UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA POULTRY HOUSES AND EQUIPMENT J. E. DOUGHERTY and H. L. BELTON BULLETIN 476 Revised February, 1931 UNIV TY] UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRINTING OFFICE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1931 POULTRY HOUSES AND EQUIPMENT J. E. DOUGHERTYi and H. L, BELT0N2 Climate is an important factor in poultry house design and from table 1 can be obtained a reasonably comprehensive grasp of the gen- eral climatic conditions of the state. The climate of California is such that shelter from rain, wind and heat, rather than protection from intense cold, is one of the principal functions of a poultry house. REQUIREMENTS OF A CALIFORNIA POULTRY HOUSE The fundamental purpose of a poultry house is to promote the comfort and health of the stock it houses. This purpose should receive first consideration by the designer and builder. Storm-Tight and Dry. — Dryness checks the development of most disease organisms and increases the comfort of the birds. It is there- fore an important essential of a well designed poultry house. Ventilation Without Drafts. — Ventilation is essential in a poultry house to supply the birds with enough fresh air to meet their body needs and to carry away the exhaled air and the unhealthful fumes arising from the droppings. Ventilation must be provided without injurious drafts from cracks, knot holes, etc., which would chill the birds while roosting and lead to colds and roup. Ventilation is need- ful ; drafts may be dangerous. Direct Sunlight in Winter. — In order to admit a maximum amount of direct sunlight in winter a poultry house should face south. Where this is not feasible, a southeast facing would be second in order of desirability; and east, third. North is an undesirable direction in which to face a poultry house. The mere fact, however, of facing a poultry house south will not insure a maximum amount of direct sunlight entering the house unless it is properly designed. For example, the sun's rays reach the earth in December in this latitude at an angle of approximately 25° from the horizontal. This means that rays of sunlight entering a poultry house in winter at a height of 8% feet (fig. 1) would extend back 1 Associate Professor of Poultry Husbandry and Associate Poultry Husband- man in the Experiment Station. 2 Farm Building Technician, College of Agriculture. 4 University of California — Experiment Station over the floor of a house 18 feet deep, nearly to the rear wall. If, however, the highest opening through which direct sunlight could enter were only 6 feet above the ground, the sun's rays would extend into the house for a distance of only 13 feet. Hence the vertical length and the area of the openings in the front wall, as well as the Fig-. 1. — Showing how the height and vertical length of the front openings affect the amount of sunlight that enters a poultry house in December and the distance it extends back toward the rear wall. TABLE 1 Climatological Data for the Year 1924, as a Fairly Typical Year (B lank spaces indicate data not available. ) Station Clear Partly cloudy Cloudy Precipi- tation of .01 in. or more Dense fog Temp. of32°F, or below Temp. of90°F, or above Max. temp. for year Min. temp. for year Total rain- fall days 290 239 300 286 103 259 262 232 266 309 256 305 201 262 258 263 224 191 236 234 253 171 296 196 288 days 51 87 35 40 101 63 26 100 39 22 31 41 139 26 58 55 89 117 102 67 81 69 12 83 27 days 21 40 31 40 162 44 78 34 61 35 79 20 26 78 50 48 53 58 28 65 32 126 58 87 51 days 34 28 38 44 117 31 55 29 41 58 45 44 30 51 44 39 39 37 46 42 37 29 51 37 days 57 16 8 7 20 24 19 12 18 days 10 12 28 13 23 9 days 108 5 107 54 9 3 deg.F 105 110 107 105 81 109 99 102 109 95 109 101 102 110 108 102 91 88 105 98 99 103 94 88 102 . 113 deg.F 6 21 20 26 24 24 23 36 19 22 20 21 25 23 17 25 19 36 23 22 30 26 24 36 25 19 inches 11.86 3.99 13.85 12.72 27.53 7.26 15.24 8 11 9.03 20.04 19 94 13.57 9.41 Red Bluff.. .. 17.09 12.67 9.34 5.68 San Bernardino.... 12.42 9.51 SanLuis Obispo.... 10.19 10.50 16.45 San Francisco 20.17 11.11 Ukiah 1041 Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment direction in which the house faces, control the amount of direct sun- light that can enter the house. The poultry houses described in this bulletin have a shed roof, as this style of roof provides at low cost the size and shape of opening's most effective in admitting winter sunlight. Sunlight increases the comfort of the birds in winter by bringing warmth and cheer into the poultry house. It is a powerful drying, disinfecting, and purifying agent and is nature 's source of ultra-violet light (table 2). TABLE 2* Comparison of Sunlight, Cod Liver Oil, and Ultra- Violet Light from a Quartz Mercury Lamp, as Sources of the Antirachitic Factor for Laying and Breeding Hens Treatment Per cent average egg production for 21 months Per cent chicks hatched to fertile eggs set. Average of 13 hatches Average shell thickness for a period of 18 months in millimeters 14.2 27.9 32.8 36.8 38.1 11.6 30 41.9 54.7 62.4 26 30 Confined. Direct sunlight through open front. Two 0.32 Confined. Direct sunlight through open front. 15 31 0.33 •This table is a brief summary of the results obtained for the first 21 months of a study now in prog- ress at the California Station. Ultra-violet light has been found to possess properties similar to those of the vitamin D contained in certain foods, in bringing about a normal utilization of the calcium and phosphorus consumed in the ration. Laying hens need to assimilate large amounts of calcium to produce strong-shelled eggs. Growing chicks must utilize both cal- cium and phosphorus for bone building. Rickets is due either to an inadequate supply of calcium and phosphorus in the ration or to an inability to absorb and utilize these mineral elements from the food eaten. The minerals needed are easily provided but there must also be supplied that factor which enables the bird to use them for its body needs. Whenever poultry of any age can be exposed to direct sunlight, it is not necessary to include in the ration feeds rich in vitamin D. Direct sunlight has not only been proven to be both a preventive and cure for rickets but it also seems to stimulate egg production and improve both the strength of shell and the hatching quality of eggs laid. 6 University of California — Experiment Station Coolness in Summer. — It is equally as desirable that a poultry house be cool in summer as it is that it be comfortably warm in winter. Fowls suffer extremely from high temperatures, particularly in late spring", before they have become adjusted to hot weather. The mor- tality from this cause, especially in adult stock, may result in greater annual losses than from disease. Shade and a free circulation of air are perhaps the most practical means of keeping a poultry house cool and preventing losses from heat prostration. Sprinkling the floor sufficiently to dampen the litter, and hosing the roof and muslin curtains frequently on abnormally hot days, also aid in reducing the temperature of the interior of the house thus making the birds more comfortable. Large deciduous trees that shade the front and roof and are not too close to be objectionable represent- one of the most desirable ways of protecting a poultry house from the hot summer sun. Lacking trees, however, muslin curtains extended as awnings will serve to shade the interior of the house. (See page 17 for discussion of curtains. ) Ease of Cleaning. — The shape and construction of droppings board and roosts, as they affect ease of scraping off the droppings ; the size and shape of scraper used ; the capacity and ease of handling of manure box used in cleaning — all are important factors in saving time and effort. For example, a droppings board over 6 feet wide is diffi- cult to reach across with a scraper sufficiently heavy and with enough scraping surface to permit of rapid work. Cleaning is facilitated by stretching wire netting (fig. 2) or rods beneath the roosts, to keep the birds away from the droppings. They then cannot walk on and pack them down, and cleaning is made easier. There accumulates between 8 and 9 pounds of dirt and droppings per 100 fowls per day on the droppings board of a laying house. If these boards were cleaned three times a week, about 30 pounds of manure would have to be removed each time from a pen 18 X 20 feet in size, holding 150 fowls. For such work a litter carrier is amply large and very convenient. On the other hand in cleaning the floor of a laying house preparatory to putting in clean litter, there must be removed eight or more wheelbarrow loads of dirty litter, if cleaning is done every six weeks. A wheelbarrow, or overhead litter carrier, being very limited in capacity, would necessitate too many trips to expeditiously handle this amount of litter. A low wagon is. more suitable and further on is described removable 8-foot-wide panels at the house end of each line fence which permit of driving a wagon Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 7 along- in front of the house so that it can be backed up to the front door of any pen. Then the litter can be shoveled into it and removed in one load, from a pen 18 X 20 feet in size. Well Drained, Durable Floor. — Scratching' litter is a source of much dust, consisting as it does of more or less pulverized litter and droppings, and the dirt tracked in from out-of-doors. Every ledge accumulates a layer of dust. Cobwebs also accumulate rather rapidly. Fresh droppings are tramped into the floor and dry fast. A large part of this material can be removed with scraper, shovel and broom Fig. 2. — Detail showing construction of a section of roosts with wire netting stretched under them. Netting with 1%-inch mesh is recommended for this pur- pose. A larger mesh permits eggs laid on the wire to fall through and break or get badly soiled; the droppings do not readily pass through a smaller mesh. The roost section shown has only five roosts and 2X4 inch blocks are used for legs. A section of six or more roosts would be built in the same way, however, and 2X2 inch or any other kind of satisfactory legs can be used. but much of it cannot. Yet in disinfecting surfaces coated with even thin layers of dirt, the efficiency of the application is greatly reduced, for the disinfectant is absorbed by the dirt before it can reach and kill the germs. To thoroughly clean a hen house from ceiling to floor, it should be scrubbed and hosed out before it is disinfected. In hosing out a house having a board floor, the boards will absorb a great deal of water, unless they have been thoroughly impregnated with oil, and will in time curl or dish making the floor corrugated and difficult to scrape. It is also rather difficult to lay a board floor so that it will drain well. A concrete floor, on the other hand, is more easily scraped, does not splinter, is not affected by water, and can readily be laid to provide ideal drainage conditions as indicated on the floor plan, figure 29. In most instances a concrete floor is also as low in first cost as a good board floor and will last indefinitely, whereas wood is subject to decay. 