2*40 



manure and reduce fly levels. Poultrymen who think that rotovation can 

 be used as a shortcut to make up for lack of continuous sound management 

 will soon discover that fly and manure problems will continue to exist 

 even after the purchase of a tiller. 



Tilling once or twice a month will not correct problems caused by 

 leaking waterers or water seepage. in fact, tilling on an infrequent 

 and random basis can be worse than not tilling at all. If manure is 

 fairly dry and crusted over, periodic tilling will only expose wet 

 areas beneath the crust and encourage fly breeding. This is particular- 

 ly true during the months of July through September. 



In the experiments performed in this study, most tilling was done 

 in manure that was wetter than preferred. With sufficient time and 

 effort, wet manure can be tilled enough to improve its consistency and 

 make removal possible. This is not the purpose for which the tiller 

 was designed. 



If the decision is made to utilize rotovation as a manure drying 

 technique, it must be implemented at the right time to ensure success. 

 Implementation of a Tilling Program 



The time to begin a tilling program is in between flocks. As soon 

 as a flock has been removed from the farm, work should begin to properly 

 prepare the manure collection areas under the cages for a tilling pro- 

 gram. When the old manure is cleaned out, a layer of manure should be 

 left under the cages at a level that the tiller's tines can penetrate. 

 This is also necessary to maintain a balance in biological control 

 agents (Peck and Andersen, 1970). Tilling should begin immediately to 

 dry this manure base as much as possible prior to the arrival of the new 



