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Title: Poultry for profit in New Zealand : a practical guide to poultry keeping in New Zealand and Australia for use and profit
Author: Merrett, J. B. (John Bouverie)
Published: Simpson & Williams Ltd., Printers, Christchurch, N.Z., 1926
Venus Worlds Record White Leghorn. Winner of the Papanui Egg-Layi, Competition. 1926-26, with record of 346 Standard Weight Eggs in 36! Bred and owned by H. William-, in Somerfield St., Christchurch
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
POULTRY for PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
A Practical Guide to Poultry Keeping in New Zealand and Australia for Use and Profit.
By J. B. MERRETT
Editor, N.Z. Poultry Journal (20 years) ; Manager and Proprietor of N.Z. Poultry Institute: Founder and Secretary of N.Z. Poultry Association ; Originator of Egg Circles in N.Z. ; Delegate to England with first commercial shipment of eggs from New Zealand, and Representative for New Zealand at World's Poultry Congress, Barcelona, 1924 ; General Manager Australian and New Zealand Eggs Export Federation.
192fi
Simpson & Williams Limited, Printers, 238 High Street, Christchurch. N.Z.
Second Edition
The first edition of this book ivas sold so rapidly that every copy is now off the market and a second edition has been prepared. The work has been revised and brought up to date. Since the publication of the first edition, poultry raising in Australia and New Zealand has increased considerably, hi the year the book was issued both countries were producing insufficient eggs to supply the demands of their own people, now both are developing an export trade, there is a greater demand for a book for beginners and this little work is again sent on its mission to help prevent the initial mistakes so frequently made when poultry-keeping is resorted to as a means of livelihood.
J.B.M.
Government Cool Stores,
Melbourne, 1926.
Foreword
TN that remarkable country, Denmark, we have most convincing evidence of the value of eggs and poultry for the enrichment of a country from intensive farming. The same may be said of Ireland, which obtains more money for poultry farm products than any other branch of its agriculture. It is scarcely thirty years since the Danes realized the importance of poultry. They shared in common the prices ruling on the London market for eggs averaging 20 ounces to the dozen. They saw plainly, that, if they wished to capture the egg trade they must gain distinction for increased weight and freshness of eggs. The Danes were assisted in this work by the Government. Instructors were sent to educate the farmers in poultry production, and a rapid development has been the result. In 1888 there were 4,600,000 fowls in Denmark. In 1914 this number had increased to 15,150,000 or four times as many as we have in New Zealand or Victoria. In 1914 Denmark exported 38,000,000 dozens of eggs, for which they received £2,000,000. In 1924 they sent to the English markets alone 725,000,000 eggs valued at £5,496,000. Danish eggs in the London market are in keen demand. They are clean, fresh, graded, and find a ready sale. The quality of the eggs has been the dominating factor that enables Denmark to capture the London markets. This little country about one-fifth the size of New Zealand or Victoria stands as an example to us. We have a better climate than Denmark and can grow our own foods. We have good local markets and have every facility for developing an export trade. This book is written primarily to awaken interest among farmers and others who desire to make poultry keeping an adjunct to their ordinary work. It is not written to encourage people to rush into poultryfarming solely for a living. It makes no pretence to teach those desirous of producing eggs and poultry on a large scale, though the lines laid down, and the instruction given, will lay a solid foundation for those who may later take up the work as their sole occupation. The writer is desirous of helping farmers, their wives and daughters, also their workmen and suburban residents who wish to supplement
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
their income, while the increasing number of beginners cannot fail to receive benefit from the advice contained in this work. There are many subjects upon which little has been said. It has been more difficult to refrain from writing than to expand upon these subjects. Most books on poultry-keeping are verbose and unnecessarily extenuated. In these busy days we want to get to the kernel of things as quickly as possible. We have selected those phases of poultry culture that we believe will best assist the beginner. Should he thoroughly master the principles laid down in this book, he will possess a knowledge that will make for larger and better things.
