510 



COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



In the first place, the operator of large numbers of fowls, having 

 considerable capital invested in his plant, is more likely to have 

 a keener appreciation of the needs and requirements of his stock. 



Usually he makes a 

 thorough study of the 

 conditions affecting his 

 birds, for he knows only 

 too well if he is an experi- 

 enced poultry man, that 

 the conditions which 

 affect his flocks adversely 

 or beneficially are almost 

 immediately reflected in 

 his bank account. 



Owners of small flocks 

 are sometimes indiffer- 

 ent to improved meth- 

 ods, for no reason except 

 they do not take the work 

 seriously. Then, again, 

 on large farms where the 

 hatching is done in incu- 

 bators and the chicks 

 are brooded artificially, 

 never coming in contact 

 with hens, it is very much 

 easier to keep vermin 

 in check on the young 

 stock. They are not so 

 apt to become infested 

 until they are fairly well 

 grown, and not even 

 then, unless the buildings are seriously over-run with vermin. This 

 is quite a factor, indeed, because vermin is particularly fatal to 

 young chicks, and is responsible for all kinds of trouble. 



Realizing the importance of safeguarding his flocks against 



(Courtesy Wisconsin Experiment Station) 



Fig. 314. — Painting the perches with crude oil 

 or disinfectant to exterminate mites. 



