after further investigation. A reliable 
and harmless destroyer of undesirable 
bacteria in the human digestive tract has 
long been sought, but, so far as I know, 
none has been found. This does not pre¬ 
vent the advertising of such antiseptics 
by those interested in the commercial ex- 
ploitatioxi of drugs, and it is not strange 
that some that have once held some repu¬ 
tation in human medicine should be urged 
as useful in the treatment of the lower 
animals. Not being subject to the scien¬ 
tific scrutiny there that drugs for human 
medication are obliged to undergo, they 
may hold their own for a considerable 
time in popular estimation, as, for that 
matter, useless drugs recommended for 
human ills very frequently do. It is one 
of the ironies of medicine that long-be¬ 
lieved in drugs every now and then are 
obliged to give way to the destroying 
light of more perfect knowledge of drug 
action and drug limitations. 
Bichloride of mercury, or corrosive 
sublimate, finds its chief use as a germi¬ 
cide, applied externally. It is used in 
watery solution and in strengths spoken 
of in terms of parts per thousand, not 
grains per gallon. Seven and one-third 
grains added to a pint of water make a 
solution of the strength of one to 1,000, 
written 1 :1,000. Tablets containing that 
amount of the drug are made for con¬ 
venient preparation of solutions and ean 
be obtained from any druggist. They are 
usually colored blue as a precaution 
against accident. One tablet dissolved 
in two pints of water makes a solution of 
1 :2,000 strength, and so on. If used in 
the drinking water for flock medication, 
solutions of from one to 10,000 up to one 
to 6,000 may be given. Six giaxins to the 
gallon would make a solution a little 
less than 1 :8,000, within the limits of 
what might safely be given fowls;. 1/100 
of a grain to the quart would, as you see. 
make a solution so weak that disease 
germs might safely disport themselves 
in it, even if not protected by the other 
contents of the digestive tract. As an 
active germicide for external use, a so¬ 
lution of 1 :1,000 is used, or nearly 15 
grains to the quart. 
There are foods, however, that render 
the intestinal tract less hospitable to dis¬ 
ease germs, chief among them being sour 
milk. Given from the start and in liberal 
quantity, this probably comes as near be¬ 
ing an intestinal antiseptic as anything 
that we have, and it is a splendid food as 
well. m. b. n. 
A motorist speeding through a coun¬ 
try neighborhood killed a hen. He stop¬ 
ped and pressed a $2 bill into the hand of 
little Edna, who was on her way to 
neighbor Reed’s. Edna ran and told her 
mamma of her good fortune. “Well.” 
said her thrifty mother, “put the money 
in your bank and I will cut the hen’s head 
off so we can eat her.” “Perhaps, mam¬ 
ma,” said Edna thoughtfully, “as long as 
we have the money we had better let the 
Reeds eat the hen. It was their hen.”— 
Boston Transcript. 
