SAxXITATION 55 



main dry on account of the good underdrainage. If this uii- 

 derdrainage is not provided, the Hoor at certain times will be 

 wet and many of the l)irds will become sick. Colds and roup 

 are among the ills such conditions favor. 



The modern i)Oultry house e(iuipment includes a removable 

 dropping board built horizontally and about thirty inches 

 above the floor. The perch poles are located horizontally and 

 about fourteen inches apart, and about ten or twelve inches 

 above the dropping boards. At one end is built a coop in 

 which to break up the broody hens, and the nests are made 

 about fourteen inches square and placed just under the outer 

 edge of the dropping boards or at one end and, like the other 

 equipment, are movable. By this arrangement the entire Hoor 

 is available for scratch material such as straw, stover or 

 leaves, and in this scratch material the grain ration is thrown. 

 If ventilation is needed in the back during the hot nights of 

 summer it is provided high up so that no drafts will be on the 

 birds. In the winter this ventilator is kept closed. The back, 

 ends and top are made tight so that there will be no drafts 

 upon the birds. 



Sunlight is one of the most powerful of disinfectants, even 

 a parasiticide for certain young parasites, and is necessary to 

 the health and contentment of the fowls It has the advantage 

 also of revealing filth in the building which might otherwise 

 escape the eye of the attendant, and remain to breed disease 

 in the flock. In cold climates windows must be provided for 

 light, as it would otherwise be dark when the curtain was 

 down. 



The scratch material or litter in Avhich the grain is thrown is 

 usually cleaned out once every three months, at w^hich time 

 the house should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, using 

 a spray pump. Whitewash gives a clean appearance, but most 

 practical poultrymen have discontinued its use, for lime 

 makes the legs rough and scales flying in the air are said to 

 sometimes fly into the eyes and cause irritation. In spraying, 

 use any standardized coal tar disinfectant dip. Use twelve 

 tablespoonfuls to each gallon of water or a four per cent solu- 

 tion. The spray mixture can be used much better when the 

 lime is left out. Lime in a dry state has no destructive action 

 upon lice or mites, as we have shown in this laboratory that 

 mites will live in dry lime for more than three days and, in 

 fact, till they die of starvation. 



The perch poles should be saturated with kerosene or a four 

 per cent solution of some standardized coal tar disinfectant 

 dip. This dip is of short lasting qualities, and for that r(^asnn 



