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MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Mites — We are fighting mites, but ap- 

 parently with no success. We hired a 

 man who makes poultry ranch spraying 

 a business. We paid him $10 and he 

 guaranteed to rid the place of the pests, 

 but they are worse than ever. He uses 

 lime, sulphur and carbolic acid. Is there 

 any way corrosive sublimate could be 

 used as a spray, and would it be safe for 

 the hens in the houses ? How long would 

 the hens need to be kept out after the 

 spraying was done? Am having the 

 worst possible luck with my chickens. 

 Have probably hatched 550 chickens this 

 year and have less than 200 now. When 

 a week to ten days old they begin to 

 droop, refuse to eat and starve to death. 

 What is the matter ? No bowel trouble ; 

 no cold; no lice, or only a few. Does 

 cholera ever attack such young chickens, 

 and if cholera, would they not have 

 bowel trouble? Would greatly appreci- 

 ate an immediate answer, as the mites 

 get all over me and drive me nearly 

 frantic. — Perplexed. 



Answer— The thing that is killing 

 your little chickens is not cholera, other- 

 wise they would have bowel trouble ; it 

 is only the swarms of mites. If they 

 drive you nearly frantic, think how the 

 chicks must suffer. The mites simply 

 drain the life out of them. The cor- 

 rosive sublimate can be put on with a 

 spray, but it is dangerous to do so, as 

 if it splatters into the person's eyes who 

 is spraying, it may blind him for life. 

 One pound of this costs $1.25 and that 

 is sufficient to make 120 gallons of the 

 solution. As it takes some time to dis- 

 solve in water, it is usual to dissolve it 

 in alcohol. I have used it dissolved in 

 alcohol to paint henneries and nest box- 

 es, and it will destroy all insect life. 

 You must turn the hens out of your 

 henneries for several hours, or until the 

 walls are dry. 



Insect Powder— Mrs. C. B. F., Los 

 Gatos— I do not think the "flea powder" 

 you mention would kill the little tur- 

 keys, but as you ask what I use, I will 

 tell you. It is here called "Buhach," and 

 can be bought at any of the poultry sup- 

 ply houses. It is made from the "Pyr- 

 rethrum" daisy and is perfectly harmless 

 to all fowls, from tiny canaries to mam- 

 moth turkeys, but deadly to insects. It 

 contains a small quantity of an essential 

 oil which asphyxiates all insects, fleas, 

 ants, lice, etc. It must be kept in an air- 

 tight jar or tin box, as the essential oil 

 easily evaporates. Next in value come 



the insect powders, the foundation of 

 which is tobacco dust. 



The kind of lice that are so deadly to 

 little turkeys are the same as the head 

 lice of chickens. They are to be found 

 on the heads and necks of the turkeys, 

 and also on the large feathers at the 

 edge of the wing. They seem to sap 

 the life out of the turkeys. I always rub 

 the "Buhach" powder well into the down 

 on the head and at the roots of the wing 

 feathers, whether they have signs of lice 

 or not, for it is better to be sure than 

 sorry. 



Ticks — In trouble again. We are 

 renting a place until we can build on 

 our own, and every building on it is sim- 

 ply alive with little brown ticks; they 

 bury themselves in the heads of the 

 chickens, the ears of the dogs, the feet 

 of the animals and all over our bodies. 

 What shall I do ? Please tell me and tell 

 me quick. A neighbor says lard and car- 

 bolic acid on their heads and spray with 

 distillate, but neither seems to do any 

 good so far. I am out of the chicken 

 business since moving here, except a 

 few for our own use. Yours sincerely. 

 -J. J- W. 



Answer — The easiest way to get rid 

 of them is to pour coal oil over the 

 buildings and then set fire to them, but 

 as you are in a rented place, that would 

 scarcely be possible. The next best plan 

 is to paint the place thoroughly with 

 corrosive sublimate ; it is what I recom- 

 mended to you for the plague mites at 

 your other place. Ticks are one of the 

 worst plagues in Southern California. 

 They are so thin and flat that they hide 

 between the singles and boards. They 

 really are not thicker than a bit of paper, 

 and nothing kills them but the corrosive 

 sublimate (bi-chloride of mercury). This 

 can either be put on with a brush or be 

 sprayed on the houses. You remember 

 that it is very poisonous, and great care 

 must be used in handling it. When 

 once your coops are free of ticks, or 

 other vermin, you can keep them so by 

 spraying with kerosene emulsion that I 

 have so often given. Distillate, liquid 

 lice killer, coal tar and other prepara- 

 tions of carbolic acid or creosote are all 

 good to keep out vermin, but I know 

 they will not drive out ticks. 



Depluming Mites — Two years ago I 

 started to raise White Leghorns, com- 

 mencing with two cocks and twelve pul- 

 lets of as good strain as I could secure 



