igo6.] 



Poultry-yard Fittings. 



28r 



Closed drinking vessels are made in various styles, but most 

 of them are self-feeding, and the principle in all is the same. 

 There is usually a reservoir with a saucer-shaped receptacle for 

 water beneath it, and so long as the reservoir contains water it 

 feeds the saucer, so that as the fowls drink, fresh water runs 

 automatically from the reservoir to the saucer. 



Another matter for consideration in connection with the 

 watering of poultry is the position which the troughs ought tO' 

 occupy. They should not be placed either in the roosting house 

 or in the scratching shed, and the most suitable place is in the 

 yards or pens. Exposure to the heat of the sun spoils water 

 for drinking, so that the troughs should be placed where the 

 direct rays of the sun cannot reach them, and in such a position, 

 that the water cannot become frozen in winter. 



Boxes for Grit, Shell, Lime, &e. — On the average poultry farm 

 there is no occasion for keeping such things as grit and shells in 

 separate boxes, and the best thing the poultry keeper can do is- 

 to throw an occasional load of gravel, old mortar, charcoal, and 

 sea shells (if he can get them) in the yards. Prowls need these 

 things, and often suffer very much for the want of them. They 

 require grit to aid in digesting their food, and the sharper it is 

 the better. They must have lime for shell making, and charcoal 

 is believed to be most beneficial in keeping the birds in a 

 healthy condition. All these things are inexpensive, and can 

 be supplied in bulk. 



Where receptacles for grit, shell, &c., are thought desirable^ 

 they may consist of boxes of any kind that can be obtained 

 cheaply, and perhaps the best place to keep them is in the 

 scratching shed, where they may be nailed to the wall. 



It is unnecessary, on the average farm, to supply fowls 

 with special dust baths in summer, because they much 

 prefer dusting in some dry spot in the yards. In winter the 

 hens usually dust their bodies in the litter of the scratching shed 

 when this consists of dry earth, sand, cinders, &c., and nothing 

 more is necessary for their well-being ; but in case there is nO' 

 scratching shed and the floors of the houses are of wood, it 

 becomes necessary to provide a dust box. 



This may consist of any large box filled with dry earth, sand^ 

 ashes, &c., placed under cover of a house or shed. The use of 



