Poultry houses and fixtures. Page: 1

                                
POULTRY HOUSES AND FIXTURES
By M. A. JuLL, poultry husbandmann, and A. R. LEE, associate poultry husbandman,
Animal Husbandry Division, Bureau of Animlal Industry
CONTENTS
Page                                Page
Essentials in housing poultry----------------
 1  Estimating materials required---------------
 21
Location and site----------------------------
 2  Constructing the house--.-------------------
 22
Brooder houses -----------------------------
 2  Artificial lights -------------------------...-
 25
Laying houses-----------------------------
 7  Artificial heat ----------------------------.-
 26
Capacity of laying houses--------------------
 8  Insulation of the walls and roof -------------
 26
Yards and fences -------------------
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 10  Ventilation----------------------------------
 26
Details of design-----------------------------
 13  Fixtures and equipment--------------------
 27
Materials for building-----------------------
 20
CERTAIN       GENERAL PRINCIPLES apply to all poultry-house
construction, though local conditions determine to a large extent
the exact type which will give best results.  Climatic and other conditions
vary to such an extent in different parts of the United States
that it is impossible to give in this brief treatise a description of the
type of house best suited for each locality. This bulletin, therefore,
is confined to a discussion of the principles of poultry-house construction.
It includes also a plan of a brooder house and one of a
laying house.
This type of brooder house, with perhaps slight modifications,
should give satisfaction in most parts of the country. The plan of a
laying house is suitable for many sections of the country and it serves
also to illustrate several principles of house construction.
Plans of houses suitable for conditions in most of the States may
be obtained from the State experiment station or State agricultural
college.
ESSENTIALS IN HOUSING POULTRY
The first essential in housing chicks or laying hens is comfort, for
unless chicks are comfortable they will not grow      well and pullets
and hens will not lay well. To be comfortable a house must provide
plenty of room, be well supplied with fresh air and sunlight, and
always be dry.
The second essential is economy. A new house need not be expensive,
but it should be durable; the more durable the house the less
the cost of housing per year in a period of years. Avoid building
cheap, flimsy houses, as they soon have to be replaced.
The third essential is convenience. The house should be conveniently
located and should be of such shape and size that work
in it can be done with ease. Too often the mistake of building small
houses with low roofs is made, so that it is drudgery to care for
the chicks or the layers. Since labor is an important factor in the
management of poultry, the arrangement of the house for convenience
adds greatly to the chances of success.
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