8 University of California — Experiment Station Floor and Boosting Space. — Crowding is detrimental, whereas giving birds more house room than they can effectively use increases investment and operating costs. As a result of an extended study of the space needs of different breeds of fowls the tabulation in table 3 has been formulated : TABLE 3 Becommended Floor Space per, Bird Number of birds in a pen Light breeds, such as Leghorns Heavy breeds, such as Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks 1- 50 3H sq. ft. floor space 3 sq. ft. floor space 2)4 sq. ft. floor space 2 sq. ft. floor space 4J/£ sq. ft. floor space 51-125 126-200 Over 200 To illustrate why larger flocks require less floor space per bird than small flocks, let us consider a house 14 feet deep and 50 feet long divided into five pens, each containing 40 birds. The pens are 14 X 10 feet in size and allow 3% square feet of floor space per bird. If, how- ever, two of the pens were thrown together, each bird would have twice as much floor space to move around in as it had before. Throw- ing three pens together would give each bird three times as much floor space and so on. It is evident, then, that increasing the size of the pen increases the total floor space available to each bird. Because of this fact the average floor space per bird can be reduced a certain amount without harm to the stock since each bird will have a much larger floor space to exercise in than it had in the smaller pen. It is not enough, however, to consider only floor space in determin- ing the hen capacity of a poultry house or a pen within that house. Sufficient roosting space must also be provided. For light breeds such as Leghorns, 6 linear inches is considered the minimum, and 8 linear inches the optimum amount of roosting space per bird. For the larger breeds, such as Khode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks, these measurements should be increased two inches. The minimum amount of roosting space would probably be found sufficient in cold weather but in hot weather the birds would be crowded too close together. Location of Equipment. — A major problem in designing the inte- rior of a poultry house is the placing of equipment. It is desirable to place appliances off of the floor where they are least in the way. Watering devices and feed hoppers located in the middle of the floor, even though on legs, obstruct the light and are more or less 'under food. ' Nests below the front of the droppings board tend to darken Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 9 the floor back of them and make it difficult for the poultry keeper to observe birds in the rear of the house and note ailing" individuals. The side and front walls represent the most desirable locations for equipment. The amount of such wall space, however, is usually insuffi- cient to take care of the equipment needs in even a small pen and as the size of the pen is increased, wall space increases less rapidly than the space needs of feed hoppers, nests, etc. For example, a pen 18 feet deep and 20 feet long will care for 150 Leghorn hens and allow 2.4 square feet of floor space per hen. If the droppings board extends approximately 6 feet out from the rear wall and there is a 3-foot door in each side wall adjacent to the droppings board (fig. 26), the amount of space on each side wall available for equipment would be 9 linear feet. With a 3-foot door in the center of the front wall, there would be left 17 linear feet on the front wall for equipment. This makes a total of 35 feet. If the pen were 40 feet long instead of 20 feet, the total wall space available for equipment would be increased only 20 feet, or 57 per cent, whereas the bird capacity would be doubled at least. On the basis of 1 linear inch of dry mash hopper feeding space per fowl, V2 inch of greens hopper feeding space per fowl, % 3 inch of watering space per fowl, 2 feet of grit and shell hopper feeding space per 100 fowls, and at least one nest 10 inches wide for each six hens, the following wall space would be required for 150 fowls: Wall mash hopper 12 ft. 6 in. Wall greens hopper 6 ft. 3 in. Water pan 3 ft. 2 in. 27 nests each 10 inches wide — 3 tiers 8 ft. 4 in. (including nest partitions) Grit and shell hopper 3 ft. in. Total 33 ft. 3 in. Unfortunately the problem is even more complicated than has been indicated, because the boarded up portion of the front wall below the curtained openings is rather low for self-feeding mash hoppers or tiered-up nests and it is not feasible to construct equipment so that every inch of wall space is used without waste. The data above would indicate an ample number of feet of wall space for the required equipment in a pen 18 feet deep and 20 feet long but when one begins to fit this equipment in, it quickly develops that wall space is very limited even in a pen of this size. In a pen 40 feet long and 18 feet deep the wall space would be wholly inadequate. These facts emphasize the value of a partition at least every 20 feet in providing wall space even though no partition doors are hung in the door open- ings and two or more pens are thrown into one. 3 Twice this amount may be needed in hot weather. 10 University of California — Experiment Station FLOOR DIMENSIONS AND CONSTRUCTION COST PER HEN As has already been pointed out, the hen capacity of a pen is increased as its size is increased, but in greater ratio than is the ratio of increase in the size of the pen. Therefore a reduction in floor space per hen due to an increase in pen size decreases the cost of con- struction per hen capacity until the minimum allowance of 2 square feet of floor space per hen is reached. If this minimum is adhered to, there is no saving in construction cost in enlarging the pen unduly. There may be a loss due to the increased hazards from disease, etc., resulting in decreased production of the birds in the larger groups. There are also considerable data to show that large flocks do not lay as well as smaller flocks because of the increased competition among the birds for feed and water and the greater opportunity for cumula- tive action of the stronger against the weaker birds. A pen 18 feet deep and 20 feet long is the unit that has been chosen as most economically desirable in designing the commercial type of shed roof poultry house described in this bulletin. To obtain maxi- mum economy in cost of construction per bird capacity, however, a pen double the unit size or 18 feet deep and 40 feet long and with a capacity of 360 birds of the light breeds (table 3) is recommended for layers. This size of pen is readily obtainable by building the house with an even number of units 18 X 20 feet in size and throwing each pair of units together by not hanging a door in the partition or by building only a skeleton partition to hang equipment on. If the complete partition, including door frame, is built, doors can be hung in the door openings at any time and the house thus readily divided into pens 18 X 20 feet in size for trapnesting, for brooding, for sort- ing, or for pullets of different ages. The 18 X 20-foot units shown in this bulletin will accommodate 150 fowls and allow each fowl the optimum (8 inches) amount of roost space. The droppings board is 5 ft. 6 in. wide with five roosts on it. But if a poultry keeper wishes to use 40-fcot pens for 360 birds as suggested in the previous paragraph, or to build the house 20 feet wide and have the pens 20 feet square, six roosts and a droppings board 6 ft. 6 in. wide will be required. This change in roosts and droppings board can be made by moving the door openings forward one foot and building the droppings board one foot wider. Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 11 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS A poultry house is usually a long-time investment. Depreciation and cost of up-keep determine the economy of the construction and of the materials used. Concrete for Foundation. — A reasonably level, well drained site and a concrete foundation are most desirable for a poultry house. A concrete foundation is durable, it holds the woodwork from contact with the moist ground that would promote rotting, and it prevents surface water from seeping into the house during heavy rains. Building a house off the ground on blocks or posts makes for inconvenience and increased labor in carrying feed and equipment up and down steps and in using runways down to the yard for the fowls. Unless the underneath space is well ventilated the floor as well as the sills will be subject to more or less rapid decay. Further, unless the house is high enough above the ground for a small dog to run under- neath, it soon becomes infested with rats. There are conditions, however, requiring the building of a poultry house on blocks or posts as, for example, when it is built on a steep slope. This type of construction is shown in figure 24, but is not recommended if it can be avoided. Building Dimensions and Stock Lengths of Lumber. — The stock lengths into which the framing lumber used in a poultry house is manufactured, are 10 to 20 feet in even feet. Longer lengths are obtainable but are not always stocked by local lumber dealers. Long lengths also cost more than shorter lengths. These facts have been taken into consideration in fixing the dimensions of the houses described in these pages,/ as will be observed by detailed study of the plans, and every effort has been made to eliminate waste wherever possible in cutting the lumber. Grades and Kinds of Lumber. — The low walls of a poultry house readily lend themselves to placing siding lumber vertically and to the use of short lengths of lumber. When placed vertically and well nailed, vertical siding will support a good part of the weight of the rcof so that the studding can be spaced farther apart than can be done when placing the siding horizontally. Surfaced tongue-and- groove lumber laid vertically is, therefore, recommended for the exterior walls of a poultry house. Defects such as pitch pockets and small, tight knots, do not detract from its value for this purpose. Such material which has been sorted out of the better grades as 12 University of California — Experiment Station inferior because of the defects indicated, usually sells for less than common, rough 1 X 12 inch boards, yet the defects do not in any way injure it for use in siding- poultry houses. It lays up well and makes a tight wall. It is surfaced so that it takes less material and labor to paint it than do rough boards. It offers a. less favorable environment for parasites. It is usually less expensive than shiplap of equal grade; and the tongue-and-groove joint is tighter than the lap joint, CONSTRUCTION DETAILS Constructing a Concrete Foundation and Floor. — A concrete floor and foundation for a poultry house may be constructed by two differ- ent methods. The usual method is to pour the walls of the foundation first and later put in the floor. The floor, however, may pull away from the foundation wall and leave a crack all around unless tied to it with metal reinforcing. This method of construction is also more expensive. The second method is to pour both floor and foundation together as shown in figures 3 and 4. With either type of construction, the proper height of the founda- tion wall is first determined and the corner stakes of the building driven. Then the estimated amount of material needed for the fill should be hauled in or scraped in with a Fresno scraper before work is begun on the forms. This will eliminate the extra shoveling that would be required if the fill were not put in until after the foundation wall forms were in place. When the fill is in place, it should be thoroughly tamped and packed to prevent any settling that would damage the floor after it is laid. In using the second method, only the outside forms for the founda- tion wall are used and the end wall forms are given a slope of three inches from rear to front. The front wall forms are therefore three inches lower than the rear wall forms. This gives the finished con- crete floor that amount of fall from rear to front which is not enough to require special cutting of studs or other framing and will not be noticed in the finished building. On level, well drained land, the floor can be as low as six inches above the ground at the front. After installing the outside wall forms, the earth fill should be well tamped and carefully graded so that the top of the fill will be 2 or more inches below the tops of the forms depending on how thick the floor is to be made. With a well settled, firm fill, a floor 2 to 2% inches thick will be found heavy enough for a hen house. To provide a foundation wall, a narrow trench should be dug all around the house just inside the outside wall forms (figs. 3 and 4). Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 13 This trench need not be over 6 inches wide but should be deep enough to keep rats from burrowing under the foundation wall. If the inside wall of the trench tends to cave in, it can be sloped inward toward the center of the house or a 1 X 12 inch board can be used as a retaining board. This board need not extend above the top of the earth fill and can be slipped out just before the concrete for any section of the floor is poured. Fig. 3. — Poultry house floor and foundation under construction. Note the form construction and that the floor and foundation are being poured together. / n -^3' ' s/ope , re or to front | tM Ground surface' Fig. 4. — Cross-section of floor and foundation. Note slope of floor and In pouring the concrete, the base course should be brought to within % inch of the top line of the finished floor. Then a % inch thick finishing coat should be applied and troweled smooth. Mixing Concrete? — As previously indicated concrete is very desir- able for the construction of poultry house foundations and floors if the slope of the land will permit its use and the materials for the mixing of the concrete are not too expensive for the purpose. Three dollars and fifty cents per cubic yard for such concrete aggregate as sand and gravel and ninety cents per bag for cement is not considered too high a price for such materials for use in the building of a poultry house intended to last ten years or more. * Valuable literature on the mixing and use of concrete can be obtained on application to the Portland Cement Association, 785 Market St., San Francisco. 14 University of California — Experiment Station The proper mixing of the concrete as well as the method of con- struction must receive consideration if durable, well finished concrete walls and floors are to be obtained. The fine and coarse materials for concrete construction are known as the concrete aggregates. The fine aggregate should consist of sand varying from fine to % inch in size and having clean, hard, strong, durable uncoated grains, free from injurious amounts of dust, soft flaky particles, alkali, and organic matter. The larger particles of the concrete mix, known as the coarse aggregate should vary in size from % inch to % inch, and consist of gravel or broken stone. This coarse aggregate should also be clean, hard, strong and durable, and free from injurious amounts of alkali and organic matter. Bank run gravel, as taken from the pit, creek, or river, that meets the above specification for fine and coarse aggregate may also be used for concrete work. A 1 : 2% : 5 mixture of materials is recommended for poultry houses. This consists of 1 bag (1 cubic foot) of cement, 2% cubic feet of fine aggregate and 5 cubic feet of coarse aggregate. If bank run gravel is used in place of a measured mixture of fine and coarse aggre- gate, the mix should consist of 1 bag of cement to 5 cubic feet of gravel. The addition of excess mixing water serves only to dilute the mix and reduce the strength of the concrete. Just enough water should be used in the mix to permit of tamping it to a true even surface. Mixtures containing both the coarse and fine aggregates are used for foundation walls and for the base course in floor construction. The top or finishing mix for floors, however, contains no coarse aggregate. It consists of a mixture of 1 bag of cement and 2 cubic feet of sand. It is spread over the base coarse to a depth of % inch to % inch and is leveled and smoothed with straight-edge, wood float, and smoothing trowel to an even and very smooth surface. Partitions Between Pens. — As shown in figure 22 each partition is made solid to the top of the partition door header, with 2-inch mesh wire netting above. This construction helps prevent cross drafts on the floor and over the roosts but allows of a free circulation under the roof — an important consideration in summer. Where the partitions are to be boarded up horizontally, partition sills can be omitted if short lengths of % inch iron rod or V2 inch bolts are set in the concrete floor and the projecting ends inserted snugly into holes bored in the ends of the partition studs to hold them solidly in place. Hanging Double-Swing Partition Doors. — There are a number of ways of hanging double-swing doors but about as satisfactory and inexpensive a method as any is shown in figures 5 and 6. Two or Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 15 three strap hinges, 4 inches in size, are attached to a light door on the side opposite to that on which they would ordinarily be attached. They are then fastened to the door frame in the usual way. With this method of attaching the hinges, the door is not flush with the frame Fig. 5. — A practical, inexpensive way to hang a double-swing, inside door in a poultry house. The door shown, however, is made of too heavy material for the purpose. Note hinges, door catches and springs. but is offset its own thickness. It will open 90° in each direction giving a full door opening for the passage of a litter carrier. To make it self-closing, coil door springs % inch in diameter and 16 inches long are attached by one end to the top of the door on each side and at the other end to an adjacent rafter (fig. 5). A screen door closer 16 University of California — Experiment Station with a strong" spring, such as the Superior, attached to each side of the door frame a few inches higher than the front edge of the drop- pings board serves to hold the door closed when it is brought back to the closed position by the coil springs. To work properly, the parti- tion door should be made of very light material such as % inch resawed lumber. Outside Doors. — All outside doors are made of the same material as the walls, tongue-and-groove lumber laid vertically. In placing the siding lumber around the door openings, it should stop an inch Outside Doors hinge- />5pr,nq Interior Doors Fig. 6. — Plan for the construction of outside doors and of double-swing inside doors for a poultry house. See J, figure 22. from the inside edges of the 2X4 inch frame (fig. 6). This will allow the door to fit flush with the wall siding and lap the door frame one inch at top and sides. The bottom of the dcor may extend down as far as desired. The door cleats should extend the full width of the door in order to get a firm nailing for the outside boards, and the frame mortised to receive the ends of these cleats. Bear Windows. — Where vertical siding is used the framing for the window sash in the rear wall should be nailed in place after the wall has been completely sided and before the window openings are cut. Top and bottom strips of frame should be firmly nailed to every siding board to be cut. Cutting these openings after the wall is finished is cheaper than fitting around the openings as the siding is put on. Each opening should be cut 1 inch smaller all around than the sash so that it will lap the opening 1 inch on all sides and thus fit more tightly when closed (cut opening 16 X 28 inches for an 18 X 30 sash). The top of the opening should be 2 inches below the 2X4 inch rail Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 17 supporting" the rear edge of the droppings board. This provides a nailing for the wire netting which can be most easily attached to the inside of these openings before the droppings board is constructed. Fig. 7. — Bear view of laying house showing rear windows be! droppings board. ow To increase air circulation in hot weather, openings in the rear wall near the floor have been found very helpful. The windows in the rear wall below the droppings board shown in figure 7 therefore, serve a double purpose. They light the floor under the droppings board and when they are opened on hot summer days, the circulation of air over the floor and through the house is materially increased. This adds to the comfort of the birds. Pig. 8. — San Gabriel type curtain with top tipped out to admit sunlight into house. Plan for the construction of this curtain shown in figure 9. Curtains. — In choosing a curtain for a particular house, one should first determine what that curtain will be expected to do. For example, the three different styles of curtain shown in figures 8, 10, and 12 serve somewhat different purposes. The so-called San Gabriel curtain 5 5 This curtain is understood to have originated in the San Gabriel Valley. 18 University of California — Experiment Station illustrated in figures 8 and 9 is intended for use in those localities which are subject to more or less mild storms. Those parts of the state, however, which have sufficiently mild nights in fall and winter and such light rains that this curtain could cope with them are much less extensive than the areas requiring more complete protection than this curtain affords. Cut for ' ' foc/a - Fig. 28. — Cross-section of the farm poultry house. 2"*4 m po5T runs up to £*m 6' girder S'S/op* I- fbw/ Opening Fig. 29. — Floor plan of the farm poultry house. 34 University op Califobnia-Experime nt Station po*^^^ B, 2 X 6 inch g irder su inch post supporting l^Tof't^* 1 ^*t« ^™*P *»«• ^X 2 X 6 inch girder. 1,2X4 inch end brfcing continuing up to suppo *&£ 2S^TS^ ^^^ - A * ** is ^ framing method of laying roofing paper "±°*5, rear w ! nd °ws for this house and ig Paper are shown in figure 21. Pig. 32.— A far poultry house showing sash g sash and curtain front. Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 35 KNOCK-DOWN COLONY HOUSE The knock-down house (fig's. 33-40) was originally designed for the man living in town or in the suburbs who wished to keep a pen of fowls in his back yard to supply his family with fresh eggs and to profitably utilize table scraps. The knock-down construction makes it easy to move. The family living on rented property in town can move hen house and chickens along with the household goods and not be prevented from keeping chickens because of not wanting to erect a permanent henhouse on rented land. Being only 8X8 feet in size, it Fig. 33. — Knock-down poultry house and run as used for special matings of breeding fowls on a poultry farm in northern California. is readily set up or knocked down by the insertion or removal of three bolts at each corner; yet it will accommodate 18 Leghorns on the basis of 3% square feet of floor space per bird. The portable run shown in figure 34, is covered to prevent the chickens from flying over the fence into the garden or into the neigh- bor 's yard. It is large enough to supply the birds with sufficient outdoor air and sunshine to keep them healthy. There are fowl doors on three sides of the house so that the run can be moved to fresh ground every week. Assuming that the man in town would have only Saturday afternoon or Sunday to devote to his chickens, he could move the run to fresh ground each week end. The first week it would be placed on one side of the house ; the second week it would be moved around to the front of the house and the space vacated, spaded and sown to some quick-growing greens ; the third week it would be moved to the other side and the used ground spaded and sow r n; the fourth week it would be moved back to its original location and the process continued each succeeding week. By this method the ground could 36 University of California — Experiment Station Cover mode of l'xd sections 4'0"x3\ Fig. 34. — Plan for the construction of the knock-down run to be used in connection with the 8 X 8 foot knock-down poultry house. w <9'0- I "^srl tk. /"> 4. ' o/eofe under droppings boond ^ -M- fw £'x£"roa5fe ' Moch. bo, 'is- -ir\-*\ t—TaG droppings board r*4* T & £"A3"post £ m a Ji" machine boir rvi/h w/bg nc/f^ row/ Opening -'1 >C ■ ■ ; : • ■ J ' . ■ ■ ■ . ■ ' ■ i f ....... i . K :zd 3T Fig. 35. — Floor plan of 8 X 8 foot knock-down poultry house showing how ends are bolted together. Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 37 be kept reasonably fresh and clean with two or three top dressings of lime a year and a nice family flock kept in a space 35 X 20 feet. Fig. 36. — Cross-section of 8 X 8 foot knock-down poultry house showing how the side walls are constructed and how the 2X3 inch center roof support fits into openings cut into the side walls to receive - it. /"mesh wire netting 7'/^ I 1 S' o« Fig. 37. — View showing front wall construction of 8 X 8 foot knock-down poultry house. The construction of the curtain is shown in figure 40. The wooden floor in this house does not accumulate contamination like a dirt floor. The roof can be raised two or three inches at the rear in hot weather to make the house cooler. The whole house can be raised a foot above the ground on blocks in summer to supply shade. 38 University of California — Experiment Station Fig. 38. — Interior view of 8 X 8 foot knock-down poultry house showing framing details. p4 Although originally designed for back yard use, it has proven very useful as a colony brooder house, as a colony house for young stock on range, and as a colony breeding house for special matings. The colony system of rearing chick- ens requires no fencing which would interfere with plowing and irrigating in cropped fields or or- chards, and is, therefore, a very convenient system to use under such conditions. The growing stock have free range. They can pick up a large part of their feed in the fields and the houses can be moved to new ground each year. When used for brooding and rearing on range, the portable run, figure 34, is employed to confine each flock of chicks for a few weeks Fig. 39. — Detail plan showing the method of constructing the corners of the 8X8 foot knock-down poultry house. Btjl. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 39 and teach them to know their own quarters. If the houses are spaced 80 to 100 feet apart little difficulty will be experienced with birds from one house mixing with the birds in other houses when they are allowed to run together. g^ff r i;' r»e-Aa"? £ : Muslin - m f Fig. 40. — Showing the construction of the curtain for the 8X8 foot knock-down poultry house. Fig. 41. — Showing method of framing 8X8 foot poultry house if it is to be built permanently on skids instead of using knock-down construction. The farmer or poultry keeper who has a tractor or teams of horses may prefer to build portable houses on skids and pull them from place to place rather than use the knock-down construction. The framing details for a portable house on skids are shown in figure 41. 40 University of California — Experiment Station BREEDING HOUSE The poultry breeder has need of small pens to take care of matings in which only one or two males are used. The breeding' house shown in the accompanying figures has been designed for that purpose and may be built any length desired (figs. 42 and 43). The pens in the house are 12 feet deep and 10 feet wide, with two roosts which will Fig. 42. — Cross-section of breeding house. accommodate 22 birds on the basis of 8 linear inches of roosting space per bird. It would not be considered feasible to allow so much floor space per bird for market egg layers, but in the case of choice breeding hens that are being trapnested and pedigreed, such roomy pens are justified. A very desirable feature of this house, which is made possible by the small number of birds kept in each pen in proportion to its size, is the series of rear entrance doors (fig. 44). A rear entrance to trapnest pens is very convenient and saves time because of the fre- Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 41 quency with which such pens must be visited each day. With doors in the partitions between pens there is always danger of a bird slipping* through from one pen to the next when a door is opened and not being noticed by the poultryman. The result is that mis-matings /0:q " f&v/ 0pen/nq l Fig. 43. — Floor plan of breeding house showing arrangement of doors, roosts, curtains, nests, etc. Fig. 44. — Rear view of breeding house showing location of rear windows and doors. See text for discussion of windows. occur, hatching eggs must be discarded and errors may creep into the pedigree records. The front dcor (fig. 45) in each pen provides ready access to the yard to operate the muslin curtains as required or to look after the birds there. 42 University of California — Experiment Station Fig. 45. — Showing front wall construction of breeding house. See figure 50 for curtain dimensions. Figure 6 illustrates the construction of the outside doors. COMMERCIAL BROODER HOUSE It is true that chicks can be brooded in either a commercial laying house, or a farm poultry house. They can also be brooded in one end of a barn, if it is properly fixed for the purpose, or in almost any out- building that is sufficiently warm and light. In fact poultry keepers just starting into the business may find it advisable to use their laying houses and other available buildings for brooding until such time as they are needed for other purposes. In building up the laying flock to the size desired, laying houses must be built in advance of the stock being reared to fill them so that they can be used to brood the stock that is later to occupy them as layers. The poultryman can, therefore, postpone investment in a special brooder house until after all of the laying houses have been built. When a poultry keeper builds a brooder house, however, it should be of such design as will prove not only most efficient in the saving of labor but also in enabling him to obtain the maximum results of which he is capable in rearing the chicks put into it. The brooder house shown in figures 46-50 has been designed to meet these requirements. An alleyway at the rear is provided as it is one of the most con- venient and labor-saving features that can be incorporated into a long brooder house and is, therefore, worth many times its cost. In a Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 4:J 44 University of California — Experiment Station bo •rH Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 45 house with an alleyway as compared to one without it, (1) more fre- quent trips will usually be made through the house to look at the chicks because such trips can be made with less trouble ; this closer supervision will aid materially in reducing" losses from toe-picking, Fotv/ Openihq J*4* Floor Dran Each Comportment Fig. 48. — Front elevation of one 20-foot unit of brooder house. Fig. 49. — Eear elevation of brooder house showing extension of roof over supply and utensil room. accidents, and diseases; (2) feeding and watering can be done more expeditiously; (3) cleaning can be more easily taken care of because any pen may be cleaned without going through or disturbing any other pen. Data compiled by this Station (tables 6 and 7) have shown that as the number of chicks brooded together in a pen is increased, or floor area per chick decreased, other things being equal, mortality increases. Extended observations indicate that the majority of poultry keepers will obtain most profitable results in brooding chicks in lots of not more than 300. The brooder pens have therefore been made 14 feet deep and 10 feet wide with a capacity of 280 chicks on the basis of V2 square foot of floor space per chick. Thus in a house 18 feet deep is provided an alleyway of ample width, and pens large enough to accommodate 46 University of California — Experiment Station TABLE 6 Mortality of Chicks as Affected by the Number Brooded Together* Number of chicks per unit Number of units Average number of chicks Per cent mortality 100- 400 7 12 22 9 231 717 1012 1309 15.4 400- 800 . .. 14 2 800-1200 18.3 1200-1400 20.9 TABLE 7 Death Bate of Chicks as Affected by Floor Area Allowed Floor area per 100 chicks Number of chicks Chicks died Per cent died 35 sq. ft. or less 35-50 sq. ft 73,077 25,371 25,044 19,254 4,122 3,484 26.3 16.2 13.1 * These tables give the summarized results obtained in a brooding survey made by the Division of Agricultural Extension of the University of Cali- fornia and embracing a total of 312,295 chicks. flocks of such size as should prove most satisfactory in the hands of the majority of poultry raisers. For those wishing to brood in larger groups than 280, some of the partitions can be omitted and two or three pens thrown together. But the smaller pens should prove more satisfactory and they will be found very convenient in separating the sexes at an early age. Fig. 50. — Detail of curtain for brooder house. A center wood panel is sub- stituted for the muslin panel in this curtain. For construction see figure 11. Bui,. