POULTRY NOTES. (By a Fancier.)

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2081, 3 January 1879, Page 4 (Supplement)

POULTRY NOTES. (By a Fancier.)

FOWL HOUSES. The model English nnd American homes of to-day ire very different structures from those of twenty years ago. Then they were close, dnrk, ann dirty. Now they are well ventilated, lighted, and clean as circumstances will pcni if, n.rnie of them being provided with a heating apparatus nnd in construction resfniMiug a greenhouse. This style of building is no dnuht eminently suited for severe winters, accompanied with a foggy, murky atmosphere, where fowls are kept indoors for weeks Having the advantage of » magnificent cliraite we can dispense with such expensive concerns, snd still rear sjood poultry. After several years experience in this ilistiict I have come to the conclusion thnt we must discard nearly all our oil country ideas of a fowl house, nnd would advise the erection of something quite different in design, certainly not so showy or taking to the eye, yet equally as wtll suited to the climate. With the aid of wood cuts it would be an easy matter to show at a glance the ex- | terual and internal arrangements, for there are many little things in connection with a (owl house that could he easier diawn than de-cribed. However I will he as plum as possible and endeavor to describe things sn that mo«t people can be their own carpenters. In this ts in all other building operations, we must first decide on a site. If practicable select a piece of rising ground where no water can lodge. Boar in mind that fowls will not thrive if housed on damp ground. A dry, warm soil is the fowls paradise. If sheltered from the south east wind so muoh the better. Having selected the site, level sufficient ground to allow at least six feet clear round the building. The necessity of this will be explained hereafter. The old country method of constructing fhe floor is to dig out the ground to the depth of eighteen inches or thereabouts, and fill in with coarse gravel, broken bricks or suchlike materitl, covering the whole with mortar. This is a good plan on wet soil, but it will seldom be needed in this locality. The hint may however, be useful to those who have to erect a house on swampy ground, or on the edge ot a creek. In my next notes I will describe the building and its surroundings.