214 



iPOULTRY CULTtfRg 



With improvements of bmldings and means of feeding with 

 regard to hygiene we can expect more from our birds. It is 

 necessary to keep them busy and happy, and the best way to 

 do it is to keep them scratching in the litter for an hour or 

 more in the morning and evening. It is necessary for a bird 

 to have a certain amount of exercise, and this method is 

 conducive to good egg production. 



Fowls require an abundance of water at all times and con- 

 sume large quantities of it, and it should be clear and clean. 



Fig. 92 — A good means of protecting tlie dnnkmg water. 



Eggs contain about 65 per cent, and the flesh of the fowl 60 

 to 80 per cent, water. 



The water-troughs, protected as outHned above, prevent the 

 birds from polluting the water by the filth from the yard they 

 carry on their feet. The germs of many contagious diseases 

 are ehminated from the body by way of the bowel by the excre- 

 ments, and the pollution of the food and water is a fruitful 

 source of spread of the contagion. 



Contagion. — When contagion is present in the flock use 

 intestinal antiseptics. Birds do not apparently object to the 