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 47 Head room is obtained in the alleway by lowering* the floor six inches below the floor level of the pens. Windows in the rear wall provide both light and ventilation. They open inward from the top and have side shields as shown in figure 47, which help prevent drafts. In the center of each 40-foot section there is a recess off the alley- way. This recess contains a sink for washing water vessels and utensils and a set of shelves. It is large enough to hold a bale of straw, a sack of sand and two or three bins for grain and mash. HOSPITAL FOR FOWLS A hospital for sick birds might be called a necessary inconvenience on a poultry plant. Good management requires that sick birds be separated from the well ones because of the danger of spreading infec- tious disease. The well birds also pick on and more or less abuse the sick ones and won't allow them to get enough to eat and drink. If ailing birds are to be treated and given a chance to get well, their Curtain Fig. 51. — Floor plan of hospital. hospital quarters should promote recovery insofar as environment can do so. The hospital described here is a simple shed roof house (figs. 51-54) with well drained concrete floor that can be hosed out and kept sanitary. The large open front will admit abundant health- promoting sunshine but is well protected by curtains against bad weather. Roomy, sanitary coops for the birds facilitate catching indi- vidual birds for treatment and a sink is provided as well as table space. The coops can be tiered three high to accommodate 45 birds in a house 20 feet long, and floor pens for convalescent birds not requir- ing frequent individual treatment can be built on each side of the sink, if desired. 48 University of California — Experiment Station Fig. 52. — Cross-section of hospital. Construction of this building is similar to that of the laying houses described on previous pages. Afuj//n 3El J "*—*§ SEE " g Jgg; Fig. 53. — Measurements for curtain shown in figure 54. The operation of this curtain is discussed in previous pages. Biil. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 49 In figure 51 is shown the location of the coops. Very satisfactory and comparatively inexpensive hospital coops can be made from the all metal exhibition coops used at poultry shows by providing" them with one-inch mesh wire bottoms having shallow trays or pans below. The wire mesh will keep the birds away from the droppings and the sliding trays will facilitate cleaning. Coops with trays to catch the droppings can be arranged in tiers. / « & ' fac/a ffuskn I I Curfain Supports Fig. 54. — Front elevation of hospital showing curtain front. FEED ROOMS The arrangement and size of feed rooms and feed storage space are matters which must be governed by the objects to be attained and the layout of the poultry plant. For example, one man may prefer a very long laying house with a small feed and work room in the center of each house. This room is designed to care for a two weeks' supply of feed for that house and provide space for packing eggs and for appliances including a litter carrier. Another favors a two-story structure in the center of each long laying house (fig. 10). He wants storage space for enough straw and certain grains, such as barley, to last from harvest to harvest. Yet a third man chooses to arrange his plant with only moderately long laying houses on each side of a central road ; and a small feed room similar to the first one men- tioned above is placed on the end of each laying house adjacent to the road (fig. 55). Also, where small feed rooms are attached to each laying house and additional feed and straw storage is required, a large central building is erected. On other farms, all feed is kept in one centrally located building and no feed rooms are used in con- nection with the laying houses. The relative merits of these arrangements for any particular farm will depend on the conditions existing in the area in which that farm 50 University of California — Experiment Station is located. Poultrymen in certain parts of the Sacramento Valley may be able to buy barley, wheat and straw in most years at low enough prices, following" the harvest, to return them a profit after adding all carrying charges, as compared with what equivalent grain would cost them if purchased as needed from month to month. But poultrymen in another locality might find month-to-month buying the cheaper. Interest, depreciation and insurance charges on the storage buildings, interest and insurance on the material stored, depreciation in grain and sacks from rats, are items that must be considered in determining the economic feasibility of purchasing grain and straw on a long or short storage basis. And such data will in turn aid in determining the most economic method of handling these materials on any particular poultry farm. Fig. 55. — University type laying house containing five 40-foot sections and a 12-foot feed room at one end. But irrespective of whether feed and straw are purchased to meet one's needs for a number of months or for only a week or two, the buildings and rooms should be made as rat and mouse proof as pos- sible. The economic losses occasioned by these pests and the menace of their presence through their disease-bearing potentialities amply warrant every effort to eliminate them from one's premises. It is with these ideas in mind that the following discussion and illustrative material are presented. The purchase and distribution of feed on a poultry farm is a problem with so many factors entering in that one cannot do more here than offer such suggestions and ideas as will enable a poultry keeper to appreciate better that problem and build more effectively than he would otherwise do. A plan and cross-section of a one-story feed and egg room, 20 X 20 feet in size, are shown in figures 56 and 57. The floor plan shows three doors. Those opposite each other are intended to line up with the doors of the laying house and to provide continuous track and passageway for the litter carrier through the feed and egg room, to the laying pens on each side, when the room is located in the center as in Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 51 figure 10. Only two doors would be needed if the feed room were at the end of the laying- house ; and only one, perhaps, if constructed as a separate building. zo-o" *■ O © 03 ,d H £ GQ 4J 1* be d > Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 73 diamond-shaped openings or of %-inch mesh hardware cloth. The expanded metal lath weighing - approximately 12 ounces per square foot and with diamond-shaped openings, or mesh, measuring % inch the short way and 1% inches the long way, inside measurements, has proven very durable and efficient. These hoppers are designed to go against the wall or to be placed back to back on a platform away from the wall. CK»3-3ECTOn Fig. 82. — Working plan for dry mash hopper shown in figure 81. (From Cir. 268.) Fig. 83. — Open trough hopper with reel. Light in weight and easily moved about. Another style of trough hopper is shown in figures 83 and 85. It may have a slatted top to keep the fowls from getting into the trough, or use a reel for this purpose. This hopper combines a raised plat- form and trough in one simple unit that is light in weight. It does not require a grid to make it non-wasting and does not take up wall space. The construction of this hopper using either slatted cover with reel or reel alone to keep hens out of the trough is shown in figures 83 to 86. If the reel alone is used over the trough and it is set high enough to enable large-combed hens to eat comfortably, some hens will squeeze into the trough to lay, and the eggs will be soiled by the mash which sticks to them. 74 University of California — Experiment Station The reel hopper, being easily moved, can be kept under the drop- ping's board out of the way most of the year, if desired. Then, if artificial lighting is used in winter, it can be moved to the middle of Fig. 84. — Open trough hopper with slatted cover. toi Fig. 85. — Plan for the construction of hopper shown in figure 83. the floor directly under the lights where it will receive a maximum of illumination. It will feed damp or dry mash equally well and can also be used for green feed. Open trough hoppers will usually be found to give the best satisfaction when replenished with mash every day or Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 75 every other day. On the basis of one inch of feeding space per hen, a reel hopper 4 feet long will satisfactorily serve as many hens as a single-deck wall hopper 8 feet long for the hens can eat from both sides. Ato// I *<4*2i ^ixtf Bottom on g£ centers ^ Perch Fig. 86. — Plan for the construction of the trough hopper shown in figure 84 with a slatted cover and tipping board instead of a reel. Fig. 87. — Wall type, self feeding, dry mash hopper. Wall Hopper. — Self -feeding hoppers have the advantage over most other types of hoppers of holding a large supply of feed and of not having to be filled so frequently. When used for dry mash, however, the throat may clog up and have to be shaken or poked with a stick 76 University of California — Experiment Station once or twice a day to keep each hopper feeding properly. Such hoppers are also very wasteful of feed unless the throat and trough measurements are correct because the troughs fill too full and the birds throw the feed out in picking it over. Fig. 88. — Plan for the construction of hopper shown in figure 87. Fig. 89. — Double deck wall hopper for dry mash. The self -feeding wall hopper illustrated in figures 87 and 88 will hold a large amount of feed and the trough has been carefully designed to prevent waste. This hopper can be built any height and length desired, but the higher it is built the more difficult it is to empty sacks of mash into it. The double deck wall hopper shown in figures 89 and 90 provides double the feeding space of the single deck hopper without using any Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 77 more horizontal wall space. Figure 89 shows that the light breeds will use the upper deck equally as well as the lower deck. Sliding Hopper. — The hopper shown in figures 91 and 92 is also of the self -feeding type but is designed to hang from the under side ' 2 '^^V^RsrS) support Fig. 90. — Plan for the construction of hopper shown in figure 89. A, removable section of upper compartment to allow for filling of lower compartment. B, cleat blocks to hold A in position. Fig. 91. — Self-feeding dry mash and green feed hoppers designed to slide under droppings board. Mash hopper at left; green feed hopper at right. (From Cir. 268.) 