Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-07-03
COPYRIGHT, 1915.

In the summer months owners of
backyard flocks of poultry frequently
experience a shortage of eggs, while
farmers are securing eggs in abund-
ance. The failure of the backyard
flock is frequently due to incorrect
feeding, lack of exercise, unsanitary
conditions, or a combination of these
faults. In this article Professor Smith
tells how to manage the home poultry
flock during the hot weather.
Fowls are almost as universally kept
by suburbanites and villagers as by
the farmers themselves. AS more than
ninety per cent. of the latter Keep
| chickens, the extent and Importance
of the backyard poultry plants will be
realized at once. Hens on the back
lots require little room and demand
little care, which may be given at con-
Venient moments. In converting non-
edible waste into especially edible and
readily marketable products, she ex-
GELS any animal that may be kept on
| a small plot.
Although on the farm the attention
given to poultry is even less in the
summer than during the winter, the
backyard flock requires greater care
! in summer than at any other season
of the year.
The care of the fowls compared
with that of the young chicks is a
simple matter, but even adult birds
show the effect of confined quarters,
lack of exercise and lack of food
which a range supplies in abundance.
Natural conditions must be duplicated
in large measure if good results are
sought, and substitutes for natural
foods must be supplied as we'll. In
fact 1t is necessary to secure enforced
exercise, to maintain strict sanitation,
and to provide a supply of suitable
substitutes for the natural food found
wide range. This involves a certain
amount of labor not necessary when
| fowls have range and also necessitates
! a good deal more attention than most
farm fowls receive. AS consequence,
we very often see much better results
obtained from backyard flocks than
from flocks having free range on the
farm.
The backlot poultryman has these
three problems: First sanitation; sec
ond, enforcing exercise sufficient to
maintain vigorous health; third, sup
plying a natural variety of foods.
Strict Sanitation Is Necessary
When fowls are kept in confined
yard space. both the houses and the
outdoor runs must be kept in a sani-
tary conditions. This really means
nothing more than keeping hem clean.
How often to clean is a debatable
question, and the answer largely de-
pends upon the climate and partly
upon the environment. The ideal
housekeeper cleans every day; so does
the ideal poultryman.
Insanitary conditions of any kind
must not be tolerated, especially dur
ing the warm months Daily re-
moval of all refuse is advisable. since
it greatly reduces the danger of dis
ease and of the multiplication of lice
and mites. Clean floors. clean nests
and even clean walls are conducive
to health. The litter on the floor and
in the nests should be removed and
burned every two or three weeks, de-
pending upon weather, size of flock
etc. At this time the house should
be sprayed with a good mite killing
disinfectant Many good disinfectants
may be purchased. Those who wish
to manufacture one may use white
wash or kerosene with enough car
bolic acid to give the mixture a dis
tinct carbolic 'odor. Spraying is by far
the quickest method of application
but less material is required If it is
applied with brush Kerosene emul-
sion is also an excellent mite killer
and with the addition of carbolic acid
becomes a disinfectant Roosts and
nests need an application more often
than the rest of the house. In the
warmest weather paint or spray the
nests and roosts with these mixtures
every ten days or so, while once a
month will do for the rest of the build
ing.
Two Yards For Each Flock
These are from necessity small and
very soon become unsanitary and in
time infected with germs of disease
These might be cleaned by removing
the top and replacing 1t with fresh
earth, but this is always a laborious
and often a very expensive process.
In general way, it may be. said