South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-07-28
Care of Fowls.

Probably no n has written upon the
subject of poultry raising, who has not
said that cleanliness is of vital Importance.
Cleanliness is goodness" to mankind,
and the next thing to it in the care OF
chickens. Ifunder your perches you will
spread a little straw or hay, you will find
it no trouble to clean out your hen-house,
which should be done once a week in win
ter, but less frequently in summer, where
the house is perfectly dry and the chickens
half the time in it, will answer very well.
1t is important TO see that you invariably
feed them in clean places.
Fowls are as capricious as people about q
change of diet They grow weary of corn
even, if fed continually. A better way is
to keep a supply Of corn and also of wheat
screenings, etc, and alternate the food.
And if poultry is your chief delight, what
ever else you do, don't keep & dog to sup
plant your fowls in your affections, and o
get all the bones and bits of meat which
your chickens so much need. And don't
be stingy about your scraps; cut off all the
scraggy parts from your roasts, or legs of
veal or mutton and chop il, raw, for your
poultry; and observe what a concert O
viii create in the chicken yard when you
feed it.
Don't forget the box of fresh, dry ashes
where they may have the fowl luxury of
dusling themselves as often as they like;
and also the fresh lime somewhere conve
nient for them to supply shells for your
eggs, as well as TO promote cleanliness and
n sweetness of their premises. You
will not, of course, ask your chickens to
drink water which has stood twenty-four
hours, any more than you would drink
such yourself. But you will see that every
morning finds your watering places thor
oughiy cleaned, and filled with good fresh
water.
l have been usinga preparation to i'm
pregnate the water with iron and sulphur
both conductive to the health of poultry
which has been recommended by per-
sons of large experience. Its this: Pour
two quarts of boiling rain water on to a
half pound of sulphate of iron and a half
ounce sulphuric acid. When the iron has
dissolved, bottle the preparation, and use
about a gill of it in each pail of drinking
water.
When your hens are ready to com off
with a brood of chicks, before cooping
them, take some kerosene oil and with a
swab thoroughly oil the feathers and flesh
of the fowl about the breast, legs and
wings. The oil is thus communicated to
the young chickens, and all are rid Of lice
most efTectually. By the same process
you can cause every fowl on your roost to
rise up and call you blessed" if they are
troubled with this little poultry pest.
This spring l took a newly Matched chick
en-, which had come out a few da,s in adj
vance of the rest, and rolled it up in fan
rel 1 discovered a louise on it, I put some
kerosene on the downy chick and when
next | unTolled ii, l found over fifty lice
on the flannel. Factl
l do not kno v that 1 have given very
valuable hints in all that l have written
upon the slbject, but l do know that lille
others have had fowls dying off promiscu-
ously, l have not had even one on the
sick list; and out of 1853 young chicks,
one-third of which are now large enough
to brOil, l have only lost four.-C Cor.
Prairie Farmer.