78 University of California — Experiment Station of the droppings board on slideways and be pulled out like a drawer. It is more compact than a single deck wall hopper, as it feeds from both sides. It also uses no wall space and unlike nests placed under the droppings board, it does not prevent the poultry keeper from readily observing the birds on the floor in the rear part of the house. Droppings board Fig. 92. — Plan for the construction of the dry mash hopper shown at extreme left in figure 91. Fig. 93. — Wall type green feed hopper. This hopper has the disadvantage, however, when artificial lighting is used in winter, of being located where it receives poor illumination unless a special lighting circuit is placed under the droppings board. Green Feed Hoppers. — The most efficient way to feed finely cut green feed or chopped alfalfa hay is in a green feed hopper or rack. The use of such a hopper increases the consumption of greens and reduces waste. Fresh material remains in a clean, appetizing, succu- lent condition for a much longer time after being fed than it would if Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 79 thrown on the ground to be scattered by the hens and quickly dry out. One-half inch of feeding space per hen would seem to be suffi- cient in a green feed hopper to enable each hen to obtain enough fresh greens or chopped hay to meet her needs. The hopper illustrated in figures 93 and 94 is made to hang on the wall. The one shown in figures 91 and 95 slides under the droppings board and feeds from both sides, so that the same length of hopper has twice the feeding space and will care for twice as many hens as Fig. 94. — Plan for the construction of wall type green feed hopper shown in figure 93. the wall hopper. Under the droppings board is a very convenient, out-of-the-way place for a green feed hopper when it is desirable to save wall space for nests. In figure 96 is shown a wall type green feed hopper that is built into the outside wall of the house and tips out like a pantry flour bin. It is filled from the outside, avoiding the necessity of entering the house. It has the disadvantage, as compared with the sliding hopper shown in figure 91, of feeding from only one side so that a hopper twice as long would be needed to supply the same feeding space. For use in a house with a litter carrier in which to carry the green feed, 80 University of California — Experiment Station the sliding" hopper might be more desirable. In a long house without litter carrier or alleyway such as the breeding house described in previous pag*es, the tip-out wall hopper might be preferable. Droppings Fig. 95. — Plan for the construction of green feed hopper shown in figure 91. Fig. 9C. — Tip out style of wall hopper for green feed installed in rear wall of a long laying house. Grit and Shell Hopper. — The hopper illustrated in figure 98 is very satisfactory for feeding shell and grit because these materials flow easily and do not clog in the throat of the hopper as do ground feeds. Two feet of feeding space per hundred birds should be ample. Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 81 ■* h l. —A Fig. 97. — Plan for the construction of green feed hopper shown in figure 96. Fig. 98. — This grit, shell or whole grain hopper may be built any length desired and can be divided into compartments for grit, shell, etc. ' ■ •' Fig. 99. — Baby chick mash hopper. A hopper 4 feet long, 5 inches wide and 1% inches deep, inside dimensions, is a very convenient size. 82 University of California — Experiment Station Chick Hopper. — A chick hopper should be just shallow enough so that the chicks can readily feed from it, it should prevent waste, and it should be easy to clean. The hopper shown in figure 99 meets these Fig. 100. — Intermediate size chick hopper with adjustable reel and platform. This size of hopper will care for chicks from 5 weeks to 6 months of age. For older chicks it can be placed on the platform, the legs of which are adjustable. This permits the hopper to be raised higher as the chicks grow larger. Note wing nuts on bolts and bolt holes in legs for adjusting height of legs. la//> Fig. 101. — Details for making intermediate size chick hopper with revolving reel for chicks over five weeks of age. requirements satisfactorily and is simple to construct. It consists merely of a shallow tray in which the grain or dry mash mixture is placed. A grid made of %-inch mesh hardware cloth cut % inch Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 83 smaller all around than the inside dimensions of the hopper is laid on top of the feed to prevent the chicks from scratching it out on the floor. The grid is bound with a narrow edging of galvanized iron to stiffen it and cover the raw edges. Only as much grain or dry mash should be put into the trays each day as will be consumed that day. The trays can then be scraped out clean every day after being used. A tray 4 feet long will provide enough feeding space for 100 chicks, to six weeks of age. After that time deeper trays and a few more of them will be needed. A wider and deeper tray for chicks over five weeks of age is shown in figures 100 and 101. It has a revolving reel to keep the chicks out of the hopper. If not filled over half full, a hardware cloth grid as recom- mended for the baby chick hopper is not needed to prevent waste. When over half full, however, the chicks will bill the feed out on the floor and waste it unless a grid is used. A 1-inch mesh grid is better for the larger chicks than the %-inch mesh. CATCHING DEVICES Catching Hook. — In figure 102 is shown a catching hook. It is not as convenient as a catching net for most purposes but costs less to make. The hook itself should not be so tightly closed as to pinch the fowl's shank, and care should be exercised not to jerk the fowl too Fig. 102. — Method of constructing a catching hook. (From Cir. 268.) hard in hooking it. When the hook is carelessly used, there is danger of bruising the fowl's shank or even breaking it. If used with care and judgment, however, a catching hook will be found reasonably convenient about the poultry yards. One could be kept on a nail in each pen, where it would be quickly available in catching sick fowls and culls as soon as discovered. Catching Net. — A catching net (fig. 103) serves the same purpose as a catching hook and most poultrymen find it more convenient to use than the hook. It is also less likely to injure the fowl. These nets can be purchased at poultry supply houses, or made at home with a 84 University of California — Experiment Station handle such as a light hoe handle, some No. 6 spring steel wire and a cord net. The net part can be woven at home or obtained at a poultry or fishing supply house. Fig. 103.— Net for catching chickens. (From Cir. 268.) Fig. 104. — Catching coop partially filled with chickens. (From Cir. 268.) Fig. 105. — Catching coop showing two sliding end gates and hinged trapdoors in raised position. Catching Coop. — A catching coop (figs. 104, 105, 106) and a catch- ing panel (fig. 107) are indispensable labor saving appliances when treating fowls for body lice, vaccinating for chicken-pox, grading and Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 85 culling', transferring from pen to pen, or whenever considerable num- bers of chickens have to be handled or moved. In using the coop, the end with the sliding gate (fig. 106) is pushed tightly against the fowl exit, a coopful of birds is run in, and the Muno HEAD SCREW ^ » ^5i5 MlflSE yixl^JTRIPS ,fHlf16E f\ ^ 1x4 pLOORIHG -^ £x Z. DRE55ED m 1X1 0RE55ED SIDE ELEVATION 1x4 fLCX HUM ; 1 1 1 1 1 1 ' END ELEVATION J/tXl'CLCATS *{* ^ '/jxlftTTRIPS ZX? t* T* fLOOK. PL^M DETAIL o/*END GATE CATCttlflG COOP Fig. 106. — Working plans for catching coop. (From Cir. 268.) Ill jjumummifl / *3' mmmmmmiwmi Fig. 107. — Plan for the construction of a catching panel. sliding" gate is closed. In removing the fowls individually, the poultry- man sits on the coop and withdraws one bird at a time through one or the other of the hinged doors in the top. The catching panel is shown in figure 107. It is used by placing it in one corner of the pen or against one wall with one section held 86 University of California — Experiment Station open. A group of birds is then driven into the enclosure formed by the panel with the walls of the pen and the open section is swung to the wall to close the opening". A person can then enter this enclosure to drive the birds on into the catching coop or to catch them one at a time to administer such treatment as is desired. WATERING DEVICES The California poultry keeper, with few exceptions, is fortunate in being able to pipe running water to every chicken house and yard without danger of the pipes freezing and bursting in winter. It is possible to provide automatically a continuous supply of fresh water every month in the year, and a great many ingenious watering devices are being used for this purpose. Fig-. 108. — Waterer in laying house with automatic faucet and bucket attached. The construction of the galvanized iron drain pan and removable slat platform is shown in figure 109. Waterer with Slop Pan. — In drinking from water vessels, chickens will slop a certain amount and keep the vicinity of the water vessel more or less wet, whether a trough, a pan, or a drip cup be used. This wet area around the water vessel is not only unsightly but also pro- vides a favorable environment for the eggs or cysts of intestinal para- sites. To eliminate it the watering arrangement shown in figure 108 has been designed. An especially constructed, galvanized iron pan or catch basin 18 inches square is supported in a wooden frame fastened to the front wall of the poultry house about 17 inches above the floor. Bitl. 476 Poultry Houses and Equipment 87 A latticed lath cover rests on top of this pan and supports a pail or shallow water vessel. An automatic faucet, or a float valve, such as are advertised in the poultry magazines and carried in stock by poul- try supply houses, keeps the drinking vessel full and the water slopped around by the hens in drinking is caught in the large drain pan or catch basin which conveys it out of the house and into a sump in the ground. Water feed pipe equipped w/fh outomotfc faucet 2 Grovel Fig. 109. — Plan showing construction of wall bracket, drip pan and removable slat platform for waterer illustrated in figure 108. The automatic faucet is operated by the weight of the bucket (fig. 108) or pan of water and can be adjusted for different sizes of vessels. When the water consumed by the birds reduces the weight of the vessel, a spring opens the faucet again. The water is thus kept at a nearly constant level. The float valve (fig. 110) operates like a toilet ball-cock and will also keep the water at the desired level in the drinking vessel. In figure 110 is shown another waterer without a catch basin beneath but with an overflow spout leading to the outside. Should the float valve get out of order and not shut off, the overflow spout would prevent the water running over on to the floor. The removable galvanized iron cone keeps the birds out of the water pan. The pan shown is of heavily galvanized iron with a galvanized iron tube soldered into one side. If desired, a wood or metal trough may be substituted for the round pan. A galvanized iron or wood eaves trough is frequently 88 University of California — Experiment Station used for this purpose. To facilitate cleaning' and prevent accidental overflowing, it should have a drain hole in the bottom emptying into a drain pipe leading out-of-doors and an overflow pipe. A coupling or bushing can be soldered or otherwise set firmly into the drain hole flush with the inside bottom of the trough. Then a piece of pipe just long enough to extend within about % inch of the top of the trough can be screwed into this pipe fitting. When the piece of pipe is screwed into place it serves as an overflow pipe and its removal will drain the trough. Fig. 110. — Poultry waterer with overflow pipe soldered into side of pan and extending through wall to outside of house. Conical top has a slot cut in it that fits over the arm of the float valve. A wire guard can be used instead of the conical top. In cool weather either of the waterers shown in figures 108 and 110 or their equivalent in other styles of waterer will take care of 150 hens in an 18 X 20 foot section of laying house but in hot weather additional drinking space will be found beneficial. Cool water and ample space to drink are very helpful in preventing losses from heat prostration. Fowls drink more frequently on hot days than on cool days. There is, therefore, a greater demand made on the water troughs. Poultry keepers may find it convenient