Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 157, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1918 — VERMIN CONSUME MUCH GOOD FOOD [ARTICLE]

VERMIN CONSUME MUCH GOOD FOOD

Comparatively Simple Measures Will Keep Flock Free From Lice and Mites. DUST BATH OF IMPORTANCE Fresh Air, Sunlight and Frequent Cleaning Will Assist Materially In Keeping Parasites Away—• Treat Hens Individually. The back-yard poultry keeper in common with others must bear in mind the fact that chickens will not give adequate returns in eggs or growth if they are permitted to be Infested with lice and mites. Probability of such infestation is largely eliminated by providing in the poultry house adequate air space, lighting, ventilation, and frequent cleaning. These things, however, cannot be wholly relied upon to prevent either lice or mites. A readily available dust bath, more than any other single thing, perhaps, enables the chickens themselves to get rid of lice and mites. If such a place Is not available in the yard, a box large enough for hens to get into should be provided in the house and a quantity of dust, such as ordinary road dust or fine dirt, placed in it to allow the hens a place to dust themselves. Use Sodium Fluorld. To rid the hens of lice, bach one can be treated by placing small pinches of sodium fluorld, a material which can be obtained at most large drug stores, among the feathers next to the skin —one pinch on the head, one on the neck, two on the back, one on the breast, one below the vent, one at the base of the tail, one at either thigh, and one scattered on-the underside of each wing when spread. Another method is to use a small quantity of blue ointment, a piece about as large as a pea on the skin one inch below the vent. If mercurial ointment is used instead of blue ointment, It should be diluted with an equal quantity of vaseline. Any of these methods will be found very effective in ridding the hens of lice and should be employed whenever the lice become troublesome. Two or three applications a year usually prove sufficient. Mites Most Harmful. Mites are more troublesome and more harmful than lice. They do not live upon the birds like the lice, but during the day hide in the cracks and crevices of the roosts and walls of the house, and at night they come out and get upon the fowls. They suck the hen’s blood, and if allowed to become plentiful —as they certainly will if not destroyed—will seriously affect her health and consequently her ability to lay eggs. They may be eradicated by a few thorough applications of kerosene or some of the coal-tar products which are sold for this purpose, or crude petroleum, to the interior of the poultry house. The commercial coaltar products are more expensive, but retain their killing power longer, and they may be cheapened by reducing with an equal part of kerosene. Crude petroleum will spray better if thinned with one part of kerosene to four parts of the crude oil. Both the crude petroleum and the coal-tar products often contain foreign particles, so should be strained before attempting to spray. One must be sure that the spray reaches all of the cracks and crevices, giving especial attention to the roosts, dropping-boards, and nests, and the treatment should be repeated two or three times at intervals of a week or ten days. Co-operation in Egg Saving. The United States department of agriculture is promoting a plan for cooperation for the common good between producers and consumers in the matter of keeping summer-laid eggs for winter use. The plan is to have, as nearly as possible, every farmer and poultry keeper in the United States preserve, for home use only, one case —3O dozen—of eggs, and to sell one case to a nearby consumer to preserve. This plan, when put in operation, the department believes, will produce three beneficial results. First, it will coo

serve supplies. Second, it will equalize distribution. Third, it will stabilize prices. The water-glass method of preservation is recommended or, where water glass cannot be obtained, the limewater method. You can secure full information about the plan from your state agricultural college or from the United States department of agriculture, Washington, D. C.