Show IDO DAMP HOUSES ARE DISEASE BREEDERS poultry contracts colds and other disorders B by Y H tr alp extension Poultry min university v 0 illinois service just as humans have more colds and pneumonia during periods of damp weather so damp poultry houses during winter months favor the development of roup bronchitis and other respiratory diseases of chickens which affect the efficiency of poultry production one of the most common causes of dampness in poultry houses is wet litter wet litter is in turn caused by too many birds in the house floor mixture and leaky roofs birds are overcrowded in houses having less than four square feet of floor space to each fowl unless a poultry house is equipped with mechanical ventilation and few of them are crowded pens will soon become damp cement floors which have no fl of gravel crushed stone or similar material will usually sweat sufficiently to make wet litter a problem in some houses spillage lags from water pails and poor surface drainage are factors along with leaky roofs in addition to these causes the poultry flock itself voids and exhales enough moisture to be a factor in the problem if dropping boards are left laft for two weeks experiments have shown that for each birds there would be approximately three to four barrels of water left in the house during this period while it is impossible to keep poultry houses absolutely dry flock owners can help by cleaning off the dropping boards at least every other day frequent changing of the litter is another chore generally justified by the results obtained in more efficient production keeping windows open to provide fresh air aids in keeping down dampness and artificial heat is needed in many instances many poultry men have found that heat from brooder stoves has helped in houses where colds and roup have been troublesome |