2kk 



although the two can be purchased separately. The price in 1976 was 

 approximately $3000. This capital can be regained i n 3 to 5 years if a 

 tilling program is begun and adhered to. Returns are in the forms of 

 reduced manure clean-out schedules (described in the.previous section), 

 increased value of manure as a fertilizer (also described above) and 

 the reduction of adult and immature fly control costs. 



An average of 33.68 min were required to till all four houses at 

 the tilling site. Average time required to till one 91.4-m poultry 

 house was 8.^2 nin (Table 78). Time values in Table 78 also represent 

 time spent moving equipment and egg carts out of the path of the tiller, 

 so actual time spent tilling was slightly less than the time indicated. 

 Some time was also spent keeping up public relations with the farm 

 owners , 



Approximately 0.25 1 of fuel and 0.\k tractor hr were required to 

 till one house (Table 78). All four houses at the tilling site could be 

 tilled once a day for 16.55 days on one tank of fuel (19.2 1). 



Using the figures given in Table 78 and assuming the cost of fuel 

 and labor to be SO. 26/1 and $3 per hr respectively, it would cost the 

 owner of the tilling site $640.58/year to till his four California- 

 style houses once a day. This translates to $0.032/bird per year, which 

 is a reasonable cost for fly control. This figure quickly increases, 

 however, if houses must be tilled more than once a day. Hinton (1977) 

 quotes tilling costs of $.03 to $.10 per bird as compared to $.06 to 

 $.08 per bird for the purchase of pesticides. His figures are for a 

 50,000-bird flock. 



