AMERICAN POULTRY CULTURE 



of the " mysterious " diseases that attack poultry 

 during the summer can be traced to filth and 

 neglect Spade or plow up the runs several times 

 during the course of the summer ; hard, dry, baked 

 ground is not the most desirable kind for poultry to 

 range over. In cases of disease, sprinkle the 

 ground with air-slaked lime or a diluted disin- 

 fectant before turning under. 



August and September mark the beginning of 

 the molting season the time when all mature 

 The Molting fowls throw off their old, faded, 

 Period wornout plumage and take on new. 



Usually from seventy-five to one hundred days 

 elapse between the beginning and the completion 

 of the molt. Most hens lay very irregularly and 

 infrequently during the molt, for it is drain enough 

 upon their vitality to produce new feathers with- 

 out producing many eggs. The early molting hens, 

 therefore, make the best winter layers, because they 

 will not only have entirely completed the process, 

 but will also have regained their normal and full 

 strength and vitality before cold weather sets in. 

 Hens that commence molting in August ought to 

 be in laying shape again by November or Decem- 

 ber, and, if conditions are favorable, should con- 

 tinue laying until spring. Hens that do not com- 

 mence to molt until late, say October, not only 

 will not recuperate in time to lay many eggs during 

 the season of highest prices, but may also suffer 



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