POULTRY FOR PROFIT 145 



they can be bunched together in the shadiest runs, 

 and part of the houses left vacant. 



Nest Material 



Clean nest material is of vital importance in the 

 production of clean eggs as well as in the elimination 

 of mites. Shavings and excelsior are preferred to 

 straw, because they do not so readily harbor mites. 

 Tobacco stems in the nests will keep both lice and 

 mites from breeding there, and there are various 

 medicated nest eggs on the market which are said 

 to do the same thing. 



Ventilation 



Since fowls cast off the waste moisture of the body, 

 not through the skin and kidneys, as we do, but 

 through the lungs and air passages, it is easy to see 

 that ventilation is of vital importance. Not only 

 should the poultry house be an open front house, but 

 it should have circulation of air, that all impurities 

 may be carried off and a supply of oxygen provided. 



Circulation of air is also important as a preventive 

 of dampness, which is a more deadly foe to the health 

 of fowls than even close air. If the dirt floors of 

 your houses are wet by the rain soaking under the 

 foundation, see that everything is open and a good 

 current of air blowing through as soon as the rain 

 stops. Dampness and close air are the most prolific 

 causes of roup and other respiratory diseases, and 

 neither should be tolerated for a moment. 



Purifying the Land 



Fowls can bear more abuse than any other domes- 

 tic animal, it is said, and it is astonishing how long 

 they will continue to thrive on filthy soil, but there 

 is always an end. To keep fowls, as I have seen 