to have auxiliary water vessels for hot weather use and thus eliminate the necessity of keeping surplus waterers clean and in repair when not needed. One- half inch of drinking space per hen should be sufficient to meet hot weather requirements in most localities. Automatic Waterer for Chicks. — In figure 111 is shown three views of a chick waterer using an automatic float valve. This device will satisfactorily supply water to chicks from the time they are a week old until they are old enough to drink from the larger watering devices used by adult fowls. The sides of the platform are made of 1 X 6 inch boards 3 feet long. The platform is 3 feet long and 16 inches wide over all and the top is 16 inches square. It may, of course, be made longer to hold more than one water vessel if that is desired. It Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 89 is low enough so that young" chicks falling off of it will not be hurt yet high enough to keep the water vessel up out of the litter. The pan is of a common size, approximately l 1 /^ inches in diameter inside, and can be purchased in tin or enameled ware in almost any Fig. 111. — A practical, inexpensive chick waterer. In the top view the can has been removed to show the float in operating position. In the center view the can has been replaced. In the bottom view the can has been removed and the float valve turned to the "off" position for cleaning the water vessel. hardware store. The can is the gallon size in which fruit and vege- tables are packed for the restaurant trade and empty cans are usually obtainable gratis from nearby restaurants. As indicated a slot is cut in one side of the can to fit over the movable arm of the float valve. No overflow pipe as shown in figure 110 is provided but such a pipe can be put in each pan if desired. If the float valve is kept in good 90 University of California — Experiment Station working order and properly adjusted no serious trouble should be experienced with the water pan overflowing. As designed, it has proven a simple, inexpensive, labor-saving device for watering growing chicks. Trough waterers, as described, can also be used for chicks. INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTRIC LIGHTS IN A POULTRY HOUSED It is a well established fact that a correctly designed reflector for the purpose will add greatly to the effective illumination obtained from an electric lamp. In order to determine the relative efficiency of two types of reflectors for use with electric lights in a poultry house to increase the length of the working day for the hens in winter, a night test was made in a standard 20-foot section of the 18-foot deep commercial laying house described on previous pages. These data are given here for the first time. Fig. 112. — Plan showing location of R. L. M. dome reflector and points at which foot-candle readings were taken as given in table 8. One was a standard-pattern, factory made, pressed steel reflector 12 inches in diameter. It was green enameled outside, white porcelain enameled inside and known in the electrical trade as a No. 75-12 inch R. L. M. dome reflector. This reflector, containing a 100-watt, type A, lamp, frosted inside, was located in the center of the pen half way between front edge of droppings board and front wall, and at a height of 7 feet from the floor to the bottom of the reflector (fig. 112). The other was a homemade tin reflector 16 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep (fig. 113) originally described in Cornell Agricultural College Extension Bulletin 90. is The authors were assisted by J. P. Fairbank, lighting specialist of the Division of Agricultural Extension, in making this test. Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 91 Two of the homemade reflectors, each containing a 50-watt, mill type lamp, were located halfway between front edge of droppings board and front wall in one direction; in the other direction each reflector was equidistant from center of pen and nearest side wall (fig. 113). They were suspended at a height of 6 feet from floor to bottom of reflector. Fig. 113. — Plan showing location of homemade reflectors and points at which foot-candle readings were taken as given in table 8. Fig. 114. — Detail for constructing the homemade reflector. Set a pair of dividers to 8i% 6 inches and with this as a radius scribe the large circle. With the same center, O, scribe a small circle with a radius of l 1 /^ inches. Draw the line OA. Set the dividers to 5% inches and lay off AB, and then connect and B. To allow for the lap in putting the edges together draw the line CD % inches from, and parallel to OB. With tin snips, cut out the large circle, cut along lines AO and DC, and cut out the small circle. In putting the reflector together the edge CA should lie along the line OB. Rivet and solder the reflector together and apply two coats of aluminum paint inside. Then attach the reflector to a lamp socket by means of a suitable shade holder. 92 University of California — Experiment Station The location of the lights and the points where foot-candle read- ings were taken are shown in figures 112 and 113. The readings obtained with the foot-candle meter are given in table 8. The line of separation between lighted area and sharply defined shadow was 20 inches from the rear wall when the R% L. M. dome reflector was used and 8 inches from the rear wall when the two home- made reflectors were used. This was due to the fact that the homemade reflectors, as recommended in the Cornell bulletin, were hung one foot lower than the dome reflector. The R. L. M. dome reflector, on the other hand, illuminated the roosts much better. TABLE 8 Relative Efficiency of Two Types of Reflectors for Illuminating a Poultry House Foot-candle readings No. 75 R.L.M. reflector Homemade reflector On floor directly beneath reflector (A) On floor at side wall close to front wall (B) On floor at side wall below front edge of droppings board (C) On floor beneath droppings board and near rear wall where area of illumination ended in a sharply defined, deep shadow (D) 8.0 ft. candles 1.0 ft. candles 0.8 ft. candles 0.5 ft. candles 5 ft. candles 0.8 ft. candles j 0.5 ft. candles J 0.35 ft. candles As reported by the Cornell station, 0.8 foot-candle of illumination is necessary to enable birds to see well enough to find the grain scat- tered in the litter and to eat from the mash hoppers. In this test one K. L. M. reflector using a 100-watt lamp was sufficient to give .8 foot- candle or more over all parts of the floor in front of the droppings board. But with the two homemade reflectors, each containing a 50-watt lamp, the floor in the vicinity of C (fig. 113) received less than the necessary effective amount of light and the intensity of illumina- tion elsewhere in the pen was lower than with the dome reflector. The R. L. M. dome reflector gave a more effective illumination of the pen than the two homemade reflectors for the same consumption of electricity and being 7 feet above the floor instead of 6, it would be more out of the way and less subject to damage. The cost of installa- tion would probably be about the same as the price of the R. L. M. reflector would about offset the cost of the two homemade reflectors and one more lamp socket. Bui/. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 93 Painting Poultry Buildings and Fences. — The slogan, "Save the Surface and You Save All" expresses very clearly the value of paint in preserving' building materials exposed to rain, sun and wind from the destructive action of weathering. In addition painting tastefully done adds attractiveness and distinction to the property. The durability of a paint for any given purpose depends upon its composition. Its wearing qualities, however, may be materially influ- enced by the condition of the surface to which it is applied as well as by other conditions to which it is exposed. A paint containing low- grade pigments and oils cannot be expected to be as durable as one composed of high grade materials. On the other hand a high-grade paint may wear poorly because the surface to which it is applied is oily or smeared with pitch from resinous knots, etc., resulting in a weak bond between the paint and the surface covered. Good results also cannot be expected in general from paint used on surfaces exposed for considerable periods to moist conditions as, for example, building materials in contact with the ground. Paint does not penetrate deeply and the only way it can check decay is by preventing the entrance of fungi or moisture. Whenever the painted film cracks or peels off decay can enter. Directions for thinning and applying ready mixed paint are usually given on the container. These directions should be carefully followed if best results are to be obtained. Preservative Treatments for Farm Timbers. — Preservative treat- ment of a considerable portion of the wood materials used on the poultry farm will lengthen their life and thus appreciably lessen the frequency with which replacements have to be made. The use of preservative treatment on the farm has, in the past, been largely con- fined to fence posts. The same satisfactory results, however, may be obtained with other classes of material, such as the sills of out- buildings, where the cost and difficulty of replacement is so much greater than with fence posts. The essentials of a good wood preservative are about six in number. It should destroy all fungus growths which cause wood to decay; remain liquid at ordinary temperatures; penetrate at least the outer surface of the wood ; be permanent to the extent that enough remains to give continuous protection ; be safe to use ; be reasonable in cost. Coal tar creosote is one of the best preservatives known for the treatment of wood. For brush application or open tank treatment a high-boiling, refined grade of creosote should be used. In making this product there has been removed the more volatile parts which evapo- rate at a low temperature and the naphthalene crystals which cause 94 University of California — Experiment Station the crude creosote to solidify at about 50 degrees P. The commercial creosote used for the pressure treatment of railroad ties and large timbers is not suited to the brush, open tank and dipping treatments. The open tank process consists of heating the wood in the preserva- tive for one or more hours at a temperature of approximately 200 degrees F. It is then transferred to a tank of cold oil having a tem- perature of not less than 50 degrees F and left for an hour or more. The hot oil bath opens the pores of the wood and the sudden cooling when transferred to the cool oil brings about an increased penetration of oil into the wood. Instead of using a cool bath, similar results can be obtained by leaving the wood in the hot bath and letting it cool, but it takes longer. With the open tank treatment, it is desirable to have the sapwood entirely penetrated with the oil. This, however, cannot always be accomplished. A penetration of % to % of an inch will give very good results and even lighter penetrations will give sufficient protec- tion to amply pay for the cost of treating. The length of time the wood is in the hot bath determines the penetration and the length of time in the cold bath governs the absorption of oil. If the