J.B.M,
Contents
1. THE POULTRY INDUSTRY:—Opportunities for Growth—Suitability to Augment Income — Advantages for Farmers and Specialists—An Aid to Health and Independence 11
Page
2. LOCATION AND BUILDINGS:—Modern Poultry Designs—Fresh Air Requirements—Accommodation for Laying Hens —Equipment and Conveniences 15
3. THE FEEDING OF POULTRY:—Elements in an Egg—Foods required for Egg Production— System of Feeding 21
4. SELECTION OF BREEDS:—What to Keep and and What to Avoid—Standard Birds Versus Mongrels—Constitution of Breeders and Characteristics of Layers 33
5. HATCHING CHICKENS:—The Hen MethodModern Incubators—Selecting the Eggs—Management of the Machine 37
6. FEEDING AND BROODING CHlCKENS—Essentials for Chick Feeas —Various Methods of Brooding—Heat Versus Cool Brooders—Care of Growing Stock 48
7. EGGS AND TABLE POULTRY:—Systems of Grading—How to Feed for Weight—Necessity for Coop Feeding—Curtailing the Liberty of the Table Bird—Government Experiments 53
8. POULTRY DlSEASES:—Prevention Better than Cure—Need for Cleanliness and Close Attention to Symptoms—Prompt Attention to Remedies 62
9. DUCKS, GEESE, AND TURKEYS:—Suggestions —Hints for Raising—Feeding and Care of Ducklings 71
10. HINTS FOR EXHIBITORS:—How to Prepare Birds for Show 80
11. POINTS OF A FOWL 87
12. STANDARD FOR JUDGING EGGS 88
13. GLOSSARY 89
14. INDEX 95
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND,
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The Poultry Industry
The closer settlement system has a tendency to create a greater interest in poultry-keeping. It is from the land our prosperity grows and the more we extract from the soil in small areas the more we contribute to the welfare of the country. Some astonishing advancements have been made in dairying, fruit, and other kindred industries from the soil, but few afford better returns from small allotments than intelligent poultry culture. In the past many have failed to make a success of it, simply because of inexperience and a desire for numbers. Success does not lie in keeping large numbers of poultry, but the making of a few birds keep you. The work affords opportunities for many who are unable to augment their income in any other way.
We are living in an age when a workman desires to supplement his earnings. One-third of his day is occupied in working for his employer; one third in rest and sleep.
What is done with the remainder? Is it to be admitted that one-third of life has no commercial value, and is to be literally wasted?
Pleasures and enjoyments make greater demands on the worker; how can he help meet them? How can his wife and growing family assist him? Poultry-culture is their most profitable resort. If, instead of idling the hours of one-third of one's life it were partly spent in poultry-culture, there would be such a reward that the whole of his family could participate in the work and in the profits. A man earns, say, £5 a week. From this he keeps his home and pays his rent.
Often half his ground lies idle, when it might be profitably used to pay the rent of the home. Any man with the aid of his wife and children can keep 100 laying birds, and when foods are nominal the clear return from them should give him an extra £1 per week to spend for the good of his family.
The expenditure to secure the birds is small, the houses
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND,
required can be built by one's own labour, while the care and attention amount to a profitable and interesting hobby.
If it may be said the suburban worker is losing his chances, how much more must the farmer be indicted for his neglect? On the farm poultry are kept haphazardly. They are considered indispensable to farm life, and yet little effort is made to keep them on approved lines. To see a farm without poultry is a rare occurrence. The need for them is apparent, and yet for no section of animal life is less provision made for their comfort and care. Birds are allowed to roost in trees, run at large, and are a menace to the stable and garden. They are bred promiscuously and, instead of being culled, they are allowed to die off, or kept long after their period of usefulness has expired.
It is not surprising that farmers' wives and daughters are indifferent to the care of the poultry when so little is spent on the conveniences required for successful poultry culture. How different does the Danish farmer keep his poultry!
The neat poultry houses and runs demonstrate the mo: profitable section of Denmark's farming.
It is gratifying to know that of late years many farmers have devoted some care to poultry, and now keep purebred birds, have poultry houses and runs, and make considerable profit from poultry-keeping as an adjunct to farm life. Still much remains to be done, for us, to make this an exporting country of eggs.
It is to the farmer we must look for eggs and poultry. While the specialist or suburban resident may contribute a fair share to the markets, the amount is small compared with what the farmer is doing. What a transformation we should see if, instead of inbreeding the birds and neglecting their houses and feeding, every farmer would give attention to his poultry on Danish methods.
Production would soon be doubled, and thousands of extra pounds would be circulated among the farmers. Their wives and daughters would look upon the poultry as their care, and no small amount would be raised from their efforts. The farmer has the greatest advantage for poultry keeping. He has the land and cheap foods, anil, with these in his favour, poultry could be made to pay handsomely.
