The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1908-01-18

ture at four a. m. Heat radiates
eleven times more rapidly from glass
than it does from wood. Whether it
be small or large it should be divided
into at least two compartments, viz:
a roosting and a scratching or living
room. These two rooms can be sep
arated by a partition of wire netting
with door hung to the south wall that
will open both, with an opening at the
:, bottom to permit ingress or egress.
In the northeast corner of the roosting
room, and in no case nearer than six
teen inches to the walls and partition
and three feet from the floor, the
perches should be located. These may
consist of two by two by threes set on
edge twelve to sixteen inches apart
with the upper surface rounded and
suspended from the rafters by wires.
One foot beneath them should be
dropping floor extending at least four
inches beyond the perches on all
sides. This dropping floor may be
made from half inch lumber Both
the perches and dropping floor should
be made portable so they can be taken
down and treated with disinfectants
and insecticides.
The north and west walls and CELL
ing of the roosting room should be
lined with building paper to stop all
draughts of air. With the single comb
Leghorn IT is a good plan to hang cur
tains from the rafters to the drop
ping floor, thus enclosing the perches.
These cirtains may be made from fer
tilizer sacks, and should be hung up
during the day and when the weather
is mild at night.
On the west side the nesting
boxes may be placed in sections of
three and two tiers in height. The
floors Of both the roosting and scratch
ing rooms should be covered with cut
wheat or rye straw or the refuse of
shredded corn fodder, in the former to
the depth of two inches and in the lat
ter at least six. This litter should be
changed every two weeks or oftener If
necessary. In this connection would
suggeet that the dropping floor be COW
cred to the depth of one inch with
earth. thus obviating the daily clean
ing of the floor. Once week will
suffice. This earth is an absorbent
and prevents the firings of the drop
pings.
In the living or scratching room,
where the fowl is to remain always
when there is snow on the ground and
the temperature below twenty there
should be, first of all, box containing
road dust, wood or coal ashes or any
finely divided substance not injurious
to the eyes in which it can take
bath at any time. OF the four para
sites of the hen and her brood three
can be absolutely destroyed and the
fourth badly crippled by. her taking
dust bath at frequent intervals. For
the red mite, which is nocturnal in it's
habits. painting the perches with crude
petroleum once a month ami white
washing the walls of the building on
the inside four times year will suffice.
Next after a dust box is the one con-
tanning grit and charcoal. The grit
may be coarse, sharp sand, small bits
of crockery ware or limestone. Then
the box containing mica grit, oyster
shells or cracked bone must be pres
ent as the egg is composed of three
divisions, viz: The shell, white and
yolk. The shell Is of vital import
ance, for who cares to market eggs
without shells on them? The shell is
II per cent. of the weight of the egg,
consists chiefly of the carbonate of
lime, which is found in large quanti-
ties in mica grit and oyster shells.
The phosphate in the cracked bone
helps in this, that it supplies the waste
in the fowls body. Fifty-fve per cent
of the hens body and 81 per cent. of
her eggs are water, hence water is
essential and is best supplied by an
automatic water fountain when the
temperature is not too low. A good
substitute is a gallon milk scrock,
mounted on a two-step box. with a
tight-fitting cover, with holes in it
large enough for the hen to get her
head in. thus eliminating the nuisance
of the litter in the water.
Last, but not least, is a self-feed
box I do not advocate a self-feeder