[2] The construction of poultry houses and fixtures is described in Farmers' Bulletin 1554, Poultry Houses and Fixtures.
B4390M
Figure 11.—Rat proof pigpens and feeding troughs are easy to keep clean and sanitary, and rats have little opportunity to steal the feed
Figure 12.—A concrete curtain wall or apron under a feeding floor prevents raveling of earth and consequent breaking of the slab, as well as the harboring of rats
Portable laying and brooder houses frequently become heavily infested because they are usually built with wooden floors removed from the ground only by the height of the runners on which they are constructed and are seldom moved as frequently as originally intended. Feed, sifting through the floors, attracts rats, which after finding desirable shelter soon establish themselves in burrows beneath the houses and multiply rapidly. Portable houses, therefore, should be raised off the ground 2 or more feet.
Nests should be raised 2 or more feet above the floor, and feed and grit hoppers at least 1 foot. Drinking vessels for water and skim milk should supported on a platform 1 to 1½ feet above the floor, so as to eliminate the possibility of rat shelters and keep the liquids in a more sanitary condition. Other equipment should be given the same consideration.