Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-30
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Poultry Yard Notes.

For small flock of fowls piano
box makes a very convenient poultry
house. 1t can be worked over in many
different styles. Usually the affair is
made only one story high. This is not
as economical of space as a two-story
house described in a recent issue of a
commend itself to those having very
limited space. The second floor is
placed about a third of the way up
from the lower floor. II may be made
removable so as to be readily cleaned
simply fit loosely on four or more
supports, such as brackets. The lid
should fit snugly over the frame and
be easily raised by means of hinges.
The fowls can reach this floor by walk
ing UP an incline
A trap door fits over the opening
so the fowls may be confined in the
upper floor when necessary. The roosts
should be on treStles about Is inche $
high and be readily removable \
hinged front may be raised or lowered
at will. At each end is a window
covered with wire cloth. In the front
is glass window and also a wire
cloth window. The whole poultry
house should be covered with roofing
paper to keep out the wet. The trap
door should be fastened up by means
or a string or wire which passes
through the back of the house, and to
be attached to a nail to hold it open
Every fall, if not oftener. the poul-
try building should he Thoroughly
fumfgated, not alone to destroy lice
and mites, but to kill disease germs
which may Turk in the cracks between
boards and in the dust that collects on
the timbers. The easiest method is
to use the sulphur candles made for
the purpose and sold by dealers in
poultry supplies. If these cannot be
obtained easily, flowers of sulphur.
which may be obtained at any drug
store and which is the finely powdered
form, may be burned on live Goals or
with paper.
If Goals are used a pan half full of
sand and dirt may be set on the floor
or the house, a shovelful of live Goa Is
put IN 1t and half pint of flowers of
sulphur placed on the Goals If il is
not convenient to use this method, a
layer of lightly crumpled paper NAV
be placed on the sand in the pan. some
mowers of sulphur sprinkled on, then
more sulphur until four or five layers
are made. with sulphur on top. This
may be lighted at the bottom and II
~ burns well. will fill the house full of
the fumes. The contents of one pan
Will fumigate a house ten to fifteen
feet wide and twelve to fifteen feet
long. For long building several pans
All windows and doors should be
Kept closed while the sulphur is burn
ing SO that the fumes will be confined
ana Will penetrate every part of the
| mouse. The house should be kent
, closed for an hour and then may be
opened and aired. In another hour il
| Will be fit for the fowls to use again.
Green food is a necessity for poultry.
but it is sometimes hard to get. par
ha
cabDage, mangels, etc. are not obtain
able artificially sprouted oats make an
excellent substitute. If properly pre-
pared 1T makes as good a green food
as there is. leading authority finds
the following method most successful
Tor preparing it:
The oats should be soaked in water
at temperature of from 60 to 20 de-
Srees Fahrenheit for about forty-eight
| hours. in pals or galvanized washtubs
and during this soaking process there
| should be added from nve to ten drops
or formalin to kill the spores of molds
ana to insure a clean. sweet feed
about one inch thick on trays. which
| are placed in a sprouting rack, seven
to each rack. the trays being ten inches
| apart and Kept at a temperature OF
about so to so degrees Fahrenheit In
from seven to ten days, depending or
| temperature. they will have developed
| sprouts three to four inches long and a
growth of roots, the entire mass bein .
very tender and succulent
About one square inch of feeding
| surface is supplied daily to each bird
or as much as it will clean up quickly
| The oats must not be fed in excess. as
they are laxative and are apt to pro-
duce diarrhea.'
| Many feed oyster shells and believe
that this is all that is required in the
| line of grit. Oyster shell is necessary
f1r re n ha ,1N-;,
! lime that goes into the formation of
| egg, shell and bone. but it will not al
together answer as a substitute for
grit. for the reason that it is too soft
Experiments have proved conclusively
| that it is a matter of economy to keen
| a plentiful supply of good, sharp grit
before the fowls all the time When
| fowls are not supplied with grit much
| bodies in an undigested state. Besides
| the lack of grit throws an undue strain
upon the digestive system, resulting in
! liver and bowel trouble
Egg producing scratch food. as used
| at the Purdue experimental station
Ten pounds corn, ten pounds wheat
| five pounds oats. This is to be fed in
| the morning, scattered in deep litter.
Cracked corn is preferable to whole
| corn. At the same time feed dry mash
from hopper mixed as follows: Ten
| pounds shorts, ten pounds bran and
seven pounds meat scraps.
For generations English farmers have
made extensive use of dwarf Essex
rape as a chick food. This plant may
| be described as a ruta baga run to head
| The seed is sown like rutabaea turnip
and cultivated without thinning.
! Egg shells are porous and absorb
| the odors in a room to certain de-
gree This will cause them to become
| stale and spoil. Therefore, eggs should
! be stored in a clean room until they
are ready for market.
The greatest difficulties confronting
the successful raiser of pigeons seem
/ to be in securing good breeding stock
J and finding good market for the prod
uce of small flock.
| The strictly healthy fowls do not
have bowel complaint. Looseness OF
| the bowels in fowls Is simply an indi-
cation of indigestion, or derangemen nj
of the digestive organs.
| Weddings should never he tolerated
| Kill and bury the runts and crowheads
Roup is infectious and the weaklings
are the ones to first become infected
| Discard both male and female birds
| that have an immature look or that
| have been stunted, as well as late
| Matched individuals.
If skim milk is added to the ration
| fed to young chickens it will increase
the consumption of other foods given.
The egg fiocks need no males. as it
never pays to keep them where eggs
1 f@,- II At nr,lt