The specialist breeder has his special work. This book
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
18
is not for his guidance. He will be familiar with much that is written here. Beginneis will find in the specialist a ready helper. It is in the specialists' interests to see that the beginner succeeds. Success will create a greater demand for breeding stock, eggs for setting, and day-old chicks. This book is written to encourage the beginner. Here he will obtain rudimentary knowledge that will give him a taste to acquire more information.
Poultry-keeping is not for those who are looking for an easy occupation. There is much detail work that demands the constant care and attention of the enthusiast. Too often poultry-keeping is judged by the work given in feeding adult poultry. This phase of the work is easy compared with the raising of chickens. No one should venture into poultrykeeping for a living till he has had some practical acquaintance with the work demanded in raising the stock. It is not the purpose of these lines to induce the beginner to take up poultry-keeping for a living. Its recommendations are for those who desire to supplement their labour or add to farm income by keeping poultry. There are many, too, in failing health, who will benefit by the exercise and open air life that the occupation gives. There is much to learn, and beginners are warned to go slowly, and acquaint themselves with every branch of the work.
By no means should the beginner give up his present work and trust to the poultry to keep him. At least three to four hundred birds, with suitable plant and some spare capital, are needed before one can venture to look for an income that will keep oneself. The farmer has every facility for the improvement of his poultry, and it is sincerely hoped that more up-to-date methods will prevail, so that production will be greatly increased.
The farmer at present represents that vast proportion of poultry-keepers as revealed by detailed census taken in New Zealand in 1921, when the proportion of those keeping under one hundred head of poultry represented no less than 98 per cent of the whole. In 1921 the number of poultry in the Dominion was 3,991,009. The statistics were compiled so as to show the size of flocks. The results give an average of only two dozen birds to the 145,993 households that keep poultry, of which no fewer than 61,459 were in boroughs. Similar results would be obtained from the States in the Commonwealth. The New Zealand figures are worthy of study as follows:
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Size of Flocks Number of Flocks
Under 12 43,913
12 and under 25 54,130
25 „ „ 50 32,180
50 „ „ 75 8,285
75 „ „ 100 2,102
100 „ „ 150 1,414
150 „ „ 200 422
200 „ „ 250 205
250 „ „ 300 113
300 „ „ 400 147
400 „ „ 500 71
500 „ „ 600 33
600 „ „ 700 16
700 „ „ 800 23
800 „ „ 900 16
900 „ „ 1,000 8
1,000 „ „ 2,000 37
2,000 „ „ 3,000 4
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
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Location and Building
While there are some portions of the country more favourable than others, there are few places in New Zealand where poultry-culture may not be followed with success. The advantages in some locations are those of climate or suitability in the production of poultry foods. These do not count in the limitations of poultry-keeping we advocate.
The beginner may start his work wherever he may reside. The workman can make use of his spare land, the farmer can utilise any portion of his farm, most suitable for the purpose. In the extreme south, or on the West Coast, where the rainfall is certainly higher, provision may be made for extra shelter, but there is no condition of climate for which protection cannot be made, so that any spare habitable land in the whole of the Dominion may be utilised for poultrykeeping. Here, again, Denmark’s progressive policy should act as a stimulus to us. It has a more rigorous climate, and is only one-fifth the size of New Zealand. Our land and climate would, under their progressive methods, be made to produce a great deal more poultry than they do. It is most important that suitable houses should be constructed. The various designs that are available in other countries scarcely apply here. Our governing factors in poultry houses are economy in construction consistent with the greatest amount of convenience and accommodation.
There are many farmers who will not spend even a few pounds on a poultry-house, and it is this omission that causes most farmers’ wives to be indifferent to poultry-keeping. The farmer who builds no shelter for the care of his implements, which are allowed to rust rather than wear out, can scarcely be counted on to build accommodation for poultry. To him they are considered a loss, and it is usually only through the persistent efforts of his wife or daughter birds are allowed on the farm. Certainly, poultry can thrive in thickly-sheltered trees, as thousands of them do. This system has some advantages, but it is not profitable, and it is for this reason so many birds show a low average in egg-production. Birds used to such treatment certainly grow hardier in constitution,
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
are free from disease, and require little or no attention, but the severity of the life during the winter is such that eggproduction ceases. It is only when the warm weather comes that the birds respond to egg-laying. The cold, wet nights and the draughts make such a demand on the constitution that it requires all the food consumed to keep up bodily heat and maintain the health and vigour of the bird. Egg-produc-tion can only take place when there is an excess of food over bodily requirements, and the more drastic the demand for this purpose the less eggs there will be. In winter all classes of farm stock respond more quickly to the warmth of shelter. It should require no intelligent effort to convince the farmer that a warm fowl-house is a good investment, as it means less food consumption and greater egg-production, especially in a season of the year when eggs are at their highest prices. To provide a suitable house for poultry, almost any class of timber will do, so long as draughts are eliminated and the walls are waterproof. The construction may be carried out by anyone who can use a hammer and saw. Timber is the material chiefly in use. Corrugated iron, rubberoid, or asbestos slate may be employed, if less expensive than timber. Motor car cases make excellent material for fowlhouses and can be procured at a reasonable price.
