King Ventilating System
Back-yard poultry keepers often find difficulty in protecting fowls on the roost from drafts or air currents in cold, stormy weather, particularly when the wind is blowing more or less directly against the front.
This is due to the fact that their houses usually are small and narrow, and the fowls consequently are close to the windows or other openings. This is one reason why it is customary to keep the shutters or curtains closed in much milder weather than is necessary or desirable in houses of standard depth that is, 16 feet wide or over.
Houses of this type are greatly improved for winter use by the provision of some means of adjusting the size of the open front to meet varying weather conditions. The muslin-covered shutters commonly employed admit of no adjustment, but must either be left wide open or closed tight.
One method of providing for this adjustment is to make the shutter in two sections as shown in the diagram below, so that the upper section may be opened while the lower one remains closed, or both may be opened together when desired.
TWO-SECTION MUSLIN COVERED FRAME
This two-section shutter is so made that the upper part can be opened to provide needed ventilation when it is not desirable to have entire shutter open. A cross section of shutter is shown at left. The middle button at top holds upper section firmly in place when closed. The buttons on either side are attached to the frame of section and act as stops.
Another way is to arrange the shutter to slide up and down on the outside, working in grooves on each side of the opening, as provided in the house front illustrated below:
Front of Sectional Poultry House Plan
This shutter can be adjusted to give an opening of any desired size, being held in place by a hook which engages the wire netting back of the shutter.
Whatever method of ventilation is adopted, if it permits air currents to follow down the rafters and strike directly upon the fowls on the perches, a screen should be provided. This may take the form of a stationary shutter in front of the perches, or it may be hinged at the top to hook up out of the way when not needed.
Frequently it is more convenient to provide a curtain attached to a pole, to be allowed to hang straight down from the ceiling when in use, and rolled up and fastened to the rafters when not needed.
Light-weight burlap is the best material to use for this purpose, as it will prevent drafts without restricting ventilation to a marked extent. The purpose of this screen is not to keep the fowls warm, but merely to protect them from drafts, and for this reason it should not extend lower than about the level of the front perch, and should be employed only when actually needed.
About this Article
This article is taken from Poultry Houses and Fixtures, eighth edition, published by Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing Company of Quincy, Illinois in 1919. Price $1.00
It was filled with poultry house plans and layouts for small farms and back yard enterprises, many of which had been produced by universities and the US department of agriculture.
Poultry House Plans Etc.
- A-Shaped Back-Yard Poultry House Plans
- Attractive Back Yard Poultry House Design
- Chicken Coops from Recycled Packing
- Combined Portable Poultry House & Run Design
- Elevated Poultry House – Full Plans
- Locating & Setting Up Poultry Houses
- Plan for a 20 Chicken Poultry House
- Plan For One Man, Ten Acre Poultry Farm
- Plan for Poultry House for Adult Fowls or Bantams
- Practical Back Yard Mini Poultry Farm
- Practical Plan for a 10 Acre, 1,000 Hens Poultry Farm
- Preventing Drafts in Small Poultry Houses
