INTERIOR FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT 



101 



j 



Water Vessels 



Water vessels may be of metal or earthenware, but 

 should never be of wood. Earthenware is liable to be 

 broken by dropping or freezing, but with careful handling 

 will last a long time and is fairly cheap. Galvanized ware 

 is usually preferred and where the flocks are large may 

 consist of plain 10 or 12-quart pails supported as in Figs. 

 208 and 211. The platform should be wide enough to allow 

 the fowls to stand and drink on three sides and the hole 

 in which the pail fits should be just large enough to 

 hold the pail about one-third above the platform, which 

 gives the fowls easy access to it, and prevents it being 

 tipped over. The stand should be high enough so that 

 litter will not be liable to be scratched into the water. 

 For small flocks and for use in the alleyway shown in 

 Fig. 181, one or one and one-half gallon crocks with 

 straight sides are very satisfactory. If to be used in- 

 side the pens, a slatted platform should be provided as 

 illustrated in Fig. 207. 



For winter use various types of "nonfreezing" water 

 founts are made. In extremely cold climates the most 

 practical plan is to use heated founts.. These are pro- 

 vided with a small lamp underneath the water vessel, 

 which keeps the water well above freezing temperature 

 and requires only a limited amount of kerosene for the 

 purpose. Small oil heaters or stoves are available for 

 those who wish to provide homemade devices. It is not 

 desirable to use anything that supplies much heat, nor 

 should lamps with glass bowls or chimneys ever be 

 used. Especial care should be taken with all such appli- 

 ances to avoid danger of fire. 



Where the cold is not too severe, it is possible to 

 utilize the "fireless cooker" principle in protecting the 

 water so that it will remain free from ice for a number 

 of hours at least. For this purpose an ordinary galvan- 

 ized pail of suitable size may be used providing for it a 

 wooden enclosure to be packed with newspapers, chaff, 

 planer shavings or similar material. The enclosure 

 should be large enough so that the pail may be sur- 

 rounded by an insulating layer two to three inches in 

 hickness. If properly made, the water vessel can be 

 emoved for emptying or cleaning without disturbing 

 the insulating material. So protected, a pail filled with 

 warm water in the morning should keep free from ice 

 11 day long, unless the temperature drops extremely 

 low. 



Hook for Catching Fowls 



For catching individual fowls nothing is better than 

 a crook similar to a shepherd's crook. It may be easily 



and cheaply made 

 of heavy galvanized 

 wire. Use about 5j4 

 feet of wire so that 

 when the crook 

 (about six inches 

 long) has been 

 turned on one end 

 and a loop for the 

 handle on the 

 other, the finished 

 implement will be 

 at least 4 feet long. 

 The crook should 

 be left wide enough 

 so that it may be 

 h e a vi 1 y wrapped 

 with cloth or adhe- 

 FIG. 213 DOOR FASTENER sive tape to protect 



FIG. 214 PORTABLE DUST BOX 



the fowls' legs from injury. A loop of lighter wire may 

 be used, attaching it to a wooden handle, but it is diffi- 

 cult to fasten it securely .in place and an all-wire crook 

 is not so easily seen and hence will disturb the fowls 



less. 



Home-Made Appliances 



There are various appliances that may be made from 

 empty cans, tin boxes, etc., which will answer the purpose 

 almost as well as the more expensive ones purchased at 

 the poultry supply store. It is an easy matter to overdo 

 the matter in practicing economy by the use of such 

 devices, however. The true test in every case is not how 

 much can be saved in first cost by the substitution of 

 home-made articles for manufactured ones, but whether 

 they are as good, as nearly wasteproof, and as convenient. 

 If not, then it will pay better in the long run to spend a 

 little money and have equipment that will really answer 

 the purpose and save feed and time. However, the handy 

 poultryman can make grit and shell boxes, watering 

 founts, etc., from waste boxes and cans, which may an- 

 swer fully as well as manufactured appliances. 



Handy Door Fastener 



The simple, inexpensive door and gate fastener 

 shown in Fig. 213 will prove very convenient under many 

 conditions. It consists simply of a wedge-shaped wooden 

 block nailed to gate post or do'or frame and adjusted in 

 width so that when the door or gate swings shut it will 

 bind on the surface of the wedge and will be held se- 

 curely until it receives a strong push or pull. On a par- 

 tition door or small gate, place it low enough so that the 

 foot can be used in pushing the door open. 



A Portable Dust Bath 



This dust bath (Fig. 214) is made from any convenient 

 box, with a barrel hoop for a handle, and four pieces of 

 wood for legs. Make it about 12 inches deep and not 

 less than 2 feet square, and set it in a sunny place in the 

 house, when the fowls cannot get out, and see how quick- 

 ly they will discover what it is meant for. 



A Safe Way to Poison Rats and Mice 



The difficulty of using rat poison about poultry houses 

 without en4a-ngeri-Hg the fowls, can be entirely overcome 

 by providing , the appliance illustrated in Fig. 216, par- 

 ticularly if the poison is mixed with corn meal so that 



