134 HOW I MADE $10,000 IN ONE YEAR 



Cleaning and Disinfecting 



The dropping boards are cleaned every ten days and 

 the concrete floors are cleaned of litter every three 

 months. In wet weather cleaning the drop-boards every 

 week is advisable. 



A long handled, square-point shovel is used, face down, 

 on the drop-boards, the droppings being pushed toward 

 the back wall; this scrapes them clean. A large hoe is 

 then used to pull the mass into a wheelbarrow, specially 

 built to fit under the edge of the drop-board. A wide rake 

 and a scoop shovel are the best tools for cleaning out the 

 litter, along with a spade to loosen any droppings that 

 adhere to the concrete. 



When the buildings are new we spray them before 

 birds are put into them. Thereafter the underside of the 

 roosts and crossbars and the drop-boards are sprayed 

 after each cleaning. When this has been done for sev- 

 eral months the wood becomes thoroughly saturated 

 and they are then sprayed once each month. 



We use stove distillate, a thick brown liquid, and mix 

 with it 5 per cent of creosote. The latter can be bought 

 in drug or paint stores. It is applied with a 5-gallon 

 compressed air sprayer which can be bought at seed 

 stores. 



The spraying is usually done in the afternoon, after 

 the first gathermg of eggs, to lessen the chance of the 

 birds gettmg their feet into the stuff and then walking 

 over a lot of eggs. This mixture is likely to cause dis- 

 colored feathers, especially in wet weather, but years of 

 use ot it has demonstrated to us that it will keep out 

 vermin and we chance the discolored feathers. 



