Automatic Fountains Essential
On The Corning Egg Farm the supply of water is placed before the birds in automatic fountains, which work on air pressure, and contain five gallons each. The water feeds down through a pipe into the cups, the feeding pipe shutting off by the turning of a small cock, thus permitting the removal of the cup, so that it can be thoroughly cleansed each day at the time of filling the fountain, by the use of a small brush, or swab. Once a week a quarter of a teaspoonful of Potassium Permanganate is put into each fountain, just enough to give the water a slight coloring. It is a mistake to have the color so deep that it verges on the purple. This purifies the fountain and acts as a preventive of colds.
CORNING AUTOMATIC DRINKING FOUNTAIN
It is a very good practice also to occasionally put a few drops of Kerosene oil into the bottom of the cup and then allow the water to run in. The Kerosene will run over the entire surface of the cup and then rise to the top of the water. As the birds dip their bills to drink a small amount of the Kerosene is taken up on the bill, and, when the head is thrown back to swallow it runs into the nostrils.
The drinking fountains are occasionally thoroughly cleansed with a strong solution of Washing Soda. This, of course, is carefully washed out of the fountains before they are filled up and placed in the Laying Houses.