Housing

The flock should be comfortably but not expensively housed. A house which provides a floor space of 3 or 4 square feet per bird is ample for the purpose, and fowls are often successfully kept with an allowance no greater then 21⁄2 to 3 square feet. Houses must be dry and free from draft, but must allow ventilation. Often there is an unused shed or small building on the place which can easily be converted into a chicken house (see [fig. 3]). The front of the poultry house should be faced toward the south, if possible, so that the sun will shine into it. Perfectly satisfactory houses can be made cheaply from piano boxes or other packing cases. Two piano boxes with the backs removed can be nailed together and a door cut in the end. These boxes should be covered with a roofing paper in order to keep the house dry and to make it wind-proof. A portion of the door should be left open or covered with a piece of muslin, so as to allow ventilation. (See [figs. 4] and [5].) Similar houses can be constructed of packing cases at a relatively small cost. A small amount of 2 by 4 or 2 by 3 lumber can be purchased for framing. The box boards can be applied for siding or sheathing and then covered with roofing paper. Where there is a board fence it is sometimes possible to take advantage of this by building the poultry house in the corner of the fence and making the fence itself, with the cracks covered by strips or battened, serve as the back and one side of the house.

Fig. 4.—Poultry houses, each of which is made out of two piano boxes. The two boxes are placed back to back, 3 feet apart, the back and top of each removed, a frame for roof and floor added, and the part between the two boxes built in with the boards removed from the boxes. The whole is covered with roofing paper. With piano boxes at $2.50 each, such a house can be easily and quickly constructed for $12. It will accommodate 12 hens comfortably.

A cheap house 8 by 8 feet square can be made of 2 by 4 inch pieces and 12-inch boards. Plans for such a house are given in [figure 6]. The 2 by 4 pieces are used for sills, plates, corner posts, and three rafters. No studding is required except that necessary to frame the door and window space. The boards are run up and down and add sufficient stiffness to the house. They are used also for the roof and covered with roofing paper. The back and sides of the house also can be covered with roofing paper, or the cracks can be covered with wooden battens or strips 11⁄2 to 3 inches wide. In the front of the house there should be left a window or opening which can be closed, when desired, by a muslin screen or curtain which serves as a protection against bad weather but allows ventilation. In the side a door should be provided which will allow entrance. A shed or single-slope roof is best because easiest to build. A height of 6 feet in front and 4 feet in the rear is ample. If desired, the house may be built higher, so that it is more convenient to work in; the increase in cost will be slight. The ventilator in the rear is not needed in the northern part of the country, but is desirable in the South where summers are very warm.

Fig 5.—Rear view of piano-box houses shown in [fig. 4]. The openings at the rear are provided for ventilation and coolness in the hot weather. Windows could be used instead of solid shutters and would make the houses lighter when closed.

Such a house would be ample for a flock of 20 to 25 hens. It can be built quickly and easily and is cheap in construction. The material required is as follows:

BILL OF MATERIAL
Roof rafters, 5 pieces, 2 by 4 inches by 8 feet long.
Roof plates, 2 pieces, 2 by 4 inches by 8 feet long.
Sills, 4 pieces, 2 by 4 inches by 8 feet long.
Posts, 3 pieces 2 by 4 inches by 6 feet long; 2 pieces 2 by 4 inches by 4 feet long.
Stringer, 1 piece, 2 by 4 inches by 8 feet long.
Total pieces required to cut list:
  7 pieces 2 by 4 inches by 16 feet long.
  1 piece 2 by 4 inches by 12 feet long.
Total feet in board measure, 81.
ROOSTS AND DROPPING BOARD.
  1 piece 2 by 3 inches by 16 feet long.
  1 piece 2 by 3 inches by 10 feet long.
Total board measure, 13 feet.
  2 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 16 feet long.
Total board measure, 32 feet.
SHEATHING BOARDS
Roof, 5 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 16 feet long.
Two sides, 2 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 10 feet long; 3 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 12 feet long; 2pieces 1 by 12 inches by 14 feet long.
Front, 2 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 10 feet long.
Back, 2 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 16 feet long.
Total feet board measure, 216.
BATTEN STRIPS.
130 linear feet 1⁄2 by 2 inch strips, 24 board feet.
 24 linear feet 7⁄8 by 2 inch strips, for curtain frame, 4 board feet.
ROOFING
 80 square feet roofing paper; nails and tins.
HARDWARE
  2 pairs 8-inch T hinges for door.
  1 padlock for door.
  3 pairs 4-inch T hinges for curtain frame and rear ventilator.
  5 pounds 10-penny wire nails for framing.
 10 pounds 8-penny wire nails for sheathing.
  5 pounds 4-penny wire nails for stripping.
 21 square feet poultry wire, 3⁄4-inch mesh, for front.
  3 yards muslin for curtain.
 32 rough bricks will build piers.
FLOOR
If floor is desired in house, add the following material:
  2 pieces 2 by 4 inches by 16 feet long.
  4 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 16 feet long.
Total feet board measure, 85.
TOTAL LUMBER REQUIRED
Without floor, 370 board feet.
With floor, 455 board feet.
Lumber can be rough or dressed.

