output for the year at one time.
_Construction of House._ A suitable house which has been in practical
use for some time consists of one 20 feet wide and running east and west
with windows in the south or front side. If the location were right such
a house could be run north and south to good advantage and should then
have windows on each side so as to let in the sunlight from both
directions. The front wall of this house is 7 feet high, the back wall 4
feet. The ridge of the house is about 2 feet in front of the center, the
front slope of the roof having an eight inch pitch while the back slope
has a 6 inch pitch. The roof rafters are 2 x 4's placed every two feet.
The studs and plates are likewise 2 x 4. The walls are made of matched
material. The roof is constructed of 1 x 2 inch strips placed every 4
inches and these covered with shingles. Tie beams every 8 feet extend
from front to rear plates. This particular brooder house is not ceiled
but a good tight ceiling 8 feet above the walk or runway would make it
easier to keep the house clean and would also render it somewhat easier
in cold weather to maintain the temperature desired. The house is built
on a concrete wall or foundation and a dirt floor is used but the dirt
must be filled in well above the level of the ground outside so that
there is no danger of water coming into the house or the floors becoming
damp or sloppy. Windows are placed in the front wall, one to each pen.
In every other pen there is a small door in the back of the house to
facilitate cleaning out the pens. A window can be substituted for this
door to good advantage as it makes the house lighter.
[Illustration: FIG. 23. Interior of No. 1 brooder house showing walk and
hover combined in the middle of the house and pens on each side.
(_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of
Agriculture._)]
_Heating Apparatus._ Heat is furnished by means of a coal burning stove
which heats water and causes it to circulate through pipes run the
length of the house. The heater must always be placed in the windward
end of the building as otherwise it is hard to get the heat down to the
other end as the wind tends to drive it back. The hot water pipes are
carried down the center of the house and the return pipes are located in
the same place. A low partition is run lengthwise of the house dividing
the pipes and thus forming double pens, half extending from the center
to the front and half from the center to the rear of the