Some kind of protection from the hot rays of the sun on the poultry range is absolutely necessary. Ranges with no shade or shelter cannot be expected to produce as good birds as where shade is provided. Trees furnish one of the best and most lasting kinds of shelters. If trees are not available and it is not feasible to set out new ones, corn or sunflowers can be grown, which will offer some protection. If these shelters cannot be provided, artificial means of protection may be given by building wooden frames ten inches to one foot high and covering them with boards, burlap, canvas, straw or a thick covering of branches.

Protection should be afforded also in stormy weather and on cool nights. The colony house is the best means. A house about six by eight feet with a shed roof, the front of which is six feet high and the back four feet high, can be used to house from fifty to seventy-five chicks. A door can be placed in the center of the front, with a long, narrow muslin opening on each side of it.

Any house which will protect the stock from wet weather and from enemies, and which will admit of an abundant supply of fresh air, will do.