236 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



Sunflower seed is rich in oil, having the same proportion as 

 flaxseed; otherwise it rates in value the same as grain. A little, not 

 too much, fed whole is well relished by fowls and is said to give 

 luster to the plumage in fitting birds for shows. Sunflower is greatly- 

 overrated for poultry purposes. It is an ungainly plant of no use 

 for forage and its seed is so well liked by the sparrows that the only 

 way to keep them till ripe is to cover the heads with netting. 



Clipping Hens for Cleanliness. 



My hens fotil all the fe.ithers hclow the vent ; they appear Iiealthy, but 

 do not look nice. What can I do? 



Take a pair of scissors and clip the fluff away from that part 

 of the abdomen, give a teaspoonful of olive oil, and notice of they 

 have any discharge that is of an offensive color or odor. Sometimes 

 it is nothing but pure laziness with hens of the large breeds that 

 causes this matting together of the fluff below the vent. We rarely 

 see hens of the small breeds so afifected. Whenever a hen soils her 

 feathers clip her at once, and, in fact, it is a good custom to follow 

 in any case. When hens are very heavily fluffed it interferes with 

 the fertility of the eggs. In such cases there is not anything for it 

 but the scissors. _ . „ , . „, . , 



Bov/el Trouble in Chicks, 



What is the cause of boivel trouble in young chicks, and what to do 

 for it? 



Bowel trouble in very young chicks is usually caused by a chill. 

 It is very hard for us here to believe chicks get chilled because, not 

 feeling the cold ourselves, we forget that chicks have really under- 

 gone a violent change from incubator to the outside atmosphere. 

 In the Eastern States, great care is exercised in moving chicks from 

 incubator to brooder oven, and also in seeing that the brooder itself 

 is warm and fit to receive the chicks. But we are, as a rule, very 

 careless in these little matters and the chicks feel the change and 

 suffer from bowel trouble. Sometimes, of course, the trouble may 

 be traced to the food, but more often it comes from a chill. The 

 best way to cure it is to remove the chicks to new ground at once, 

 or if in a brooder, clean it out well and spray v/ith some disinfectant. 

 Boil all the water that is given to the chicks and feed boiled rice 

 once or twice a day in which a little cinnamon is mixed. Do not 

 put in too much or they will not eat it, keep all meat away and just 

 feed dry chick feed and boiled rice. No oatmeal or any other cereal 

 but the rice; if chicks won't eat it, feed dry chick feed and boiled 

 water and a little lettuce. 



Quick Roosters and Laying Hens. 



Hoiv can I get the young roosters off quick and the hens to lay in 

 winter? 



These two happy results come from correct methods of poultry 

 keeping from the ground up. To get the cockerels off quick, they 

 must be hatched from strong-germed eggs, incubated properly and 



