FARM POULTRY. 



181 



breeding pen for the following spring. 



Soft-shelled eggs are often caused 

 by fowls being confined, becoming 

 overfat, and from lack of mineral 

 matter. 

 Marketing. 



Uniform products command the 

 best prices. Purebred fowls produce 

 uniform products. 



Begin marketing the cockerels as 

 soon as they weight 1'^ pounds or 

 attain a marketable weight. 



Market white-shelled and hrown- 

 shelied eggs in separate packages. 



When selling eggs to the country 

 merchant or cash buyer, insist that 

 the transaction be on a quality basis. 



Ship or deliver eggs twice or three 

 times weekly. 



Small or dirty eggs should be used 

 at home. 



When taking eggs to market they 

 should be protected from the sun's 

 rays. 



Infertile eggs will withstand mar- 

 keting conditions much better than 

 fertile eggs. 



Lice and Mites. 



The free use of an effective lice 

 powder is always in order. 



A dust bath is very essential in 

 ridding the fowls of lice. 



In applying powder hold the fowl 

 by the feet, head down, and work 

 the powder well down into the fea- 

 thers. 



The free use of kerosene on the 

 roosts and in the cracks will exter- 

 minate mites. 



Whitewash is very effective against 

 vermin. 



Common Diseases and Treatment. 



All diseased birds should be iso- 

 lated. 



Colds and roup. — Disinfect the 

 drinking water as follows: To each 

 gallon of water add the amount of 

 potassium permanganate that will re- 

 main on the surface of a dime. 



Canker. — Sprinkle a little flowers 

 of sulphur in the mouth and throat 

 of the bird, and put some chlorate of 

 potash in the water. Also carefully 

 remove the exudate with the aid of 

 warm water and apply a 2 per cent, 

 solution of creolin to the diseased 

 tissue. 



Chicken pox. — ^Apply a touch of 



iodin and carbolated vaseline to each 

 sore. 



Gapes. — New ground and vigorous 

 cultivation will often remedy this 

 trouble. 



Scaly legs. — Apply vaseline con- 

 taining 2 per cent, of creolin to the 

 affected parts, and after 24 hours 

 soak in warm soapy water. Repeat 

 treatment until cured. 



Diarrhea in hens. — Low-grade 

 wheat flour or middlings is good for 

 this trouble. Also give teaspoonful 

 of castor oil containing five drops of 

 oil of turpentine to each fowl. 



Bowel trouble in chicks. — Well- 

 boiled rice mixed with a little char- 

 coal will often check this complaint. 

 Dissolve 15 grains of crude catechu 

 in each gallon of drinking water. 

 Rules. 



All farmers and poultrymen should 

 adhere strictly to the following rules 

 in handling their poultry and eggs: 



1. Keep the nests clean; provide 

 one nest for every four hens. 



2. Gather the eggs twice daily. 



3. Keep the eggs in a cool, dry 

 room or cellar. 



4. Market the eggs at least twice 

 a week. 



5. Sell, kill, or confine, all male 

 birds as soon as the hatching season 

 is over. 



Candling Eggs. 



Eggs are candled very easily. A 

 new-laid egg when held between the 

 eye and the light has a clear appear- 

 ance, the yolk is practically invisible, 

 and the air cell is about the size of 

 a five-cent piece. 



Unless the eggs are put in pickle 

 or held in cold storage, the air cell 

 gradually increases in size, and the 

 yolk becomes visible. 



Cold storage and pickled eggs may 

 have small air cells, but the yolks are 

 conspicuous. 

 The Egg Tester. (See ninstration.) 



1. Egg-testing box. 



2. Hole through which the light 

 shines and before which egg is held 

 to be tested. 



3. Chimney. 



4. Bottle of water placed between 

 light and No. 2. 



5. Reflector to be placed behind 

 light. 



An ordinary lamp or electric light 

 is placed in the box so that the light 

 shines through No. 2. The bottle of 



