POULTRY NOTES I9II-I913. 



155 



Natural Enemies oe Poultry. 



One of the chief difficulties that the poultryman has to con- 

 tend with is the continued loss of chicks, and sometimes even of 

 nearly full grown birds, as a consequence of the depredations 



Fig. 63. End and top view of trough with cover open and slatted 

 front removed. Note hook which holds front in place. 



of natural enemies. It is safe to say that the magnitude of the 

 loss from this source is not anything like fully realized by any 

 one who has not kept an accurate account of all his birds. In 

 the experimental breeding work with poultry at the Maine 

 Station it is necessary to keep account of every bird on the 

 plant. It has, therefore, on this account been possible to check 

 up and form an adequate estimate of the losses due to the 

 creatures that prey upon poultry. A good deal of attention has 

 been devoted to the problem of how these losses may be cut 



