660 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



A TICK-PROOF FOWL HOUSE. 



By H V. Hawkins. 



In the tick infested areas of the North of Victoria poultry breeders 

 have been very seriously handicapped, because it has been almost 

 impossible for them to add to their already small stock. The late 

 drought which made feeding a costly matter tended to reduce the 

 number of fowls kept, and worse still, it gave the ticks an oppor- 

 tunity of breeding in large numbers, as undoubtedly they do in dry 

 seasons. At the present time it is next to impossible to rear young 

 stock. 



This prompted the Director of Agriculture to send me on a visit 

 of inspection, and, at the same time, to try an experiment which 

 I had previously recommended to the students at the Farmers' 

 Classes to eradicate this pest. It would not be out of place to 

 briefly explain the method adopted, which proved successful. 



An ^tna lamp, used by plumbers for brazing purposes, was 

 the main feature in the destruction of the ticks. Added to this 

 machine was a tray, immediately under the flame, carrying a sulphur 

 candle, the fumes of which as they rise are immediately carried 

 forward with the flame and penetrate all cracks and crevices, and thus 

 many thousands of ticks are destroyed. 



The greatest difficulty experienced during the experiments was in 

 getting at the ticks, which made their hiding place between the 

 heavy joints of the fowl houses. This necessitated the use of a crow- 

 bar to ease joints, so that the flames could more readily attack the 

 parasites. It was found, in many cases, that nests of ticks' eggs 

 were laid in between pieces of cracked timber thereby making the 

 job a tedious one, showing it is a mistake to build fowl houses with 

 such heavy material, and more so when such timber has many cracks 

 for the pests to gain cover. 



To efl^ectively cope with this, the fowl's worst enemy, I recom- 

 mended that the old houses should be absolutely destroyed, as it 

 would be quite impossible to make them tick-proof. 



It would pay the farmer handsomely to re-start breeding poultry 

 on sound lines, and at a little outlay. The accompanying plans were 

 drawn with one object, to afford a safe guide to the erection of a fowl 

 house proof against the tick, and are worthy of careful consideration. 



It will be observed that the house in sketch A is constructed of a 

 light material, uralite, which is nailed on the inside of a light wood 

 frame, so that there are no wood cracks or joints to harbor insects, 

 the uralite fitting close. The only wood seen inside is the floor, which is 

 raised two feet from the ground, having four legs to support the 

 whole. These legs, it will be seen, are standing in receptacles which 