The suburban poultry-keeper may make good use of motor-car and plate-glass cases. The most economical house is the shed-roof or lean-to pattern. Elaborate houses with mansion or gable roofs are not required, and are only a waste of money. The farmer should select a spot that is dry with good drainage. The suburban beginner must just make use of the ground he has. If it is low or damp, the foundations can be raised a foot, and the trouble is remedied. When possible, the house should face the north, as this is the direction whence less direct winds come, and the most sunshine is assured. Should this advice not apply in some locations, the house should be erected so as the front is not exposed to the most violent weather. The size of the house will depend upon the number of birds it is desired to keep. The farmer, with his tree shelter and the daily exercise for his birds, will require less shed space than the suburban with his confined area The aim must be to give ample accommodation for wet days. On fine days the birds will not use the scratching portion of the house, but on wet days they will desire its comfort. If the building is narrow it restricts sunshine, and will afford insufficient floor space, and the birds will remain inactive, wet
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
17
and crumped, and this affects egg-production. It is money well spent to give the birds plenty of floor space. A few years ago poultry-houses were made almost air-tight. It was considered that birds should be kept warm by this means. The result was that the birds soon sickened and died. Owing to the temperature of a hen's blood being higher than our own, the oxygen is more quickly consumed. In an ill-ventil-ated house the hen becomes overheated, loses vitality, and, when she leaves the perch, becomes chilled, and catches cold, from which most poultry diseases develop. The open-air front is the best plan for poultry-houses. The birds have ample provision for warmth so long as they are kept from draughts and rain. A few years ago the scratching-shed attachment was considered a necessity. This has now been discarded, and the one house made to do service for laying, perching, and scratching. Supposing housing accommodation is required for 100 birds, the following dimensions will act as a guide. (If for 50 or 75 birds, reduce in length accordingly):
To accommodate 100 fowls a house is needed 16ft x 20ft. It may be divided, and run 50 in each half if required. The house is to be built on the lean-to principle. The foundation is of great importance. If built on the ground, the interior will always be damp. A few shillings expended in carting sand or soil for the foundation is money wisely spent. Cut off some 4x3 piles, 2ft long; piles should be of good timber, so as to last long in the ground. Bricks or concrete blocks may be used to better advantage. Around these run on the outside an 8 x 1 board. Fill up level with sand or soil, and you will have a foundation that will be free from damp. Piles can be placed 2ft apart, with 16 inches in the ground, and a good, strong job will result
You are then ready for the frame. Timber 3ft x 2ft is strong enough. The studs for the front should be 7ft 6in, and at the back sft. When erected, it will be 7ft lOin. in front, and sft. lOin rear, as the studs, being nailed to the plates, give' an extra 4in. Should motor-car or empty glass cases be used, it will do no harm to lessen the height a few inches back and front, so as to save cutting the cases. Raise the frames, and place on the rafters. The ends will be studded, and serve to brace the building. The roof may be iron or rubberoid. In either cases the roof should be sarked. Second-class boards or cases will do if economy is desired. Boards will save the frost drip from the iron, and prevent the cold striking the birds in cold weather. They will make a substantial support
2
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
for rubberoid; in fact, without them it is useless to use this material. If duration is looked for, iron makes the more lasting material. Rubberoid will last longer if tarred and sanded every two years. Iron, when tarred, is preserved from rust on the weather side and will prevent drip in the inside. On the inside, 4ft from the back wall, place an upright of 3x 2, and nail to the rafter. The other end may be let into the foundation about a foot. This will strengthen the roof and form a support for the dropping-board. Nail a 3 x 2 right through to these uprights, and another to the studs on the back wall, and you are ready to place asbestos slate or close-fitting timber to make the dropping-boards.
