HANDLING BIRDS ON RANGE 141 



the House then thoroughly swept, and all the corners 

 cleaned out with a scraper, after which, with all the 

 doors and drops closed, it is subjected to a most 

 thorough spraying with Kerosene and Crude Car- 

 bolic, in the same proportions given in the earlier 

 part of this chapter. This spraying covers every part 

 of the House, and is done with a force pump, so 

 that the solution is forced into every nook and 

 cranny. The House is then bedded down with about 

 eight inches of fresh straw, the nest boxes made ready 

 with excelsior, and the mash for that day placed in 

 the two mash boxes in each section, under the drop- 

 ping boards. The grain is scattered in the litter, this 

 being all done before the birds are brought to the 

 house, so as to obviate the necessity of disturbing 

 them more than is absolutely necessary for the first 

 twenty-four hours in their new quarters. 



The birds having been left shut up in the Colony 

 Houses, a wire hook is used to catch them, and a 

 man who is accustomed to using it, standing at the 

 door, reaches in and easily catches one pullet after 

 another by the leg, gently pulls her to the door and 

 hands her out to the man in waiting, who drops her 

 quietly into a large box, on the Farm Wagon, with 

 an opening, provided with a slide at the top. These 

 boxes are carried right into the Laying House, when 

 the entire front slides out, thus releasing the birds all 

 at once, and any chance of struggling through a small 

 opening and injuring themselves, is done away with. 



