Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-02-16
More Poultry Points
BY W. H. ROSE.

When you have completed the outside
of your henhouse, make your plans for
inside. A very convenient arrangement
for roosting your fowls, is to get good
common board which is fourteen inches
wide, cut it in lengths to fit on one side
and the two ends. Nail on some cleats
for the boards to rest on about three
feet from the ground. This will make
broad shelf all around the three sides
which we call drop board Place the
roost poles seven inches above this and
about seven inches from the wall.
Sprinkle this board with dry road dust,
and go in once week with hoe and
old basket. Place the basket under the
drop board and with the hoe draw all
the droppings into the basket. You
will be surprised how quick the house
is cleaned. After all is clean. throw
on some more dust which makes it
easier to clean next time, and kills all
the foul smell. | am not prepared to
say that lime is absolutely injurious for
this purpose, but | am prepared to say
that road dust is very much better and
costs nothing.
The nest boxes can be placed around
to suit the variety of fowls you are
breeding. For instance, if you are
breeding any of the heavy breeds you
should arrange their boxes on, or near
the ground, for the smaller breeds fix
them up high. In the winter season
when the hens are shut up in the house
NOSE CT the time, they are very apt to
get into he habit of egg eating. Thin
shells is lne cause usually, and when
they get to eating their eggs it is very
annoying There are two remedies,
feed plenty of oyster she'll (crushed) is
the best. This will make the shells as
thick as they would be in the summer
season. Try the hidden nest plan,
which by the way is blddies choice plan.
Get some empty nail kegs with only one
head in, cut small hole ia the head
large enough to get your hand in to get
the eggs, lay them down flat under the
drop board with the open end back to-
wards the wall throw some old sacks or
blankets over them and let them hang
down over the end pretty well. The
hens will go into a dark place to lay,
but will not venture there for anything
else. Old cheese boxes make very good
nests to nail up here and there for con-
venience.
Any device for nests should be only
temporary, as it is necessary often dur
ing the summer to remove them on &C
count of lice. 1t is even necessary some
times to burn both box and nest TO get
rid of the little pests. One of the easiest
plans ever tried to rid hen house of
lice is to take an iron kettle, fill it half
full of live Goals of fire, set it in the
house, drive all the chickens out, then
throw in double handful of sulphur,
shut the door and let them have q little
taste Of what satin has prepared for 8
portion of mankind. Nsi. few min
utes and add more sulphur. If you
perform your work thoroughly there
will not be 8 living insect in that house.
You viii! be obliged to repeat the dose
in day or two because there are humid
reds on the fowls and when they go to
rooSt the mites will crawl down on the
poles and hide in the crevises in the
wall A little grit on your part will
soon clean out all the lice.
prefer the ground for the floor. Yet
3 good many prefer board floor. MY
plan permits forking over the dirt often
which appears to pu.ity, and again the
fowls enjoy scratching snd wallowing