Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 April 1891 — THE POULTRY YARD [ARTICLE]

THE POULTRY YARD

Lice In Winter. The large gray louse preys on the skin of the heads and necks, and the long louse works on the feathers. A few drops of sweet oil, or lard oil, on the skin of the heads and necksis the remedy used. Provide a dust bath for the hens in winter, as they will then keep tho fearers clean by frequent dusting. The Uraln* to V**. As is well known, fowls will eat all kinds of grain. Do not confine them to one kind. Corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, and sunflower seed, given at different times,i make better food than to feed them on any one kind alone. Tho hens will always appreciate achange of grain, and will thrive better and bo more prolific, when given a variety. The Feed and Warmth. The warmer the poultry-house the less food required. It does not pay to feed hens simply to keep them warm. It] is cheaper to warm them by keeping pur cold away. Warmth is a luxury; addsnothing to tho fowl that tends toaprpflt,. and is given off as fast as it Is cretfted. Food should be given with a view tp securing some return tor It. It is not. economical to stop up a crack in the wall. of a poultry-house by mitigating its effects through an extra allo.wance of food,, but the crack should be closed in someother way, and the food lessened. Food is money expended and should bring back something for the outlay. i Turnip* a* Poultry Food. The-turnipHs not rich in the dementi necessary tot the purpose of tho nen, but. it promotes health and egg production, by affording a change from the dry food In winter. A mass of cooked turnips, towhich ground grain is added, will prove more beneficial than either turnips or grain alone. For this reason turnips can be used profitably for all classes of poultry, and the crop will save graip and increase the profits. All who make a specialty of keeping a large number of fowls should grow turnips. Qeese and ducks will eat them raw If they are chopped fine. ,