The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-12-27
EXPERT ADVICE FOR
WINTERING POULTRY
Special Care and Attention Should Be
Given Fowls During Cold Weather
to Obtain Best Results.

To obtain good results from a flock
of poultry during the winter all houses
and coops should be put in good condi-
tion, only healthy fowls placed in the
buildings, and good care given to the
poultry, says the Weekly News Letter
of the department of Agriculture The
houses should be thoroughly cleaned,
disinfected, and made tight for winter
If the house has n dirt floor, it is well
to remove 4 inches from the top /
and substitute fresh gravel or sand. If
the floor Is cement or wood, remove all /
litter and dirt and put in or inches
OF fresh straw or litter. Be sure that |
the house IS tight on three sides and |
that there is no chance for draft to |
strike the hens. If hens roost or are |
placed in draft during the fall and |
winter, colds are sure to develop, which |
may result in roup and other troubles. |
The south side, or front, of the poultry !
house may be left comparatively open, |
but should be under control, so that |
the openings may be closed gradually |
as the weather becomes cold. Have |
muslin curtains in the front of the |
house, or leave q window parity open
even on the coolest nights to allow
some ventilation in the house. Fowls |
will stand considerable cold air pro-
vided it is dry, and ventilation will
keep the air thoroughly dry in the
house.
The pullets should be brought in Oft
the range and put in winter quarters,
but before they are mixed with the
older fowls be sure that the hens are
banded or that the web of the foot is
punched in some way so as to distin-
hot h., la
In this way the older stock may be
culled out whenever it appears desira-
j bic, and the young hens kept for fur
ther laying. Gull the chickens which
are brought into the laying house
carefully. and fatten and market all
chickens which are small, poorly devel
oped or in poor condition. These small,
poorly developed chickens are apt to
catch cold if put in with the other
poultry, and develop diseases which
quickly spread through the flock. Mar
ket all surplus cockerels or older male
birds which are not desired for breed
ing or not wanted for later market
Feed the grain in a deep litter on
the floor and make the hens exercise
for all OF their grain The mash may
be fed either wet Or dry. and should
be so regulated that the fowls viii get
about equal parts of mash and of the
scratch grams. 1t is necessary to give
the fowls plenty to eat to get good re-
suits, but the birds should always be
eager for each feed. In cold weather
feed about one-third of the scratch
grains in the morning and two-thirds
at night. In this way the hens are
forced to exercise more than If they re-
ceive all the grain they desire at the
morning feed. Scratch grains, mash or
ground grains, animal protein. green
feed, grit and she'll should be supplied
in the winter. A good scratch mix
ture may be made of equal parts. by
weight, of cracked corn, wheat. ana
oats; and a mash may be made of two
parts corn meal and enc part each of
wheat bran, wheat middlings, and
beef scrap. Green feed, such as cab
bages, mangel wurzel beets, cut alfalfa.
or spTOuted oats, should be supplied to
replace the green feed which the fowls
have been securing in the fields: and
beef scrap, skim milk, cut green bone
CT some similar feed is needed 20 re-
place the bugs which the fowls have
been getting on the range Beef scrap
or feed of this nature is very essential
in securing q good supply of eggs dur
ing the winter months.
Clean the dropping boards at least
once week, and spray the roosts with
kerosene or some commercial prepare
ton for killing mites once q month
during the winter Have q good supply
of sand or dry dirt on hand 10 use
on the dropping boards during the win
ter
If any of the birds develop colds
put as much potassium permanganate
as will remain on the surface of dime
into a gallon of water and keep this
mixture in their drinking water for
several days, or until the symptoms
of the colds have disappeared. Remove
any sick birds from the flock as soon
as they are noted and treat them in
coops by themselves, or kill and bury
them if they are not worth treating.
Examine the pullets and hens for
lice, and dust thoroughly with good
insect powder or apply a mixture of ?
parts vaseline and l part of mercurial
or blue ointment, about the size of
pea, | inch below the vent of the bird.
rubbing the mixture lightly on the
skin. An application of this ointment
two or three times year viii keep the
fowls free from lice Where insect
powder is used, it should be applied
three or four times a year, or oftener
if the fowls become infested. Provide
a small box in the house partly filed
with dry road dust or fine dirt in which
the hens NAV dust, thus helping to
keep themselves free from lice.
Before Lorraine was united with
France, in 1876, it belonged to the de