penetration is insufficient the period of treatment in the hot bath should be increased. If too much oil is absorbed the time in the cool bath should be shortened. The dipping process consists in heating the wood in refined creo- sote for 15 minutes or longer. This causes all checks and defects to become filled with oil but the penetration and absorption may be slight as compared with the open tank method. The brush treatment consists in applying two liberal coats of hot (at least 150° F) refined creosote to the wood. The oil should be flooded over the wood rather than painted on and the run-off caught in a pan. The first coat should be thoroughly dry before the second coat is given. Only thoroughly seasoned timber should be treated by the brush method or a sufficient penetration and absorption of the pre- servative to make the treatment worth while will not be obtained. For more detailed information on the preservative treatment of fence posts and other building materials on the farm, the reader is referred to Farmers' Bulletin 744, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 95 DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF MATERIALS In the following pages are given detailed lists of materials for the construction of the laying and brooder houses previously described. No material lists are given for the breeding house and feed room as these would probably be changed sufficiently in dimensions, to meet the needs of individual poultrymen, as to require a special material list in each case. Also, no attempt has been made to specify kinds and grades of lumber except in the case of siding for the outside walls. The desirability of tongue-and-groove lumber for the exterior walls of a poultry house is discussed elsewhere. DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF MATERIALS FOR TWO UNITS OF THE 18 X 20 FOOT COMMERCIAL LAYING HOUSE It is assumed that a person desiring to build a poultry house less than 40 feet long would prefer the farm poultry house. Material lists for houses containing more than two 18 X 20 foot units can be obtained by substituting partition wall material for that of end walls where necessary, and multiplying the list given by % the number of units to be built. Foundation Concrete 3 cu. yds. rock 1% cu. yds. sand 1:2*4:5 mixture 14 bags cement Floor 4 cu. yds rock Floor base 1 : 2% : 5 mixture, 2" thick 3 cu. yds. sand Top 1:2 mixture, }i" to %" thick 30 bags cement Well graded, clean gravel may be substituted for rock and sand, using 1:5 mixture. Forms Use 1" x 6" roof sheathing for forms. If scrap material is not on hand for stakes and ties, 360 lin. ft. of 1" x 3" lumber will be needed for this purpose. Sills Frame 4 pes. 2"x4"— 20' 2 pes. 2"x4"— 18' Bear wall Studding 9 pes. 2" x 4"— 6' Plates 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 20' Eails 4 pes. 2" x 4"— 10' Braces 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 16' End walls Studding and door heads 4 pes. 2"x4"— 10' Eails 2 pes. 2"x4"— 18' Braces 2 pes. 2"x4"— 16' 96 University of California — Experiment Station Front walls Studding 15 pes. 2" x 4"— 9' Eails and door head 4 pes. 2" x 4 — 10' Plates 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 20' Supports Girder 2 pes. 2" x 6"— 20' Uprights for girder and droppings 2 pes. 2" x 4" — 12' board Joists for droppings board 18 pes. 2" x 3"— 6' 2 pes. 1" x 3"— 20' Rafters 21 pes. 2" x 4"— 20' Eoof sheathing 1100 bd. ft. 1" x 6" Plenty of roof sheathing is listed so that the best may be selected for facia boards and door cleats, allowance being made also for some waste of roof sheathing if used first for form lumber. Sill 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 18' Studding 2 pes. 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 10' 2" x 4"— 18' Sheathing at end of droppi mgs 6 pes. 1" x 4"— 8' board 14 pes. 1" x 4"— 7' Sheathing below wire 26 pes. 1" x 4"— 9' Door 4 pes. i/ 2 "xl2"— T Boosts 24 pes. 2"x2"— 10' 12 pes. 2" x 3"— 6' 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 6' Wall Sheathing This sheathing to be 1" x 4" T & G laid vertically, face side in. Bear wall 150 pcs . 1" x 4"— 6' Front wall 44 pcs y> x 4"__io' 28 pcs. 1" x 4"— 14", to cut 3'— 6" (This includes front door. See roof sheathing for door cleats.) End walls 34 pcs. 1" x 4"— 10' 36 pcs. 1" x 4"— 8' 36 pcs. 1" x 4"— 9' 32 pcs. 1" x 4"— 7' (This includes end doors. See roof sheathing for door cleats.) Miscellaneous Droppings board 300 bd. ft. 1" x 4"— T & G Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 97 Hood over droppings board 275 bd. ft. 1" x 4"— T & G Hood to rear of droppings board 150 bd. ft. 1" x 4"— T & G Fowl doors and guides Rear sash 1 pc. 1" x 12"— 12' 6— 1%" x 2'6"— 1'6", 2— light stock sash, glazed .Bear sas/& trim 3 pes. 1%" x 2y 2 " net— 18' Curtain frames 20 pes. 1" x 3"— 12' 12 pes. I"x3"— 14' To cut 12 pes.— 1'6" 12 pes.— 3'0" 2 pes. 2"x2"— 12' (to cut 3'0") 34 pes. .y 1G " x %"— 6' for cloth molding CONDENSED BILL OF MATERIALS FOR COMMERCIAL LAYING HOUSE 7 cu. yds. crushed rock 4% cu. yds. sand 44 bags of cement 360 lin. ft. 1" x 3" 4 pes. 2"x4"— 20' 3 pes. 2"x4"— 18' 24 pes. 2" x 3"— 6' 2 pes. 2" x 6"— 20' 150 pes. 1" x 4"— 6' 1 46 pes. 1" x 4" — 7' 42 pes. 1" x 4"— 8' \. 62 pes. 1" x 4" — 9' 78 pes. 1" x 4"— 10' 28 pes. 1" x 4"— 14' T & G to cut 3'6" long 725 bd. ft. 1" x 4" T & G 1100 bd. ft. I"x6" 24 pes. 2" x 2"— 10' 10 pes. 2"x4"— 6' 11 pes. 2" x 4" — 9' 14 pes. 2" x 4"— 10' 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 12' 4 pes. 2" x 4" — 16' 3 pes. 2" x 4"— 18' 25 pes. 2" x 4"— 20' 4 pes. y 2 " x 12" — 7' resawn SIS 2 pes. l"x 3"— 20' 12 pes. 1" x 3"— 14' 20 pes. 1" x 3"— 12' 3 pes. I%"x2y 2 " net— 18' To cut— 12 pes. 18" long 12 pes. 36" long 1 pc. 1" x 12"— 12' 6—1%" x 2'— 6" x 1'— 6" 2 light stock sash, glazed 34 pes. % 6 " x %" x 6' (saw sized) DESCRIPTIVE HARDWARE LIST FOR COMMERCIAL LAYING HOUSE End doors Partition 3 pairs 5" light strap hinges 2 Whitcomb No. 2 J barn door latches 2 screen door closers 3 light 4" T-hinges 6 ft., 36 in. width 2-in. mesh poultry netting 2 — % 6 " x 16" Perfection door springs 2 — %" x 8" carriage bolts for sill 98 University of California — Experiment Station Boosts 6 pairs 3" light T-hinges 12— %"x3%" machine bolts 12— V 4c "x7y 2 " machine bolts 4 — 2%" hooks and eyes Bear sash Front doors 6 pairs 2" light T-hinges 6 — 2" japanned buttons 6 — 2 1 / £" hooks and eyes 16 ft. 18-in. width, 1-in. mesh poultry netting 3 pairs 5" light strap hinges 2 Whitcomb No. 2 J barn door latches Curtain frame and supports 6 pairs 4" light T-hinges 4 pairs 3" light strap hinges 8 pairs 3" light T-hinges 4 — 2%" hooks and eyes for curtains 8 — 1%" hooks and eyes for curtain supports 1% doz. 2" japanned buttons Wire front Foundation dolts Boof Nails 30 lin. ft. 72" width 2-in mesh poultry netting 22 — %" x 8" carriage bolts Place 3 bolts in each end wall 4 bolts in both front and rear walls of each 20-ft. section 9 rolls 3-ply 3-ft. roofing paper 12 lbs. 20d common wire nails 45 lbs. 8d common wire nails 5 lbs. 6d common wire nails 2 lbs. % common poultry staples 21 yds. 24-in. heavy unbleached muslin for curtain CONDENSED HARDWARE LIST FOR COMMERCIAL LAYING HOUSE 6 pairs 5" light strap hinges 9 pairs 4" light T-hinges 4 pairs 3" light strap hinges 20 pairs 3" light T-hinges 4 Whitcomb No. 2 J barn door latches 14 — 2y 2 " hooks and eyes 8 — \y 2 " hooks and eyes 22 — 2-in. japanned buttons 36 lin. ft. 72-in. width, 2-in. mesh poultry netting 16 lin. ft. 18-in. width, lin. mesh poultry netting 12—14" x 3y 2 " machine bolts 12— i4"x7y 2 " machine bolts 24—%" x 8" carriage bolts 2— % 6 " x 16" Perfection door springs 2 screen door closers 9 rolls 3-ply 3-ft. roofing paper 12 lbs. 20d common wire nails 45 lbs. 8d common wire nails 5 lbs. 6d common wire nails 2 lbs. %" common poultry staples 21 yds. 24-in. heavy unbleached muslin Bul. 476] Poultry Houses and Equipment 99 Paint 3 gals, ready mixed outside paint (color as desired) DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF MATERIALS FOR THE 1 6 X 20 FOOT FARM POULTRY HOUSE Foundation 2 cu. yds rock \y<2 cu. yds. sand 10 bags cement Floor 2 cu. yds rock l!/4 cu. yds. sand 14 bags cement Concrete 1:2%: 5 mixture Base 1:2Y 2 :5 mixture 2" thick Top 1:2 mixture W to %" thick Forms Use roof sheathing for form lumber Sin Frame 2 pes. 2" x 4" — 16' 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 20' Rear wall Studding 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 14' 1 pc. 2"x4"— 10' End walls Studding 4 pes. 2" x 4"— 8' Studding 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 12' Bails 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 10' Plate 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 20' Brace 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 12' Rails 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 16' Front walls Studding 6 pes. 2" x 4"— 8' Rails 2 pes. 2" x 4"— 10' Plate 1 pc. 2" x 4"— 20' Supports Girder 1 pc. 2" x 6"— 20' Uprights for girder and droppings board 1 pc. 2" x 4" — 12' Joists for droppings board 9 pes. 2"x3"— 6' Rafters Roof sheathing 1 pc. I"x3"— 20' 11 pes. 2"x4"— 18' 500 bd. ft. I"x6' Plenty of roof sheathing is listed so that the best may be selected for facia boards and door cleats; allowance is made also for some waste if roof sheathing is first used for forms. Roosts 10 pes. 2" x 2"— 10' 100 University of California — Experiment Station Wall Sheathing This sheathing to be 1" x 4" T & G laid vertically, face side in. Rear wall 75 pes. 1" x 4"— 5' Front wall 22 pes. l"x4"-9' 14 pes. 1" x 4"— 14', to cut 3'6" End walls 24—1" x 4"— 6' 36—1" x 4"— 8' 30—1" x 4"— 7' 36—1" x 4"— 9' This includes end doors; see roof sheathing for door cleats. Miscellaneous Droppings board 140 bd. ft. 1" x 4" T & G Hood over droppings board 125 bd. ft. 1" x 4" T & G Hood at rear of droppings board 50 bd. ft. 1" x 4" T & G Fowl doors and guides 1 pc. 1" x 12"— 6' Bear sash 3— 1%" x 2'6" x 1'6", 2— light stock sash, glazed i? y, x 4 "_ 10 ' T & G One long and one short length from each piece Bear wall 31 pcs y, x ±»_^ t & G Front wall 4 pcs. 1" x 4"— 6' T & G 27 pcs. 1" x 4"— 3' T & G - Bo °/ 33 pcs. 1" x 4"— 9' T & G Boor jamb and cleats 1 pc. 1" x 3"— 12' 1 pc. 1" x 3"— 8' Droppings ooard 10 pcs. 1" x 4"— 8' T & G 1 pc. 1" x 4"— 8' Boosts 2 pcs. 2" x 2"— 10' FowZ dfoor and guides j pc> ^" x 12" 6' Curtain 1 pc. 1" x 3"— 16' 4 pcs. 1" x 3"— 4' 2 pcs. 1" x 3"— 12' 1 pc. 2" x 2"— 6' 2 pcs. 1" x 3"— 8' Knock-down Run Side rails — 4 pcs. 1" x 4" — 12' End rails— 2 pcs. 1" x 4"— 8' Uprights 1 pc. 2" x 2"— 10' . 1 pc. 1" x 4"— 16' Cover 2 pes. 1" x 3"— 12' 1 pc. 1" x 3"— 12' 2 pcs. 1" x 3" — 8' (removable top door) Hoofing 1 ro n 3. p i y r00 fing HARDWARE FOR KNOCK-DOWN HOUSE House g n n# f t ^ 36-inch width 1-inch mesh poultry netting 5 pair 3" light strap hinges 2 pair 3" light T-hinges 1 Whitcomb No. 2 J barn door latch 4 — 2" hooks and eyes 4 — 2-in japanned buttons 2 — 3" hasps (to secure roof to front and rear walls) 12—%" x 3y 2 " machine bolts (for K. D. corners) 4 — y 4 "x7" machine bolts for roosts 4 — 1 / 4"x4" machine bolts for roosts Coop g — %" x 3V2" machine bolts with washers and wing nuts 32 lin. ft. 24-inch width 1-inch mesh poultry netting 12 lin. ft. 60-inch width 1-inch mesh poultry netting Paint V'2. gal. ready-mixed outside paint (color as desired)