Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-09-20
P o u L TR Y
CONSULTING DEPARTMENT
The Poultry Mite

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Everyone knows the gray poultry
mite which takes on a distinct red
dish cast after the meal of blood. 1t
is commonest in dark, damp, dirty
poultry houses where it thrives upon
filth, and the best remedies are sun
shiney ventilation, and cleanliness.
The hen house should be so construct
ed that it can easily be kept clean
and that there will be no cracks or
crevices in the roosts or elsewhere to
furnish hiding places for the mite
during the daytime when they are
not on the fowls. They feed at night,
crawling from fowl to fowl, so that
one infested bird may introduce them
into the entire flock.
Sunshine is one of the best disin-
feetants as well as a great foe to the
mite, and it should be given access to
just as much of the hen house as pos
sible. Regular spraying with kero-
sene emulsion, strong tobacco solu-
tons, or commercial stock dips will
help greatly. Commercial lime-sul-
phur and miscible oils put on the
market in such form that they mix
readily with water for use in spray
ing orchards are also for use in COM
batting the mite.
Kerosene emulsion properly prepar--
ed at home will give as good results
as anything which can be purchased.
Following are the directions for max
ing it: Dissolve half pound of laun-
dry soap, or a pound of I've soap, in a
gallon of soft water; take the solu-
tion off the fire and add two gallons
of kerosene before cooling. Mix them
thoroughly by churning ten or fif-
teen minutes and use one part of the
emulsion to eight or nine part of wa
ter when ready to apply.
One part boiled lime-sulphur made
exactly as for ORCHARD spraying may
be mixed with eight parts of water,
and the commercial stock dips may
be used in accordance with printed
directions usually furnished with
them. Strong tea made by boiling to-
bacco stems in water gives good re-
suits, and embarrassing should not be
neglected.
Spray pumps of many different
sizes and types will give good results.
Bucket pumps, knapsack sprayers,
and automatic sprayers will be use
full in the garden and orchard as well
as in the hen house, although long
er hose or extension rod viii be need
ed in the orchard. A barrel pump or
power sprayer may be used with
good results if it is already on hand,
but is more expensive than the aver
age farm needs for hen house work.
Suggestions on Raising Ducks
Young ducks must have plenty of
shade Where there is no natural
shade artificial shade should be pro-
vided They also require dry shelters
while young, and careful looking af-
ter during the season when showers
are frequent, as getting wet before |
they are full feathered is very detri- |
mental to ducklings. Cleanliness in |
their quarters is absolutely essential |
and it is more difficult to maintain |
cleanliness with ducks than chickens. |
A movable duck park made of fine |
mesh poultry netting is a great help |
to the duck raiser. We nave one 12x12 |
feet, made in two parts so it can be |
easily moved. Frequent moving of the |
park gives the ducks fresh grass all |
the time without spelling the yard. |
1t is not very safe to turn young
ducks loose. The little critters go on
and on, absorbed in bug hunting and |
often fail to find their way back home.
If there is swimming water near they |
soon discover it. Turtles are sure to
get some of them and they are liable
to drown while very young and in
their down. Besides we find they grow
and fatten better and their meat is
more tender when they do not have
water to swim in. But plenty of
fresh water to drink at all times is an
important factor and the water in
drinking vessels must be deep enough
for them to immense their heads. A II
little fine clean sand in drinking wa
ter is good for them. A tablespoonful
Of air-slaked lime to a gallon of wa
ter makes good bowel regulator for
ducks.
1t is not surprising that ducks grow
faster than other fowls. They eat
from the long troughs we provide for
them until it seems they could not
find room for any more; and go to the
drinking vessel and then go back to
stuffing again. We never leave feed
10 sour in the troughs as sour food
causes bowel trouble.