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Show BACK YARD POULTRY BREEDERS GET RESULTS (By D. T. Heimlich, President Illinois State Poultry Breeders' Association.) Since tho government at Washington Washing-ton has actively taken up the distributing distribu-ting of tho Weekly News Letter and the monthly bulletins upon agriculture and poultry subjects, there has been a wonderful .awakening on the part of city, town and village residents in taking tak-ing up poultry culture on both larger and smaller scales than has ever been undertaken. During the two poultry exhibits held in the city of Chicago, in December and January, seevral thousand, dollars worth of standard bred fowls were sold to city residents alone. At the 80 odd exhibits held in the state of Illinois this winter, many more thousands of dollars worth of stock exchanged hands, that at the present time is furnishing eggs for homo use and a surplus to sell to neighbors and to the market that hereto here-to fore had never been thought of. The high cost of poultry foods Is more than offset by the larger yield of eggs produced where small flocks or pens are kept. Eight to twenty hens will prove moro profitable "when confined during the severe cold weather than the larger flocks indifferently housed and fed on the average farm. This is an awakening among farmers:- they are rapidly learning to realize that hens proporly housed and cared for will yield greater profit for the amount Invested than comes from any other livestock kept and fed. How to get eggs in winter is a question easily solved. Houses simply but well built, well enclosed on the north, east and west, south front part glass and part canvas can-vas curtains; this for a daylight scratching shed. To this should be added a roosting department froe from drafts and not overcrowded, kept clean and free from mites, lice and such paraslteB as cause scaly legs and thn diseases caused from filth. Impure water and food. This character of house with straw or leaves as Utter to scratch in to mako them work for what they eat, grit (the hens' teeth) and charcoal, the foul gas absorber, warm water In severe cold weather twice a day will keep them happy and productive produc-tive for abundant egg yield. (By Mrs. E. W. Mahood.) The chief requisites of a poultry house are that it be well ventilated, reasonably free from, drafts, have good light and be dry. If it is so tight that it is not well ventilated the heat from the chickenB will cause dampness and the air will soon become foul. If it is not light enough the chickens will spend their time on the roosts instead of scratching In a deep litter for food and if it Is not dry they will not be healthy. Thus openings must be arranged ar-ranged so that they can be closed in stormy and severely cold weather and open in mild 'weather. The solution for this Is to cover the openings with poultry netting and protect them by means of hinged muslin or canvas covered cov-ered frames which can be raised or lowered according to the weather. If the canvas or muslin Is nailed over the opening there is not enough ventilation venti-lation at any tlmo and the house is too hot in warm weather The bets height for your poultry house is six feet in front and four and a half feet in the back. This gives head room for the attendant entering at the front or side front and there Is still enough room In tho back for roosts and dropping boards and enough room under ' the dropping boards for chickens to scratch, so that no floor space Is wasted. Neither is the heat from the fowl wasted at night, .especially if muslin or burlap curtains 'are hung in front of the roosts, thus giving less chance for combs to be frozen. Twelve feet is a good depth for your poultry house, for it allows tho light to penetrate to every corner and also allows the roosts to be far enough away from the openings. If the floors are of dirt they must be raised to prevent pre-vent dampness. |