Some poultry-keepers discard dropping-boards. The birds perch about 2ft from the floor, and the dropping deodorise in the soil and scatching material. This system certainly saves work in cleaning, but it can scarcely border on cleanliness. The droppings, too, are valuable for sale, and by this system their value is destroyed. Poultry can be successfully kept without dropping boards. This has been fully demonstrated and may be adopted with advantage. The front of the building is easily constructed. Across the studs stretch wirenetting. Use lin mesh. It makes a strong job, and keeps out sparrows. A foot board along the top and the same along the bottom will usually suffice. If the locality is subject to much wind and rain build up 3ft from the bottom and 2ft from the top with boards. You then have an effectual shelter. The open front will admit plenty of fresh air and sunshine. If one end of the building is bolted, and you purpose to extend, all you have to do is to take out the end to the desired distance, erect your sides and roof, and you have double, or treble, the accommodation for very little expense. It is for this reason, when you commence to build, see that one end is where it can be left permanently, the other in the direction whence you can extend. Doors may be placed in ends or front, as desired. For housing poultry, three systems are adopted—the intensive, semi-intensive, and free-range. The intensive system would necessitate keeping the birds under cover all the time. In the suburbs, thousands of birds are kept this way. In the country the birds are out on free range, being confined to the house only on wet days. The semi-intensive system is probably the most profitable of all. The birds are confined to the house during the winter months, and for the rest of the year have access to a run, either at the front or back of the house.
A building constructed as we describe will enable the
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
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poultry-keeper to use whichever system he finds most profitable. Perches may be suspended from the roof and made of 3x2, rounded on the edges. They should be hung 14in from the back wall and 20in between them, or, if three perches are required, lessen the distance, so as to g>'ve 8 in on each side of the perch. Wires, or hangers should be suspended from the rafters. These will prevent haunts for red mite. The perches should be as free from cracks or rough surfaces as it is possible to get them. The red mite live on the perches. They attack the birds at night, and have their haunts in dark recesses during the day. Nest boxes, grit tins, and water fountains may be placed at the ends of the building. The nests should be deep enough so as to allow a Gin board in front, which will keep the nesting material secure, and darken the nest. Open nests are usually the cause of egg-eating. The nests may be made of kerosene or petrol cases. Petrol tins with one side cut out also make excellent nests as they do not harbour vermin. Hay or straw will do for the nesting material. Lucerne hay is valuable for this purpose, as there is some property that keeps vermin away, and, if changed regularly, the nest will always be sweet and clean. The grit boxes may be made from kerosene tins, and should always contain a liberal supply of ground oyster shell. Other kinds of grit are unnecessary, but in the off-season, when eggs are not coming plentifully, the birds may be given a supply of flint grit. The old theory that grit is essential to help to masticate the food is not held by leading authorities to-day. In the flush of the season the crop of the hen must not be monopolised with grit, but useful food containing the elements of egg-manufacture.
The water fountains are a necessity, unless running water is provided in a trough. A piece of half-round spouting is admirable for this. Should fountains be used, see that they are cleansed frequently. If neglected they soon become coated with slime, which harbours the germs of disease. A laying hen kept without water will immediately cease laying. An egg is composed of two-thirds water, therefore it is most essential that scrupulous attention be given to the water supply. A trough in which to feed the mash may be made "V"-shaped, or with a square bottom. If for 25 fowls, it should be 6ft long. One side 6in wide, the other sin, nailed edge to edge, makes a good trough, with supports at ends Ift long, nailed securely across the boards.
Other hoppers may be constructed against the end of the house. A lid on top and front, with open receptacle near the
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
tO
base, can be easily made by anyone using the dry mash. For small flocks economical hoppers may be made from petrol cases by standing the case on end and placing a board slantwise with sufficient opening at the bottom for the birds to have access to the mash. The material used in the flooring of the house may be of soil or sand. It will soon become friable by the constant use and scratching, and the birds will make free use of it for dusting purposes. The hen likes to dust herself. It rids her of vermin, which are stifled in the dusting process. As vermin breathe through the skin, the fine dust fills up the pores, and the parasites die. The scratching material to be used on the floor of the house should be pea, wheat or oat straw. It should be provided Ift deep, into which the grain feed should be fed. Scratching for food will give the birds ample exercise, and keep them warm on cold days. Do not leave the scratching material until it gets mouldy or very dirty. Clean it out and burn it as often as good judgment demands. The dropping-boards should be cleaned daily, if possible, and dusted with lime or fine soil. The cleaner the house is kept, the more healthy and comfortable you make the birds, and the better will be your returns. When the scratching material is removed and burned, the ashes are ideal for flower or seed gardens, and possess manurial properties. A certain portion of the ground should be set aside for green feed, and it will be found that the ashes are most useful in forcing growth, and beneficial for the working of the soil.
