OCR Text |
Show TO KEEP LICE FROM POULTRY One of Most Difficult Problems That Confronts Chicken Fancier Proper Proceedure. (By R. G. WEATHERSTOXE.) One of the most difficult problems which the poultry keeper has to meet is that of keeping his poultry houses and stock reasonably free from lice, mites and other external parasites. In keeping a poultry plant free from lice there are two points of attack: One, the birds themselves; the other, the houses, nest boxes, roosting boards, etc. In using any kind of lice powder on the birds themselves, it should always be remembered that a single application appli-cation of powder is not sufficient. When there are lice present on a bird there are always unnatched eggs of lice ("nits") present, too. The proper procedure is to follow up a first application appli-cation of powder with a second at an interval of four days to a week. If the birds are badly infested at the beginning it may be necessary to make still a third application. To clean the cracks and crevices of the woodwork M First Prize Black Cochin. of houses and nests of lice and vermin a liquid spray or paint is probably the most desirable form of application. A splendid lice powder may be made at a cost of only a few cents a pound In the following way: Take three parts of gasoline and one part of crude carbolic acid; mix these together and add gradually with stirring, enough plaster of Paris to take up all the moisture. The liquid and the dry plaster should be thoroughly mixed and stirred so that the liquid will be uniformly distributed through the mass of plaster. When enough plaster has been added the resulting mixture should be a dry, pinkish brown powder pow-der having a fairly strong carbolic odor and a rather less pronounced gasoline gas-oline odor. Do not use more plaster in mixing than is necessary to blot up the liquid. This powder is to be worked into the feathers of the birds affected with vermin. ver-min. The bulk of the application should be in the fluff around the vent and on the ventral side of the body and in the fluff under the wings. Its efficiency, which is greater than that of any other lice powder known to the writer, can be very easily demonstrated demon-strated by anyone to his own satisfaction. satis-faction. Take a bird that is covered with lice and apply the powder in the manner just described. After a lapse of about a minute, shake the bird, loosening its feathers with tho fingers at the same time, over a clean piece of paper. Dead and dying lice will drop on the paper in great numbers. Anyone who will try this experiment will have no further doubt of the wonderful won-derful efficiency and value of this powder. For a spray or paint to be applied to roosting boards, nest boxes or walls and floor of the hen houses the following follow-ing preparation is used: 3 parts of kerosene and 1 part crude carbolic acid. This is stirred up when used and may be applied with any of the hand spray pumps or with a brush. In both of these formulae it is highly Important that crude carbolic acid be used instead of the purified product. Be sure and insist to the druggist on getting crude carbolic acid. It is a dark brown, dirty looking liquid, and its value depends on the fact that it contains tar oil and tar bases in addition ad-dition to the pure phenol (carbolic acid). |