The runs are essentially a part of the problem of housing. Fowls need plenty of exercise, yet they are entirely too meddlesome to be given full liberty where one has a garden, a good lawn, and flowers. While hens may be kept in buildings and, with proper care, still retain their health, the average owner of a small flock can keep the birds more economically if he gives them the natural advantages of outdoor exercise.

The most useful run is the divided pen, each section to be used alternately.

For the active-laying breeds, three runs, about ten by forty feet, to be used alternately by the flock of forty hens, are advisable. Where two are used the dimensions should be greater—say ten by sixty.

A yard inclosure for large birds requires two-inch meshed poultry wire, five and one-half or six feet in width, supported by posts set nine or ten feet apart. The wire is attached to the posts by staples about four inches apart. A wooden strip or any other finish along the top of the fence is an objection. The lower edge of the wire requires a board or strip to which it is tacked. Boards six inches wide may be used for this.