MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



189 



and this is the most important point, 

 every solitary feather must be made 

 soaking wet, else you will not make a 

 clean job of it. In dipping all fowls 

 having heavy plumage, like the Brah- 

 mas and Cochins, the feathers must 

 be raised with the hand and the water 

 allowed to thoroughly wet the bird to 

 the skin. This takes from one to two 

 minutes for large, well feathered 

 fowls. If a dry feather is left there 

 will be lice upon it. Do not dip the 

 head under, but when the *,fowl is 

 quiet, dip the head until alt is under 

 up to the eyes. When they will not 

 hold still, use a small sponge and wet 

 the top of their heads. No one who 

 has fowls troubled with lice need fear 

 to try this. It is very effective. 



You must thoroughly clean the 

 houses to get rid of the lice, and 

 paint the perches with a good lice 

 paint or liquid lice killer. 



Give the hens a nice freshly dug up 

 dust bath and they will keep them- 

 selves clean of lice. You can add one 

 of the good lice powders to the dust 

 bath if you wish. 



Sulphur for Lice Have you ever 

 had any experience with feeding sul- 

 phur to poultry for exterminating 

 lice? I have been told that sulphur 

 fed to poultry will make their feathers 

 smell of sulphur and kill lice. C. W. 

 B. 



Answer I never heard of applying 

 sulphur internally for lice externally. 

 It is not impossible, perhaps, that 

 feeding sulphur would affect the lice. 

 It has a tendency when fed liberally 

 to make fowls very susceptible to 

 colds. This is said to be because it 

 opens the pores of the skin too much. 

 If that is correct, there would be ap- 

 parently some reason in the idea that 

 sulphur taken internally was objec- 

 tionable to lice. However, it is better 

 to use external applications for these 

 parasites. 



Formula for Chick Feed The 

 formula for chick feed that you want 

 is as follows: 



Chick feed for little chicks from the 

 time they are hatched: 30 Ibs. cracked 

 wheat, 30 Ibs. rolled or steel-cut oats, 

 15 Ibs. finely cracked corn, 10 Ibs. 

 each of rice, millet, pearl barley, mus- 

 tard or rape seed, granulated or 

 ground bone, dried blood or granu- 

 lated milk, chick grit, 5 Ibs. granu- 

 lated charcoal. 



Mix and keep always before the 

 chicks. Also clean water and skim 

 milk if you have it. Note in the 

 chick feed tha't wheat, oats and 

 cracked corn are the chief ingredients. 

 The others are to give a variety, and 

 if you cannot get them, you just will 

 have to leave them out. The bone 

 and the dried blood are the animal 

 part of the ration and can be substi- 

 tuted by fresh meat or milk or clab- 

 ber or cottage cheese. 



A formula for laying hens which I 

 have used for years is: Two meas- 

 ures of bran, one measure of alfalfa 

 meal, one measure of beef scraps, and 

 in the breeding season one measure 

 of oatmeal or rolled oats. This mix- 

 ture can be used as a dry mash or 

 mixed with water as a moist (but not 

 sloppy) mash. I add a little pepper 

 and salt to it to season it. 



At moulting time I also add a quar- 

 ter of a measure of linseed meal, or, 

 if I cannot get that, half a measure 

 of cottonseed meal, and sometimes a 

 little tonic to help on the moult. The 

 linseed meal gives a gloss to the new 

 feathers that nothing else will give. 

 The hens should have before them all 

 the time good, sharp grit and oyster 

 shells crushed. The oyster shells is 

 to supply the lime to make the egg 

 shell. 



Broken Down Hen There are two 

 things I am anxious to know and I 

 think you can help me from your ex- 

 perience. I have a hen whose hind 

 part has been gradually swelling until 

 now it nearly touches the ground. 

 The feathers have all dropped out of 

 her head. I think an egg may have 

 been broken inside, but she seems so 

 healthy that hardly seems possible. 

 Please state cure, if any. G. F. M. 



Answer Your hen has what we 

 call a "break down." This is the re- 

 sult of a too fattening diet or too 

 much corn, and too little of the mus- 

 cle, bone forming and egg elements. 

 There is a large fat deposit in the 

 abdomen, bulging and dragging down 

 the skin and muscles, giving an un- 

 gainly appearance to the bird. It is 

 a question whether to diet her or to 

 eat her. I would 'advise the latter, as 

 she will not prove a very good layer 

 after this. The bareness of head also 

 indicates an unbalanced ration and an 

 insufficiency of "protein," the feather 

 making element. A little carbolated 



