SANITATION 25 



spread disease anew amang the flock, thus undoing 

 the whole of the disinfection. 



Disinfection of Buildings.— The first operation in 

 disinfecting a poultry house, therefore, is the 

 thorough removal of all manure, trash and litter. 

 If the roosts and nests are removed from the 

 building, they must be cleaned and disinfected be- 

 fore they are returned ; if left in the building dur- 

 ing the disinfection, they must be as thoroughly 

 cleaned as the remainder of the building, and the 

 disinfectant used must be applied to them as care- 

 fully as to other parts of the building. 



The floor and roosts should next be scraped, and 

 they and the walls and ceiling carefully and vigor- 

 ously swept. All parts of the interior of the build- 

 ing must then be thoroughly scrubbed with water, 

 to which lye has been added, and a broom or stiff 

 brush and then flushed out, using plenty of water. 

 The building is then reudy for the use of the dis- 

 infectant. 



There are three different classes of agents that 

 may be successfully used in disinfection. The dis- 

 infectant may be applied in gaseous form, as a 

 liquid, or heat may be utilized. 



A gas may be used in disinfecting only when 

 the building can be closed tightly enough to pre- 

 vent its ready escape. This excludes the great 

 majority of poultry houses ; but in such as it can 

 be employed, all doors, windows and other open- 

 ings must be tightly closed and kept closed for 

 several hours. After disinfecting a building with 

 gas the interior should be whitewashed, as directed 

 under the use of liquid disinfectants. 



Of the gases that may be used, only three need 

 to be considered here — hydrocyanic acid, formal- 

 dehyde and sulphur dioxide. 



