ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF POULTRY 175 



or to a flock that is free from parasites, all fowls brought 

 in from other flocks should be kept in a sort of quaran- 

 tine by themselves and specially treated for a number 

 of days. The place of quarantine should be a small 

 coop or cage that is free from parasites. For a period 

 of about 10 da. some effective powder insecticide 

 should be frequently dusted into the feathers of such 

 fowls. To do this, the fowl should be held in one hand 

 by the shanks, with the head hanging down, and the 

 insect powder should be worked into the feathers of 

 every part of the body and down on to the skin with the 

 fingers of the other hand. In especially bad cases, a 

 thorough washing should follow this dusting. 



Method of Ridding a Poultry House of Parasites. The 

 thorough cleaning of a poultry house that has become 

 badly infested with parasites is a difficult problem and 

 drastic measures are required. If the building is a 

 cheap affair, like a small coop, it is often best to burn 

 it, but burning would be too expensive in the case of 

 a large poultry house. Before attempting to clean a 

 poultry house, all the fowls should be removed to other 

 quarters, dusted with insect powder and kept by them- 

 selves until the house cleaning is completed. To get a 

 badly infested poultry house in good sanitary condition 

 and free from parasites will require several days. The 

 following treatment will be found effective, but in 

 exceptionally bad cases a repetition of the treatment 

 may be necessary. 



1. The house should be thoroughly fumigated. After 

 removing the poultry, stop up every crack and crevice, 

 so that the fumes will not escape. A number of sub- 

 stances can be used for fumigation, but sulphur and 

 tobacco are the ones that can be recommended. If 

 either of these are used they should be burned in some 

 metallic receptacle such as an iron pot or kettle, to 

 avoid fire. If these substances are moistened with 

 some inflammable material they will burn more freely. 

 Whatever material is burned to produce the fumes, 

 enough of it should be used so that the interior of the 



