Evening star., 1915-06-20


sometimes entirely closes the eyes.
With a smooth. round toothpick tura
down the lower lid of the affected eye
to see If kernel of rather soft yellow
found the trouble is roup. Remove the
Kernel and wash the eye with dilute
peroxide of hydrogen. using a small
wad of absorbent cotton wound on the
END OF the toothpick. and making sure
that the eye. under the lid and around
the outside, is thoroughly cleansed.
Cleanse the birds nostrils with the
solution also, and remove him from
among other fowls. Put enough per-
Of potassium in his drink
ing water to give the water the color
of claret, and feed him rather lightly
for several days. Common EPSON salts
mixed in dry or wet mash helps to
overcome the disease. the salts being
given in doses of about a half tea
spoonful once day for three or four
days. The bird must be quarantined
for at least two weeks, or until all in
dications of the disease have disap-
peared, and before he is replaced with
other fowls he should be given a final
treatment with the peroxide solution.
Continued high prices of practically
all grains that enter into the compost
tion of poultry feed is forcing hun
dreds of poultrymen all over the coun-
try to reduce their hocks or to go out
of business entirely. A considerable
reduction in the price of wheat in the
last few weeks has helped some, but
prices of other grains and of mash
feed remains high One poultryman
near Washington is disposing of his
entire flock of nearly 1000 hens and
pullets. giving as his reason the high
price of feed and inability to realize
higher prices for eggs and table fowls.
The advent of the new crops of wheat
and oats is expected to bring a ma
terial reduction in prices later, but
this will not be until August or Sep
tember. and meanwhile poultrymen are
being forced to quit because their pa
irons are not willing to pay prices for
eggs, etc, that are absolutely neces-
sary II the men who supply them are
to break down. not to speak of max
ing profit. Another poultryman near
the city declared a few days ago that
for the last three months he has been
losing enough on his plant each month
to keep his family. Consumers who by
their unwillingness to pay the prices
for eggs. broilers, etc, that are abso-
lutely necessary because of high prices
for feed are going to have to pay
greatly increased prices next winter
or do without eggs, etc, for the simple
reason that marked decreases in f1ocks
all over the country cannot fail to re-
duce the supply, and a smaller supply
always means higher prices.
Shade for the growing chicks during
the hot summer weather is as necessary
as any other element in the proper care
of the chicks. If no trees or bushes
grow in the yards some other shade
must be provided. Posts about three
feet high. supporting awnings made of
old burlap bags make a good shelter
when nothing better is available. A
couple of the bags cut open and sewed
together at the ends. then tackled firmly
to the supporting posts, give the chicks
a good shade under which to retire
from the hot sun during the middle of
the day.
While the weather is hot see that the
fowls-chicks as well as hens and pull
lets-are kept as comfortable as pos
sible. Give them fresh. cool water at
least twice day. morning and after
noon: three times a day will be even
better. Exercise the greatest care to
see that the water vessels are scru-
pulously clean at all times. Before fill
ing the vessels scrub them out with
common scrubbing brush kept for that
purpose. rinsing them afterward before
filling them with fresh. cold water. Be
equally careful with the feed troughs
in which mash is fed.
Fowls kept in confinement will do
much better during hot weather if
sumo: This may be in the form of lawn
clippings. clover. cabbages. lettuce
leaves. radish or beet tops. or any sue
culent green stuff. Such feed helps to
blood. 1t also helps to cut down the
feed bills. No fowls. mature or young,
can do as well without plenty of green
stuff during the hot weather as they
will if they have all they will eat of
such feed.
Nothing is to be gained by keeping
the two-year-old hens after they stop
laying. Before they begin to mott con-
fine them for week or ten days in
the runs. fatten them as much as pos
sible and send them to market. Hens
that were a year old this spring will
make fully as good breeders
All of the young cockerels should be
from the pullets, and those
should be fattened and marketed at
once. The pullets will do better if the
males are taken away from them, and
grow and fatten better than If they
are allowed to range with the pullets.
At this time of high prices for feed of
nearly every kind the wise poultryman
other fowls not absolutely needed. off
his hands just as soon as possible.
Watch the chicks closely for manifes-
other parasites. Droopy, draggled look
ing chicks that do not seem to grow and
that have no desire 20 run around as
normal chicks should are pretty likely
TO De IOunQ 10 De INFESTED close Scru-
tiny of the heads of such chicks will
probably show the presence of the big
head lice. To get rid of them, grease
the heads of the chicks with soft paste
made of common sulphur and lard or
vaseine. rubbing the mixture down to
the skin. Clean out all the old litter
and replace it with fresh. clean straw
DR. chaff in which has been sifted a lib
aral dusting of some good insect powder.
Apply the powder also to the chicks,
iusting it lightly into the down or the
small feathers about the tail under the
wings, etc. It is not good plan to dust
too heavily, as to do SO frequently causes
the down or feathers to fall off, leaving
The chicks without such covering Fur
thermore. should the powder get into
the eyes of the chicks it may cause
trouble. This is not the case with the
ard and sulphur mixture, which erad- /
Gates the parasites without danger to
the chicks.
Beware of so-caled tonics during the |
hot weather. Such mixtures usually |
consist largely of cayenne pepper and |
other strong condiments. and fowls GER |
.ainly do not require such things when |
he thermometer shows temperatures |
.anging in the upper eighties. Sound. /
clean grains, plenty of fresh, green feed |
and fresh, cold water two or three times !
day will do all that is necessary to |
Keep the fowls and chicks in good shape, |
the quarters are kept Scrupu-
ouSly clean and sanitary.
All Around the Place.