HOUSE AND GARDEN 
June, 191 
A type of the open front chicken house that is airy but 
may be protected from extreme weather 
for a large place, the chicken house on the Brokaw Estate is designed to meet all 
objections 
given to the colony 
plan. The colony 
houses are usually 
movable and located 
at a distance from 
each other, although 
this is not necessary 
and the individual 
houses may be 
placed near together 
and permanently lo¬ 
cated as shown in 
the lower right-hand 
corner of this page, 
the fowls roaming 
over a dozen acres 
during the day re¬ 
turn at evening each to its own home. This type of house 
should invariably be used for breeding purposes, as the birds, 
unconfined and left to roam about at will, are more hardy on 
that account. The records at Skylands show that they also lay 
better. A drawing shows the colony house used there. 
This is a small building, 4x6 ft., which will house one cockerel 
and six hens. It is of two stories, the roosts and nests being 
above. The whole advantage of this type of structure lies in the 
ventilation. At the bottom of each long side there is an opening 
6 x 1 ft. 10 in., which can be partially or entirely closed, either 
with a solid wooden shutter or a sliding muslin screen. This 
opening regulates the admission of fresh air in a very flexible 
manner. One side of the roof is constructed to raise in two sec¬ 
tions, and the opening so made is also arranged to be partially 
or entirely closed with a sliding muslin screen. Some care must 
be used in regulating the ventilation in winter, but this method 
of housing is ad¬ 
mirable in providing 
the birds with shel¬ 
ter without depriv¬ 
ing them of fresh 
air. The chicken 
sleeps much more 
than man — in the 
winter time twelve 
hours out of the 
twenty-four, so that 
healthful surround¬ 
ings during sleep 
are most important 
for the best condi¬ 
tion of the bird. 
The plan shown at 
the top (left) of this page is a type of chicken house which has 
many advocates. It is called the “Open Front,” from the fact 
that the large opening, which should face the south, is kept open 
at all seasons of the year. To modify this somewhat in extreme 
weather, a muslin screen is put in the opening, although this is 
not at all necessary according to the enthusiast for this type of 
house. The high windows in the sides are for summer ventila¬ 
tion, and should be left open all summer. There is no doubt that 
the building would be cooler if portions of the roof could be 
raised in the same manner as shown on page 482. 
Where space does not permit the Colony Plan, and the chicken 
farm must be restricted and the birds confined, the usual chicken 
house is a long building, divided into separate pens, these pens 
being about 8 x 12 ft., in which are kept from twenty to twenty- 
five birds. This allows 4 or 5 sq. ft. of floor space per bird. The 
(Continued on page 501) 
An elevation of one of the pens in the This section shows the disposal of nests and drop¬ 
passageway of the large plan above ping boards on the Brokaw farm 
The large windows fold in the center and may be hooked against the 
ceiling when more air is desired 
A good type of colony house for permanent location showing the 
method of raising the hinged roof 
