Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-05-15

Few Common Errors That May BE
ia Avoided.

a Few Common Errors That May BE
Avoided.
I propose to point out q few very COM
mon errors which are constantly per-
formed in the barnyard, says D. N. Todd,
In Colman's Rural World, stating at the
outset that each one and all of them are
done at an expense and loss Of eggs
things that sometimes occur inadvertently
and nnthinkingly, and lead to an immense
losa in egg product
irst-Overfeedng. This Is the pure
practice Of feeding so much that some Of
the iced is deserted and left bv the chick
ems. They should not be given any more
than they will eat up clean, for two rea-
sons. First, they glut themselves and fat
ten zoo rapidly, SO as to impair egg pro-
duction; and. secondly, they become tired
of the kind Of food you give them. Last
numner 1 was away for two days, and
left the feeding Of the flock in charge Of
some one outside of the family. 1 told
them how much to give, and he simply
triplicated my order. Upon arriving home
found the yard covered with wheat and
not relished by the hens, and surmised
that The quantitay given was far in excess
or heir actual needs. It was ever a
month before the hens relished the wheat
IN anything like the manner they did be-
fore entrusted my feeding to some one
else.
Second-Unclean quarters. This is one
Of those subjects where propriety and de-
cency speak for themselves The foul
fumes arising from the deposits are un-
healthy and unwholesome, and terminate
disease and vermin. 1t is a great deal
better and purer to smell the fumes of
carbolic acid soap suds, coal oil or the like
and filth aoonmn1Qt f.
Ing around an unclean hen house. If you
use the droppings in the garden, do not
use lime on the floor, or around the hen
house. as it destroys the alkali in the ma
nure- In fact any disinfectant is bad
thing 10 be mixed up in the manure, If
used Tor gardening purposes; and for this
reason applications to roosts and walls
should be made after all droppings have
been removed. In order to keep the ma.
nure pure and strong and the hen house
clean and wholesome I prefer movable
roosts.
Third High roosts. These are danger
Gus beeause clumsy hens sometimes dc
+ thenselves great harm by flying down
! from hem. 1 have known of hens to
{ stop lying for two weeks because they
b hurt themselves flying from high roosts
This tact alone is sufficient argument
Q A8aiU3l tnemi out they are also oDJecuon-
n able because of the difficulty experienced
be IA getting at the fowls. The best plan Is
to have regular hen house with roostf
and nests perfectly available. Without II
81 your chickens will be roosting from Oar
to Beersheba." You will have to get
# search warrant out for them when yor
want hem. The advantages of having
:, the chfekens roosting where you think bes
and NOT where they do are two-fod; first
" they are available, and, second, there II
Ds' concentration of manure.
Fuurth-No particular nesting places
foD WoulQn't it be an interesting sight IL W,
nls had the figures showing the number o
eggs irrevocably lost every year? Jus
az think of the pin money the skunks ant
rats 6etl The hens lay anywhere an,
mp everyWhere they take a notion. Some o
SIC their eggs are as safely secluded from
anS mortal eyes as though they were deposite
in the South Sea islands. Some of thos
farm houses that are built on stills max
Ap' elegant repositories for hens with the lay
Ing fever. Generally, the gentleman O
~ the house has the pleasure of crawlin
under mere on all fours in quest of eggs
~ He cr8cks his shins at every post, brushe
I'M on 81 The cobwebs, and then about tn
: time - gets in there pretty tight the littl
.,us dos <1<oks he has found some capital spor
~ ~ IalI|ng away at his trsussr lsRs ]