Part 4

The flooring must be so tight as to prevent drafts coming up through it. In the case of the board floor without a foundation, the building rests upon posts, and some poultrymen leave the space beneath open so that the air sweeps through beneath it. Others board up the windside. Such buildings should never be boarded all the way around, however, as rats will burrow beneath or gnaw through, giving a great deal of trouble.

Laying tin around the edges over the interlining to a width of about six inches, letting it project under the inner wall, and meeting the outer wall, will prevent rats from gnawing into the building.

A warm floor is secured by laying it double with an airtight interlining of roofing paper or similar substance. (For the lower layer of boards, hemlock answers well.) Cementing the surface of the floor gives a clean smooth surface.

An earth floor or one of cement is cold and damp, if lower or even level with the outside surface of the ground. It should be at least six inches higher, and, to render it dry, a layer of stone several inches deep should be placed in beneath the six inches of earth.

All floors must be cleaned frequently, fresh litter being placed in all scratching rooms, and sunlight be allowed to stream in upon them.

Where an earth floor is used, fresh earth or ashes must take the place of that cleared away each day.

Though not of secondary importance, the foundation of the poultry house is a secondary consideration, for after one has decided upon his location, manner of building, and the best kind of floor for his hens under those conditions, he may come to a conclusion about the foundation.

The brick, concrete, or stone continuous foundations have such a stable appearance that, looks alone considered, they are preferable to posts. Where brick or concrete posts are used, however, the effect is not unstable.

On a good building site, I like the brick or concrete foundation, and would have no other. Under such conditions, it meets the requirements of a durable building for fowls.

The foundation of the poultry house need not be deeper than two or two and one-half feet below the surface of the ground, according to the climate of the locality. The object is to lay it below the freezing point. It must be high enough to actually raise the building above the earth and its dampness. Where the soil washes in around the foundation, gradually covering it and partly burying the wood above, it is likely to cause the weather boards to decay around the base.

Get a man who understands his job to do the work of foundation-laying, else your superstructure will suffer.

THE ROOF

The roof of the poultry house is, for the average poultryman, a problem solved by the state of his pocketbook, climate, and the location of his buildings, as well as personal preference.

The shape of the roof may be governed by taste, the prevailing type of architecture, etc., but where the welfare of the fowls themselves is jeopardized by a certain style, personal preference must yield and the health of the birds themselves determine the choice.

Roofs that can be made watertight with the least difficulty, which do not overhang so far as to prevent sunlight from entering the windows, and which are sightly, are the aim of the average builder.

Considered from the point of utility alone, the single-pitched roof seems to be the most popular. It gives the necessary watershed and interior room for the least amount of material.

While the height of the roof from the floor should be influenced by the other dimensions of the building, the fowls will do as well with a low-roofed building properly cleaned and ventilated, as with one of lofty roof, but the inconvenience of caring for the low-roofed building must be considered, and hence few of us want a roof lower than six feet.

After one has decided the form of the roof, the next point is the material.

In counting the cost, one must consider the possible expense in keeping in repair a roof cheap at the outset. Some roofs absorb the sun's rays to such a degree as to make the building too warm. In certain locations a fireproof roof is imperative, by law or expediency.

Wood, metal, and the tarred paper or felt roofing have peculiar qualifications which adapt them to individual requirements. The paper or felt roofings appeal to a great many people, as the work of applying the material can be done by an amateur. These roofings are laid on over boards and secured in position by nails, the joinings being made watertight with cement. Pliant roofings should be turned well over the edges of the roof and fastened securely. Allowance for lapping of the strips is made on the material, and this lap should be observed. The cost of the cement and nails necessary to the work is included in the price of the roofing per roll. There are several good tarred roofings on the market at one dollar and eighty cents or one dollar and ninety cents per roll of about one hundred square feet. When buying, it is best to select those having a fireproof surface. Two-ply felt roofing is more economical than the one-ply, as it makes a much more lasting roof. After three or four years it will require repainting, and this must be done promptly to preserve the roof. The price of the felt roofings varies, costing from two to two and one-half dollars per square.

All flexible roofings must be laid over boards that are fitted closely, else they will tend to break over the crevices.

The galvanized steel and iron roofings are the most durable of all. The best grade of galvanized iron costs from four dollars and twenty-five cents to five dollars per square (100 square feet), covering the cost of laying, but as it is absolutely fireproof, lower insurance rates are obtainable on buildings where it is used.

The galvanized roof is very warm in summer, which in some sections proves an objection. Tarred paper also is hot.

Roofs of cedar or white pine shingles outlast the pliant roofings, and really cost less in the end. One poultryman who has had experience with metal, felt, paper, and shingle roofing, prefers the last, claiming that it serves him best for least cost.

Where other buildings have just been constructed, there may be left-over roofing material of a higher grade, which will serve to cover the poultry house. Roofing tile and asbestos shingles make excellent roofs, and are very sightly, but their use demands a different treatment of the roof framing, and an experienced workman to make a satisfactory job.

WALLS, WINDOWS AND VENTILATION

Obtain an influx of fresh air without drafts and without too great cooling of the air, and you have solved the problem of ventilation. To prevent an undue fall of temperature, there must be, in addition to a fresh-air supply, a continuous heat supply, and this exists in the fowls themselves. This we must plan to conserve. Admitting the fabric-covered window--now so universally used--to be the best solution of how to admit fresh air with the least loss of heat, the accompaniment of this is perfect tightness of the windowless sides.

As far as materials are concerned, wood, brick, cement blocks, or stone, are equally satisfactory if their requirements are understood, and they are used to suit conditions. Some poultrymen object to brick or stone, claiming that they are damp, yet we know that stone does not create moisture. Of course, masonry being a better conductor of heat than wood, moisture already in the air will condense upon stone, concrete, etc., when it will not be evident on wood. The moisture-laden air, which is cold and unhealthy for the fowls, must be due to a damp floor, poor ventilation, or some such reason. The fact that a certain concrete or stone wall is dry would prove that conditions were right, while the wooden wall would show warning signs only in extreme dampness.