276 MY POULTRY DAY BY DAY 
Then there is the matter of cleanliness. If you can scrape out 
your dropping-boards every day, do so; it will all help to keep the 
birds bright and healthy ; but if you can only spare the time to 
do it once a week you will be taking a little risk. Many of the 
biggest egg-farmers clean the dropping-boards twice a week and 
some on every alternate day. Obviously they require rather more 
attention in the hot summer months than in the winter. Regard- 
ing the spraying of houses with disinfectants, once a month, in 
April, May, June, July, August and September, is not too often. 
Once every two months in winter will usually be found ample, 
but one must always have one’s eyes open for pests of any sort. 
I spray the houses with a solution of sheep dip. It is non-poisonous 
as far as the birds are concerned, and a splendid insecticide in other 
respects. Lice and fleas are comparatively easy to deal with, but 
the “red mite,” as it is called sometimes, calls for stronger 
measures. The “mite” is white on the boards and perches, and 
red after it visits the bodies of the fowls and sucks the life-blood 
out of them. Hens can endure a good deal, but there is a limit to 
their resistance, and the red mite is the most noxious of the para- 
sites. To deal effectively with the red mite paraffin or creosote 
are the best specifics. The red mite as a rule hides in the cracks 
of the wood or in any niche it can find arefuge. The ends of the 
perches are favourite hiding-places. There they le in wait for 
the bird till it comes to roost, when they begin the attack, and the 
fowl, in the half-dazed condition that sleep brings, is a ready 
victim. Take great pains to prevent the appearance of the red 
mite, and if it should come take infinite pains to get rid of it. No 
hens can thrive, far less lay eggs, when a blood-sucking parasite is 
weakening it day by day. Watch and spray. 
Take pains with your feeding. Make sure that the proper pro- 
portion of ingredients are present. Don’t be content to throw in 
a few handfuls at random; don’t be persuaded to “ chance it.” 
Chance nothing. Let your work be thorough, almost scientifically 
correct. Hither weigh out the food in its proper proportions or 
use a reliable measure. Then see that it is properly mixed. If it 
be wet mash the need for careful mixing is very great, especially 