Fig. 6.—Plan of a simple back-yard poultry house.

[Larger drawing]

When the soil is well drained and consequently will remain dry no floor need be used in the house, the ground itself serving as the floor. Often a slight dampness can be corrected by filling up the floor several inches above the outside ground with sand, cinders, gravel, or dry dirt. Three or four inches of the surface of the floor, and of the run if a very small run is used, should be removed and replaced with fresh dirt two or three times a year. If the ground is so wet or damp that this condition can not be corrected by filling it is best to provide a board floor as this will help to keep the house dry, will allow easier cleaning, and will promote the general health and welfare of the hens. A house with a board floor should be set on posts or blocks, so that it is 5 to 12 inches above the ground. When this space is left the floor will not rot so quickly and rats are not so likely to take refuge under the house. (See [fig. 7].)

Fig. 7.—A good type of open-front poultry house for a small flock. The front can be closed with a muslin curtain on cold nights. The house is set on brick piers so as not to afford a refuge for rats. Notice the nests built out on the front of the house where the eggs can be reached by raising the hinged cover.

In order to keep the flock in a clean and sanitary condition, dropping boards should be provided and roosts above them. This makes it easy to remove the droppings each morning and helps greatly to keep the house free from objectionable odors. A little sand or ashes sprinkled on the dropping board after each cleaning will be found to make the cleaning easier.

The dropping boards and roosts should be placed against the back wall. Here they are out of the way and at the same time where they are least likely to be reached by drafts. The dropping boards should be about 20 to 30 inches from the floor, depending on the height of the building. This gives space enough under them so that the hens have room to exercise and is not too high for the heavier hens to fly up to. The roosts should be 3 or 4 inches above the dropping boards. If more than a single roost is used, they should be on the same level; otherwise all the hens will try to crowd upon the highest roost. A piece of 2 by 4 or 2 by 3, laid and with the upper corners rounded off, make a good roost. A pole, or even a piece of board 2 or 3 inches wide, may be used. If the roost is of light material and fairly long, it should be supported in the center, as well as at the ends, to prevent it from sagging badly. An allowance of 7 to 10 inches of roost space per fowl, according to the size of the birds, should be made. If more than one roost is used, they should be placed about 15 inches apart.

Nests must be provided and may be very simple. Any box about 1 foot square and 5 or 6 inches deep is suitable. An ordinary orange box with the partition in the middle serves this purpose very well, each box forming two nests. The top is removed, the box laid on its side, and a strip 3 to 4 inches wide nailed across the lower front. (See [fig. 9].) Nests can be fastened against the walls of the house or set on the floor. It is preferable to fasten them against the wall, as they take too much floor space if set on the floor. One nest should be provided for each 4 or 5 hens.

Fig. 8.—A larger poultry house suitable for a suburban lot. Notice the old lumber, sash, etc., used in the construction. The utilization of such used material, which can often be purchased for a very slight sum at auction or where buildings are being wrecked, lessens the cost of the poultry buildings very materially.

The straw or other material used in the nest should be kept clean and not be allowed to get so low that the eggs when laid by the hen will strike the board bottom of the nest, as this will cause them to break and will start the hens to eating the eggs, which is a very troublesome habit and one that is very difficult to break up once it is formed.

A litter of straw or the leaves raked up in the fall about 3 or 4 inches deep, should be used on the floor of the house. This material helps to absorb the droppings and also provides a means of feeding the grain in such a way that the hens are obliged to exercise by scratching for it.

When hens become broody, they should be “broken up” as quickly as possible. for the sooner this is done the sooner they will resume laying. To break a hen of broodiness she should be confined to a small coop, preferably with a slat bottom. Give her plenty of water to drink; she may be fed or not as desired. Not much difference will be found in the time required to break her of broodiness, whether she is fed or made to fast. Usually from 3 to 6 days’ confinement will break her, but some hens require 10 to 12 days. The broody hen will be recognized by her inclination to stay on the nest at night, the ruffling of her feathers and her picking at anyone who approaches her, and by the clucking noise she makes. The fact that her broodiness has been broken up can be recognized by the disappearance of these symptoms.