ORDINARY POULTRY KEEPING.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1981, 30 June 1880, Page 2

ORDINARY POULTRY KEEPING.

[“South Australian Chronicle.”} Wherever a poultry-house is placed, or whatever made of, it is absolutely necessary that the floor, however wet its surroundings and the weather may be, be always perfectly dry. An essential step towards effecting this is to have a sound roof and weathertight walls ; but more concerning these shortly. If they prove insufficient, try a shallow gutter all round and pretty close to the building, outside, so arranged that the surface water cannot get inside the house, but will be led some little distance from it. Should this also fail, the gutter must be enlarged into aregular trench, say, a foot wide and the same depth, or deeper if necessary. The trench should not bo filled up with the earth thrown out in making it, but with gravel, metal, broken bottles, or any material through which the water can percolate to the bottom of the drain, there to flow away es from the gntterIn any case, as an extra precaution, let tho floor bo raised two or three inches above tho highest part of the ground near the building outside. Various kinds of flooring are used. One of concrete and cement is much recommended as being vermin and damp proof, durable, smooth, and easily swept. Bricks make a solid, level, and nice-looking floor; hut, besides being expensive, seem to attract moisture if there is any about. Ordinarv boarded, floors on spars are dry, warm, and hiautifnlly level, certainly, but rather costly, and, except as a temporary resort for ailing and young poultry suffering trom the effects of damp, not advisable. Eats and mice harbour underneath, and riddle them with holes ; and insects, to some extent, lodge in the joinings. If the manure ia not frequently cleared away the boards absorb filth and give out noxious vapours, and the dust raised by the fowls flying up to their perches, and in other waj* is both intolerable and unhealthy. In adi’ tion, it is said boarded floors give chicken cramp, cause “ bumblefoot,” soft and hard corns and abscesses, and are specially bad for dorkings. But an effective floor, and perhaps the most generally practicable, as costing little or nothing but a slight amount of labor, is a flooring simply of earth, or better still, clay, well beaten down whilst damp, and its surface made level and smooth. Of whatever materials made, the floor should always be covered to the depth of half an inch or so with sand, pulverised—that if, without lumps —earth, or (if obtainable) sawdust, as these are comfortable to the fowls’ feet, dry up and deodorise their droppings, and are readily swept entirely away. Concerning the bouses themselves there is so much, difference between those best adapted for winter and summer occupation respectively that it will be better to treat of them separately. Take winter houses first. The walls, whether of stone, brick, concrete, or logs, should bo six inches or a foot thick, so as to exclude cold and retain the warmer air ; and the inner side, if very irregular, roughly plastered so as not to harbour “fleck.” Perhaps the beet kind of roof would be shingles covered with iron. Thatch is warmer, but apt to conceal vermin. The better to protect the walls from wet, the roof, unless spouted, should project a foot all round the building. Have a fair-sized and glazed window facing where it will get most sunshine, Tho advantages of a well-lighted room are that tho poultry will go in at all hours of the day when it is wet, cold, or rough outside (which they will not do if the house be dark, but find the best shelter they can without), and the attendant can see that the place is clean, and need not soil himself in catching poultry, gathering eggs, or cleaning np. Ventilation being all-important, two openings, not; larger than necessary, and the one opposite the other, should be made through the walla and close to the roof at its highest possible part. This would ensure the entrance of pure, and, as it naturally rises to the top of the room, the exit of foul air, and the poultry being so far below, would feel no draught. The door should be substantial and well fitted. Supply one also specially for the fowls, say 12 x 9 inches, with a hinged or sliding clap, so that it can bo closed at night to keep out cold and intruders, and to shut in the poultry at any time. To prevent dogs and vermin from entering so easily as if it were close to the floor, this door should be two feet above ground. It can have a platform six inches deep inside and out for the fowls to jump upon. It should have been mentioned that the floor of a second story (such as a hayloft or storeroom) is as good or better than the best roof. Summer quarters do not need such careful structure, and are much simpler to make. Back and end walls of the palings, as so generally used and put together in this country, are amply sufficient. Air-tight walls would positively be an objection. A roof solely of palings is equally suitable. One simply of iron heats a place terribly during the day (fortunately the fowls are not much in it then), but being so thin, when the sun goes down it rapidly becomes cool, and its indentations are a beautiful means of ventilating and refrigerating the interior. The whole front of the building should be of open work, and face the south as previously recommended, thus providing light, cool air, and ventilation. As shade during the day in summer or protection from cool' spring and autumn evenings, a blind can be added. By tacking matting, bagging, or, best of all, palings over the front, these houses will make tolerable winter quartes for the general run of poultry, but not for hens expected to lay there.