The Shipley Collection of Scientific Papers Volume 265 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ...a brush. ROOST AND NEST CONSTRUCTION. After the spraying has been completed it is of vital importance to have roosts and nests properly constructed. In some localities roosts suspended by wires from the ceiling of the henhouse have become quite generally used. While such roosts aid in preventing very heavy infestations, they are constructed in such a way as to make the destruction of ticks on them difficult, and some breeding usually take? place on the roosts themselves. Since the natural tendency of the tick in all stages is to crawl upward, and not on the ground, it has been found that a roost supported from the floor of the house and kept entirely free from the walls is by far the most satisfactory. It is also essential to hare the roost fitted together in such a way that it can be examined or knocked down with greatest possible ease. The accompanying illustration (fig. 7) shows a roost of this type. It consists essentially of four supporting posts either set in a concrete floor, sustained on a wooden floor by brackets, or driven into the ground in the case of a dirt floor. These four posts are made of two by fours or two by sixes according to the size of roost needed. The tops are notched to receive crosspieces of similar material. These crosspieces are in turn notched at intervals of about 14 inches to receive the roosting poles. The ends of the roosts and crosspieces should not extend near enough to the walls of the house to permit fowls roosting on them to touch the walls. The entire roost construction should be made of good lumber free from loose bark and with very few cracks, knots, etc. After constructing the roost it should be sprayed or given a good coat with a brush of the material used in spraying the chicken house. The...