Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-06

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When fowls are kept in confinement.
all grain should be scattered in litter
TO keep them scratching for living
They will produce more eggs and keep
healthier
If the pullets begin to lay and then
shut off after the laying of a small
egg or two. take notice as to whether
YOU are feeding them enough Pull
lets must be fed heavily to keep up
regular laying in winter After they
begin laying they seldom put on too
much fat.
The free use of an effective lice pow
der is always in order.
A dust bath is very essential in rid
ding the fowls of lice.
the feet. head down. and work the
powder well down in the feathers.
The free use of kerosene on the roosts
and in the cracks will eXterminate
mites
| Whitewash is very effective against
vermIn.
Poultry comfort and health require
| fresh air, sunlight. dryness and room
| Air and sun are great eermicides and
i disinfectants. Such building con-
Structed on these lines requires less
! time for cleaning than one that has not
these things. AS for room. overcrowd
ing is sure to end in trouble. Have
enough space for each bird.
| in the feeding of beef scrap it is of
prime Importance that the quality be
taken into consideration. Poor beef
/ scrap has a tendency 10 caues indiges-
ton and all kinds of diarrhoea. OF
all the various forms of animal food
beef scrap is perhaps the most con-
venient to store. keep and handle.
Good beef scrap is free from such pre-
servatives as pepper. salt and salt
peter II should. of course, be free from
tankage. The chief reason for feed
ing beef scrap is for its animal pro-
tein constituents. For this reason it
is advisable TO get and feed a grade
that is rich in this constituent.
Provide plenty of litter. Hens are
likely to loaf on the perches during the
first cold days unless made to scratch
for their grain.
Grain should be thrown into the lit
ter at night so the hens can begin work
as soon as they come off the rooSts
Eggs should be gathered several
times a day during freezing weather
The floor litter in the scratching shed
should be renewed at least once a
month.
Be sure the hens are supplied with
plenty OF dry dust in which to perform
their toilets.
The scratching shed is not a luxury
in the sense that parlor in a home is
a luxury. as many seem to think, but
it is a absolute necessity if we are to
get the best results in winter egg pro-
duction and general thrift Of the fowls
A poultry house without a scratching
shed is INCOMPLETE
one of the most important advan-
tases of the curtain front house is that
there is perfect ventilation all the time
During stormy and windy weather,
when the curtains are down. the air
circulates through the cloth. and when
| the weather is fair the curtains are
raised In either case the dampness is
drawn out in the steady current of dry
air passing in and out. And when the
front is open the sun has good chance
to shine in, which is Of great benefit to
the fowls, especially in cold weather
What glass is used in the windows
should be frequently cleaned as the
dust, if allowed to remain. will make
the room dark and gloomy
If draft is permitted to blow
through the openings of the poultry
| house the birds will probably become
sick through having. colds. Here is
where prevention is better than cure
Shut up the openings 50 that the dra fits
will be kept out. \ draft is bad in the
summer. but when the cold winds com
mence to blow il is positively danger
.
To Kill off lice provide a dust bath
for the hen. and she generally will
keep herself free from lice If she
does not. dust her with insect powder
You can buy this at drug stores or
YOU can make it yourself \ very eff
fective and cheap insect powder is
made by taking three parts of gaso-
line ana one part strong carbolic acid.
Mix these together and add enough
plaster of paris to take up all the
moisture. This makes a dry. pin!sish
powder. Dust this on the hen, espe-
cially in the feathers under the wings
and in the fluff below the vent
vegetables to poultry is apt to produce
yellow droppings.
Inbred poultry become easy victims
of disease.
Wheat furnishes more material for
the white of eggs than does corn
The secret OF success in winter egg
production is briefly told in the fol-
lowing words: Keep the fowls healthy,
contented and comfortable by common
sense care, wholesome feed and mod
ern. open air quarters The top. both
sides and the back of the house must he
tight. Under these conditions there will
not be drafts on the birds to cause colds
and make them liable to attacks of
roup. Have the house located that
the water readily drains off and have
about ten twelve inches of coarse
gravel cinders in the bottom so
! that the floor is dry a all times Have
| the house face the south and have an
| opening three feet wide and as long
as the house. Have straw on the floor
in which such grain corn. wheat
and oats is thrown. SO that the birds
| have green feed. If they have no
patch OF rye. oats rape to run on,
| hang up cabbage head or a turnip on
| nail close to the floor to give them
exercise in picking at it, and at the
same time provide their green feed
Give about one pi int grain feed to each
dozen birds each morning. and the
| before going to roost allow them to
| have hot bran mash made by cook
ing some vegetable. turnips, and
mixing this with bran. using boiling
water and mixing until the mash is
of rather dry consistencyr~yet thor
cold hang burlap curtain over the
open front at night and remove it in
! the morning. Have the perches on a
| level in the rear of the building over
| a platform to catch the droppings,
| and clean the droppings off once a
| week and scatter on the farm.
| The jungle fowl, from wh+ch all our
| modern breeds of chickens have orig
| mated, laid from twelve to fifteen
! eggs year when in it's wild and nat
| ural state. With years Of selection