514 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



added, the resulting mixture should be a dry pinkish — brown 

 powder, having a fairly strong odor of carbolic acid. 



The dusting powder should be worked into the plumage of the 

 fowl, the greater part of the application being in the fluff feath- 

 ers, near the vent and under the wings. See Fig. 315. Its effect 

 is noticeable almost immediately. The dusting should be re- 

 peated in about two weeks to catch the new brood of lice, which 

 are in the form of eggs at the first dusting, and are not disturbed 

 by it to any extent. Fumigation and spraying with a good dis- 

 infectant will destroy lice about the roosting compartments and 

 cracks of the house. Once the hens are fairly rid of lice, it is no 

 trouble to keep these parasites under control by a systematic 

 spraying. See Fig. 316. 



Destroying Mites. — Unlike lice, the 'young of the mites are 

 not hatched on the fowls, but in the hiding places where the 

 mites live. Consequently, to destroy mites the poultryman 

 should confine his attack to their breeding places in the structure 

 of the building, and not on the fowls. 



Spraying or painting the perches, nests, drop boards, and all 

 other interior fixtures, including the ceiling and walls, with a 

 solution of crude oil or other powerful disinfectant, is the surest 

 way to rid a house of mites. See Fig. 314. Enough of the liquid 

 should be used to thoroughly saturate the surface of the wood, 

 and to run freely into all cracks and openings. Frequently a 

 poultry house is so dusty that unless large quantities of the spray 

 are used, the dust will absorb the greater part of the liquid. To 

 overcome this, it is well to first give the building a good brush- 

 ing down with a stifif broom, and then follow with the spraying. 



It is a mistake to think that because a house is idle for some 



• time it will rid itself of mites, believing that the mites will starve 



where there are no fowls to feed upon. They will live for months 



without food, if necessary an entire winter, only to reappear as 



soon as a flock of chickens is placed in the house. 



Whitewashing. — In the minds of many, whitewashing means 

 slaking some lime in water and splashing this solution rather 

 carelessly over a prescribed surface. The result is all too familiar 



