56 POULTRY SECRETS REVEALED. 



of sand. Cement floors should be cleaned twice a year, and covered 

 with two or three Inches of sharp sand and six or eight inches of oat 



straw. 



Look after the runs. Unless you have the "no yard" houses — which 

 are often the best — you should see that the runs never get foul. If 

 the space is limited let it be spaded frequently — two or three times 

 per month — from early spring to late fall. Each time mix in a 

 liberal quantity of oats. This will start the birds digging, and will 

 also suply a limited amount of green food. Sunflowers or field com 

 might be grown, thus supplying both shade and food. If large enough 

 the runs could be sedded down in a stout lawn grass or alfalfa — for 

 green food is a necessity. 



All the foregoing is in the way of preserving health. 



» 



Don't dose the birds. 



Charcoal — especially the medicated charcoal — will usually keep 

 the bowels regular. But if the droppings seem too hard, a little linseed 

 meal, mixed with bran in a moist mash will be effective. 



In considering a few particular diseases it is best to say at once 

 that no very sick bird should be "doctored." Kill and bury it; bury it 

 deep; or cremate it. 



The most common and fatal disease of small chicks is the deadly 

 "white diarrhoea." In almost every case it is really an intestinal 

 indigestion, resulting from many causes — the most common being 

 chilling or over-heating. 



There is no "sure cure" for this disease. I have carefully tested 

 many alleged "cures," but have found nothing reliable. When a chick 

 cannot digest its food; when it 'pastes up," becomes droopy, and 



