The greater the slope of the ground the smaller may be the troughs,
but on ground where the slopes are great, more expense will be
necessary in stilting the flumes to maintain the level, and the
harder it will be to find a large section that can be brought under
the ditch.
Fluming water for poultry is, like irrigation, a community project.
The greatest dominating people of history have their origin in arid
countries. It was co-operate or starve, and they learned
co-operation and conquered the earth. If a man interferes with the
flume, or takes more than his share of the water, put him out. We
are in the hen, not the hog business.
Community water systems, where water must be pumped and piped in
iron pipe, is of course a more expensive undertaking. It will only
pay where water is too deep for individuals to drive sand points on
their own property. There is certainly little reason to consider an
expensive method when there are abundant localities where simple
plans may be used.
On sand lands, with water near the surface, each farmer may drive
sand points and pump his water by hand. In this case running water
is not possible, but the pipes or flumes may be arranged so that
fresh pumping flushes all the drinking places and also leaves them
full of standing water. The simplest way to arrange this will be by
wooden surface troughs as used in the fluming scheme. The only
difference is that an occasional section is made deeper so that it
will retain water.
A more permanent arrangement may be made by using a line of
three-fourths inch pipe. At each watering place the pipe is brought
to the surface so that the water flows into a galvanized pan with
sloping sides. This pan has an overflow through a short section of
smaller tubing soldered to the side of the pan. The pipe line is
parallel with the fence line, the pans supply both fields. By this
arrangement the entire plant may be watered in a few minutes. The
overflow tubes are on one side. Using these tubes as a pivot the
pans may be swung out from under the fence with the foot and cleaned
with an old broom. Where the ground water is deep a wind mill and
storage tank would be desirable.
Outdoor Accommodations.
The hen house is a place for roosting, laying and a protection for
the feed. The hen is to live out doors.
On the most successful New England poultry farms, warm houses for
hens have been given up. Hens fare better out of doors in Virginia
than they do in New England, but make more profit out of doors
anywhere than they will shut up in houses. If your climate will not
permit your hen to live out doors get out of the climate or get out
of the hen business.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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