ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF POULTRY 179 



4. Birds that are very destructive to poultry and not 

 of much benefit through destroying other creatures are: 

 Gray falcon, duck hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's 

 hawk, and goshawk. 



The birds that are classed as least destructive to 

 poultry subsist almost entirely on rodents that destroy 

 field crops and trees, but notwithstanding the fact that 

 they prefer this kind of food they cannot be trusted 

 where young chicks are being raised. Under starv- 

 ing conditions all of 

 these birds will kill 

 the young of chick- 

 ens, turkeys, and wa- 

 ter fowls. The spar- 

 row hawk, the small- 

 est and most beauti- 

 ful of all the above 

 birds, lives almost 

 entirely on insects 

 and field mice, but 

 will, if tempted by 

 their presence, kill 

 young chicks. 



In addition to the 

 above birds, ravens, 

 blackbirds, and 

 crows will destroy WHITE MINORCA 



young poultry. It is not unusual for the raven and the 

 crow to fly away with chicks that, are 2 or 3 wk. old. 

 This, however, will occur only where the poultry have 

 the range of the farm near the nesting places of these 

 birds. 



Well-built houses are a good protection against birds 

 of prey. Scarecrows and hawk traps are also sometimes 

 effective. The presence of a few guinea fowls and a 

 well-trained dog will often keep a fair-sized farm free 

 from birds of prey. Neither guinea fowls nor dogs will 

 do any harm to birds of prey, but the guinea fowls will 

 make a loud outcry whenever birds of prey appear, and 



