Rural School Leaflet 741 



Cleanliness. — The pen must be kept clean. The health and comfort of 

 the fowls depends very largely on this. Do not wait until the litter be- 

 comes wet and filthy, but change it as soon as it begins to pack. Provide 

 a small box of screened coal ashes or road dust in which the hens can dust. 

 This will help to keep the lice ofE their bodies. Whitewashing the house 

 will help to keep the lice in check ; if necessary, put kerosene on the perches 

 and over the nest boxes, refilling the nests with clean bedding. The white- 

 washing is very desirable, since it makes the pen lighter and cheerier, and 

 kills most of the vermin. 



In the above ways the pullets at a very small cost can be made comfort- 

 able for the winter. The one thing above all others which young poultry 

 raisers should remember is: Provide your fowls with wholesome surround- 

 ings and they will make it worth your while to keep them. 



vn. eliminating unprofitable chickens 

 James E. Rice 



In nearly every flock of chickens or fowls there are good ones and poor 

 ones; in some flocks there are very good ones and very poor ones, and 

 occasionally there are flocks in which 

 there may be found greater extremes 

 than these. Very likely the good 

 ones are profitable and the poor ones 

 are kept at a loss. If we are to make 

 money from our fowls or chickens we 

 must not keep any that are not profit- 

 able. 



Every chicken should be looked 

 upon as a living machine for trans- strong Weak 



forming food into chicken meat or 



eggs. Unless we have a good machine we cannot get good results from 

 the food. In the case of many flocks of chickens a division may be made 

 into three groups: (i) Chickens that are growing or laying; (2) chickens 

 that are not growing nor laying; (3) chickens that are losing weight and 

 not laying. All three of these groups are eating valuable food, and if we 

 keep all of them together they will probably eat more than they earn. 

 If we dispose of the third group the others may pay expenses. If we 

 remove the second and third groups, the first group alone should pay 

 a good profit. We shall have one-third as much work to do in caring for 

 those that remain, and the chickens will have two-thirds more room. 

 Moreover, the flock of good chickens by themselves will look far more 

 attractive, will grow better, lay better, and will be less likely to suffer 

 from disease than they would be if kept with the others. 



