Osage Valley banner. (Tuscumbia, Miller County, Mo.) 1879-1881, 1881-08-04
Ponllrr moasa ANA Yermln.

INV y AONNEEANNH OAA ~ NAt|ANAN -
poultry keepingl The two great obsta-
cics IN the way Of success in this bust!
ness are vermin and colds. The costly
house Affords ~ protection against
either. or the three kinds Of insects
which infest the common fowl, the mite
is the worst and hardest to get rid OF.
The louise, body or feather, Is rolled of
in the dust bath. and may DO killed or
driven awav by applying Persian insect
powder TO the fowl; aud besides, they
seldom breed ia such numbers MS 20
oOmpletelya oyerrun n fowl. But the
mite breeds In the hosse and not on tho
fowl, doesn't even appear to need the
presence OF, . fowl IL. continue in life
and propagate is analogous to the
bod bug and partakes OF its habits in
attacking It's victims while at roost and
leaving them when thoY are out again
in the morning. This is the insect
which is so destructive TO sitting hens;
they have no chance to be free from il
in the daytime, A thorough busting
with Persian insect powder once or
twice a week, is n great help TO the hen,
but it does not destroy the myriads
which dwell In every crack in a board,
or Joint between, or the creyices OF .
stone wall which frequently forms the
foundation of the house. The first time
the hen leaves her nest she shakes the
insectieide from her feathers, aud then
the insects renew their d~epredations,
The sitting period, rs every poultry
man knows, quite frequently tears a
hen all to pieces; she comes out of it q
mere skeleton, tile large high-eo,orod
comb which she carried when she began
her task is sickly and shriveled, and tho
bright color faded out. Her feathers
are in about the same condition. This
destruction of the hen Is not necessary.
as many q hen will prove that has sat
her three weeks in some out-of-the-wa
place at a distance from the poultry
house. She has lost weight, her comb
and feathers are somewhat dull aud
smudgy, but a week or two will put her
III condition again. Few chicks are
hatched In infested nests; the hens can't
sit closely enough to keep up the requi-
site temperature. The constant twist
ing about of the head 20 pick the bitten
spot lets 4 little cold air to the eggs,
and the embryo dies in consequence.
And when an egg gets rotten dts rot
enness being due in nine cases out OF
ten to the death Of the chick from this
lack of heat) its contents begin to ex-
ude through the pores OF the shell, and
8 the mites hasten to the feast. Seasons
al WHiCu GEGe HI W Utttu NClt AlIlt
poultry Journals inform us that there
are such) are probably seasons favor
able TO the propagation of the mite.
Now the larger and more complicated
the poultry house, the more cracks and
small hiding places for the mites to
breed in, and the more diliicnlt to APP
ply any insecticide effectively. Such
houses require more atteut.o on and work
than one man In q hundred viii ever
devote to them, and more than the
profits from the poultry would pay for,
if il were done. If we wish to raise
healthy qniok-growjng chicks, they
should never be allowed to approach
such a structure. ~
The liability Of q fowl or chick to
take cold is the other great drawback
in this business. Years ago Il was
much more common 10 see fowls roost-
ing on trees in winter than it IS now,
and, If the evidence Of old people is to
be taken. roup and cholera were UNI
known diseases, But to keep a lot Of
fowls and allow them TO roost in the
trees in winter, even admitting that by
so doing they would never contract
.roup and cholera, is too outrageous to
be tolerated. Wild birds live out Of
doors all winter; we Gri't help it and
are not responsible Tor it; but when we
come to the common fowl, we are deal
ing with animals either educated or
susceptible of education; and If they
be decently educated, there will be no
difficulty in inducing them to sleep in
doors. We should provide n roosting
house for them which which will retain
the healthy conditions of the tree, and
at the same time protect them from
winds and storms. A very large amount
OF fresh air is absolutely necessary; and
a close house will not admit it. If we
build partially underground to secure
warmth, 10 viii be more or less damp,
aud q damp roosting place is a fruitful
source of Toup and cholera. bowls are
disposed TO hnddle together as closely
rs possible on the perehesi by SO doing
they become overheated, and when
they 60 out In the morning the sudden
ness OF the change of temperature in
duces colds, Hence in arranging perch-
es space enough to allow a good cir
culation of fresh air should be left be-
tween them.
Our model poultry house, then, will
stand ON the surface of the earth, and
not be an incipient mine; it will not be
large, and not be expected to house
more than twenty or thirty fowls. Ex-
p%erience is clearly against large fiocks.
II we desire to keep more we should in
crease the number instead of the size o.
our houses, Six feet high and six feet
by eight feet on the ground will be
large enough, leave the south side en-
tirely open in summer and partially close
a il in winter putin one sash and that of
moderate size; glass allows the heat to
pass through il so rapidly, that II the
whole front were OF glass the fowls
HIn---.r 80 - - .L.