| Show PREPARING POULTRY HOUSES FOR WINTER written for the deseret farmer by alfred betts member utah state poultry association this Is a good season season orthe year to begin preparing the poultry houses for winter in cleaning put out coops do not forget the corners where the lie feathers set get gilel tiled up and where there Is likely to be a crop of insects it is a splendid idea to cover the roosts boosts with sonic some insecticide etc the straw and litter from the I 1 c cops coops should be piled together and burned otherwise there will be a splendid breeding place tor for the insects that are very harmful to chickens spraying Is not sufficient a thorough renovation involves burning of all litter scraping painting and spraying of all the wood work of the pen for those hose poultry men who have a board floor I 1 would suggest that now is a good time lime to get in lots of road dust tor for winter use do not forget that eliat the poultry will need the dust bath and a good supply of dust laid away now will enable them to have a nice dust bath on bright sunny bubny days I 1 will also suggest that inasmuch as the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees now that it Is a good idea to get sacks and fl ill fill them with leaves there is nothing better for the poultry to scratch in this winter than these very leaves and unless they are procured now we will not have them when needed poultry men know how valuable it isto is to have a good supply of leaves into which to throw the grain so as to give the hens plenty of 0 exercise in getting their feed of course straw may be used for this purpose but frequently straw is hard to obtain of course poultry men must remember that grit oyster shells and charcoal in small boxes is an absolute essential my system includes a small elevated platform about eighteen inches above the floor and this platform is used for the drinking fountain and also aleo tor for the grit boxes I 1 am an advocate of the fresh air poultry houses these are open at a the front with a one inch mesh wire netting to keep out the sparrows my ay roosts boosts are in the rear under which I 1 have a platform raised about two feet afy my next boxes are in the corner also raised so as to give my fowls 1 all I the floor space possible bof t 1 2 dods af f any kind I 1 ha have v e a gir four inch strip fastened to the sides of 0 the coop I 1 also use drop curtains at night which are always dropped down on very cold nights also on stormy and windy days when not in use the curtains are raised and fastened with a hook to the roof one great advantage I 1 find is to have springs on r all my doors so that the door wIlI always close when one passes through gli the springs save lots or of trouble |
