272 PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 



avoid the hen house, loose pieces of chain or metal may 

 be hung at the places where the fox would seek to enter. 

 Another precaution is to brush tar upon the wire fencing 

 of the yard near the fowl house. 



COYOTES: Where coyotes are plentiful, poisoning* 

 with strychnine as much as can be held on a small knife- 

 blade, concealed in a piece of flesh, is practiced success- 

 fully. 



MINKS, OPOSSUMS, SKUNKS, AND WEASELS: These 

 creatures prey upon poultry if opportunity offers. They 

 may sometimes be caught in steel traps. The skunk's 

 burrow should be sought and if found carbon bisulfide 

 may be used to destroy its inmate. This compound is 

 a liquid which exposed to the air, quickly changes to 

 an inflammable gas. Placing about two ounces of the 

 liquid in the burrow and quickly closing all entrances 

 will cause the suffocation of the inhabitant within. As 

 ths gas is explosive no lighted match or lantern should 

 be brought near it. 



Prevent the presence of any or all of the animal 

 enemies in poultry houses at night by covering pos- 

 sible entrances with wire netting, screening or shutters 

 of some kind. 



Reduce the chances of visitations of animals of prey 

 by keeping the premises near the hen house clear of 

 stone heaps or walls and piles of brush, old lumber or 

 other rubbish, which might provide harboring places 

 for the robbers. 



HAWKS AND CROWS: The winged enemies of our 

 domestic fowls prove very destructive in some localities. 

 One swoops down upon a flock of chickens, seizes a 

 victim and flies away with it. A good dog, if on the 

 alert, will prevent such visitations. 



The poultryman, if he is a good marksman, may use 

 a rifle or shot gun to reduce the number of crows and 

 hawks in his locality. Crows are not good mathema- 

 ticians. If two persons go out to a hiding place and 

 % one returns, the one who remains will very likely have 

 opportunity for a shot at the crows. 



Hawks have been successfully trapped by setting 



