National Agricultural Library

Poultry Houses: Coops & Equipment

A Book of New Plans for Building Practical, Up-To-Date Colony Houses, Continuous Houses, Roosting Coops, Brood Coops, Fixtures and Utensils; for the Farmer, the Village Poultry Keeper and the Exclusive Poultry Raiser

Webb Publishing Company. St. Paul, MN

It is easier and less expensive to build a poultry house on the most advantageous location and to construct it properly than it is to change it after it is built, to meet the requirements. The matter of location is an important one. Permanent poultry buildings should never be located upon heavy soil if it can be avoided. Such soil is better adapted to other purposes. Light, sandy soil, but not so light that it will not produce a good crop of grass when fertilized, is considered the best on which to build poultry houses and yards. The impurities are driven into such a soil by the rains and the yards are to some extent self-purifying. In high latitudes where the temperature runs very low in winter, protection from heavy winds is very desirable. On that account poultry buildings are located on the south or east side of a hill or rising ground, when such a location is to be had, or on the south or east side of a thick grove of trees.

A poultry house should always face the south or southeast whichever way the land upon which it is built slopes. If it must face either east or west, by all means have it face east for the morning sun is more necessary in the winter than the afternoon sun, though both are desirable and may be obtained when the house faces the south.