Show CLEAN ROOST FOR CHICKENS slope of dropping board sufficient chent to prevent hens from walking on its surface by GEORGE D braber 1 dmonson td dm onton alberta the illustrations represent a chick en roost of my own design which I 1 find to be both cleanly and econom ital fial the dropping board requires a elope slope of 45 degrees or more if the height of the henhouse will permit and it Is raised high enough to per mit the use of 0 all the floor space spade for scratching purposes the trough at the bottom catches the droppings and front view the slide door at one end enables these to 10 be scraped out with a hoe or shovel into a box on the floor I 1 use a hoe to clean the dropping board and afterwards throw a or two of dry earth over ats surface the roots roo ts bho sho ild not have so great a slope as the board beneath so as to enable one to use a a hoe for cleaning of 01 the board the slope of the drop ping board not only causes the drop pings to collect in the trough beneath but prevents the hens from walking on its surface the space behind I 1 utilize for nests after trying various kinds I 1 find ordinary nail kegs the best these should be filled two 0 thirds full of straw and a w wire re loop inserted at the top they may then be hung in a row and touching each other to keep them steady to nals nails driven into the wall behind in this nay they can be easily lifted off the nails to be cleaned I 1 chose kegs for nests ap ae the hens are unable to eat their eggs in them and they are about the right size to accommodate one hen at a time my hen henhouse houe has a very large window right opposite the hen roost so in order to darken the nests I 1 fasten a strip of old linoleum on a wire so as to hang just in front of the nests the wire has a loop at one end which Is fastened to a bent nail or hook driven into the dropping board ahen gathering eggs this may side view be unhooked and the curtain allowed to drop out of the way nay anyone who has never tried using a dropping board or has used the ordinary flat kind will find chisa decided im prove provement pro meAt as far as cleanliness and economy of space is concerned A good egg food cow Cox peas are not only reached by hens but it la is excellent egg food tor for them one successful gives his experience the peas aft er maturing were yere harvested and stored in dry lofts and thrown to the fowls in scratching pens where they were scratched over and searched for during the day after a few das the egg supply was as visibly increased ani within a few weeks almost doubled that from an equal number of hens kept in separate quarters and fed on other grains the hens seemed to like the small branches and leaves and would eat every particle except the hard stiff stems the general health of the flock was e excellent xcell ent and jot a single hen showed the least symptom of ailment during the winter season considering the ease with which cov peas may be raised it seems that everyone should give them a test as food for the poultry breed ng for marke of course if ou are going in for poultry to sell on the market you must select the fowl that will produce the most meat and it tor for eggs the breed that will produce more eggs than meat then it is up to you to get the most out of them as the slang goes chickens to kill when disposing of some of the old stock pick out the poor layers they ire just as good for roasting purposes and you cannot afford to part the money makers IN POULTRY SHIPPING S most profitable to use clean citan fresh boxes with care and flatness Ms atness in pack ng fowls there are a number of don donta ts that should be observed by shippers of market poultry don t ship bony skinny stock don t ship half picked flesh torn poultry don t ship to ev ery strange hoase that solicits your consignment first look them up in vesti gate the references dont don t shir dressed stock in any old box that may be handy it pays to use clean fresh boxes using care and neatness in packing frequently the buyer is present when the box is opened and a sale spoiled be because causie of the packing don t pact poultry after dressing until all the animal heat Is out dont don t let some son little market fluster cause you tc change houses get a good house and stice to it that keeps the commission man interested in retaining your trade and oftentimes he will pull jou ou out of a hole caused by a glut don I 1 fail fall to carefully inspect your shipment ship meni before closing the boi boy put in n the memorandum on oil houi own showing the amount and other data keep a duplicate your self thereby saving much annoyance and frequent loss TWO STORY POULTRY HOUSE old piano box may be transformed into comfortable building for winter use I 1 recen fly visited a successful pon poul try raiser who was using a two story piano box house it was as not covered with roofing paper and there was only a dollar or two expense involved ii it transforming it into the present house the breeder told me that M h kept seven hens and a cockerel in on of these houses last winter and il 11 proved very satisfactory the hem hens laying well writes dwight of chicago in the farm and home at about one third of the height the upper floor N was as laid six nehei two story poultry house above the floor the roost extend extends from one end to the other at one end of the floor at the back there 14 a 1015 inch opening long nay ay op cosite length of box and a 10 inch slanting board extending to the lowel floor the chi chickens chens use this slatted slanting board in ascending or de do sc ending from their upstairs ups taira sleep ing room the next box is at atone one end of the upper floor and slid there is a dust box on the lower floor an opening 12 inches square cov ered with muslin tor for ventilation venti lalon la Is cut in one end there are two hinged doors in front and in warm deathel both are kept wide open the post tion of the doors shown in the illus ration is the way nay they are propped open during a rain or light snow it is remarkable how poultry will thrive when housed in these email small yet well ventilated houses the own er says bis his birds come through the winter without so much as having s r spike frozen in their upstairs sleep ing room huddled together in a few feet of space which they would by natural heat it can be truthfully said they are snug as bugs in a rag 7 irm F lo 10 T A small pen tor for the market birds will hasten fattening feed peed care and hen sense decide what the profits shall be it is not too soon to put houses and coops in shape fer winter vinter the dull listless bird cannot be re moved from the flock too soon A little iron tonic in the drinking water is good during boulting moul ting in the fall and spring eggs es 9 should be marketed at least once a neek eek clean the nest and not the egg Is s the advice of a successful eastern egg farmer after dumping and burning the nest ing ng material whitewash the inside of 0 the nest box the early coulters moul re the early lay ers it is a good plan to mark them for breeders any good stock dip ao makes a I 1 good disinfectant to kill aisea a 0 germs in n poultry quarters more disease outbreaks it breaks in the flock can be traced to unclean conditions than thai poultry men generally think when the clean fresh eggs are gath ered they should be put in a clean dry cool ool place until marketed getting nd rid of all birds as soon as they are two years old will less lessen D flocks the chances of disease in the flock to hasten haten feathering after the molt give a tablespoonful of sulphur in a mash to every ten hens twice a week corn meal mixed in with a smal small quantity of shorts and moistened with akim milk makes a good vet wet mast 0 fatten the market b birds |