The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-01-21
WINTER CARE OF FOWLS.
Must be Housed Properly and Fed
Carefully.

Carefully.
The winter profits to be derived
from q flock OF fowls depends largely
very largely--upon their housing
and keeping. II Is unreasonable to
expect hens kept in cold. damp,
filthy house to produce eggs, and they
simply will not do 1t. II is much
easier to fix the house up now than 1t
will be after the weather gets cold;
In fact. the chances are 10 to one
that II the repairs are not made be-
fore cold weather sets in they will
not be made at all. and the result
will be lot of roupy, sniveling, pro-
fitless hens and disappointed own
er, says the American Cultivator. The
little cracks in the poultry house are
what play havoc with the flock, es-
peeially II they are where they will
allow little currents OF air to reach
the fowls when on the roosts. Fresh
air is beneficial when properly sup
piled, but where 1t is filtered through
cracks or knot holes II will cause
death and disaster.
II is a very easy matter to make
the poultry house warm and com
Portable, even though It be an old
building. All that is necessary is to
cover IL with some good roofing pa
per-both roof and side walls--apply
coat of tar. with little fine gravel
on the roof, and II the job is proper
ly done you will have a house that
will be absolutely wind and water
proof. If the roosts are on the north
side of the room It isn't bad idea to
cover the interior at the back Of the
roosts with building paper, first Civ
ing the walls coat of tar to prevent
lice from breeding under the paper.
II new buildings are to be erected Il
\ should be attended TO at once, so that
they may become thoroughly dried
out before closing up for the winter.
II the poultry house is damp at the
beginning OF winter It will remain so
until spring, unless the ventilation Is
exceptionally good. Even when build
ing new houses we would ad yise that
they be covered with roofing paper
and coated with tar. The object of n
tight house is not only to keep the
cold from coming in, but to conserve
the animal heat constantly emanatins
from the bodies of the fowls.
A good but somewhat dangerous
way of determining whether there are
any drafts around the roosts is 20
light a match and hold II In the hand.
If 1t burns evenly and steadily you
can be certain that there are no
drafts, but II 1t fiickers or the blaze
is unsteady, going to one side or the
other, there Is draft, and its source
should be discovered and corrected.
We would not advise this test. how
ever, where there Is much litter Jr
other inflammable material in the
house. The poultry house should be
kept clean at all times. but 1t is es-
pecially important that 1t be given
thorough cleaning and disinfecting
before closing up for the winter The
whole interior should be whitewash-
ed, adding about one-half pint OF
crude carbolic acid to each gallon Of
wash Care should be taken that the
lime is forced into every crack and
! crevlce. All old litter and nesting ma
terial should be removed and burned
and new supplied; the roosts and
dropping-boards should be painted
with some good liquid lice-killer,
new dust-bath should be supplied, and
In fact a general cleaning up is nee
cessary II the fowls are going to be
comfortable and profitable.
Even after the houses are nut in
| good shape there are numerous Othe.
matters that must be looked after be-
fore one is fully prepared for the win
ter Arrangements must be made for
a supply of green feed, without when
the fowls will not do their best. In
localities where such things are plen-
| tiful It is very easy to get supply
| OF vegetables at small cost, buying
up small potatoes, turnips, etc, that
are not Mt for the market or the
table. We have always made II a
practice to arrange with some cab
bage raiser TO get the undeyeloped
heads that are not worth the harvest
ing except for winter feed for poul-
try or other live stock. These can
generally be secured for next to
nothing-in fact, we have seen acres
OF them left in the field to decay.
I CabbaReR mako aNcaliant eran, faad
for poultry and can be kept all win
ter.