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The Feeding of Poultry
An American once said: “I can easily obtain men who can carry around two buckets of poultry feed, but I find it hard to get one wdio can take a bucket of feed in one hand, and a bucket of judgment in the other.” This remark carries much weight, as it would be hard to name a more important factor towards success in poultry culture than good and judicious feeding. To become skilled in the art of feeding implies knowledge of those elements that foods contain, so that they may be fed to produce the finished article in the shape of a chicken or an egg. To secure that knowledge one must at least obtain an elementary acquaintance of those elements of which eggs and foods are composed.
There is a close relationship in the analysis of the chicken and the egg, and to produce either a knowledge of foods is essential. If we take a chicken, or an egg, it is composed of water, mineral matter, protein and carbohydrates or fat. They differ slightly, but what is found in one is found in the other. There is a close resemblance between the foods, and the animal nutrition. It is practically the result of cause and effect. When we study the foods and then the finished article there is a beautiful harmony between them, and one can scarcely lay claim to being a successful poultryman that does not study this subject. There are some who will maintain they have had good results from certain methods, but they cannot explain why the results are obtained.
Practical knowledge is always to be desired, but judgment can never be exercised without the qualification of knowing why. Our practical experiences do not always give the same results. Foods, climate, and circumstances differ so much that you cannot establish any safe rules to follow. A feeding experiment will show certain results, while knowledge of the elements contained in the foods shows the reason why. We shall add to our knowledge if we get to know a little of the reason why certain results are obtained. It will broaden the mind and stimulate investigation, and help us to arrive at conclusions on which we can rely with greater safety. If we take a number of pullets all of similar strain, and egg-laying capacity, and feed them on different rations, we shall obtain different results. Suppose we take 20 pullets and feed them
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
a wide ration containing elements which would produce three yolks for each white, they would then lay, say, 380 eggs in the six months. If we test with a narrow ration containing elements which would produce two whites to each yolk, we would obtain 270 eggs in six months, while if we took a ration containing equal materials for yolk and white, but without mineral elements for shell production we would obtain 160 eggs in the same period. Now if we took a ration containing elements necessary to produce equally all parts of the egg, we would secure 1600 eggs in the same time, or twice as many as from the other imperfect methods. Feeding by the latter method would produce what is termed a balanced ration and this should be the aim of every poultryman. All experiments in feeding can only give approximate results but they serve as a guide to average returns.
The egg contains certain elements. So do the foods. If we feed one to excess we impoverish the other, and the complete work of nutrition is impossible. We cannot hope to obtain an exact knowledge of the elements in foods, and with exact judgment dispense them to obtain best results, but we can improve on the haphazard system of feeding without judgment. The words balanced ration are applied to foods so carefully mixed that they contain the desired elements in due proportion for egg-production. If there is an excess of fats over protein it is called a "wide, nutritive ration." If there is an excess of protein over fats it is called a "narrow ration." It is plainly seen that a knowledge of the elements of foods would give us a proper balance, and the ration we require for best results. If we take certain foods, in similar quantities, we can understand better what is meant. We will substitute the words "carbohydrates or fats" and call them "yolks." We will take the word "protein" and call it "whites." If we analyse, say, 1501b of maize, the result would be 382 yolks, 198 whites, or 1501b of wheat, the result would be 365 yolks, 273 whites, or 251b beef scraps or meat meal, 25 yolks, 275 whites.
Now it is plainly seen that either of these foods used by itself would be faulty for egg-production, while all taken together and fed in due proportion you would have a balanced ration that would give satisfactory results. If we were to feed the hens on maize or wheat alone, the extra yolks would be turned into fat, and this is how we get the expression, “the hens are too fat to lay.” The fact of the matter is the “hen can’t lay is the reason she gets too fat.” It is here where knowledge provokes judgment, and proves to us that a hen
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will lay no more eggs than the weakest part of the feed ration. Experiments along the line we have suggested have been carried out, and the results verified.
A great deal of danger exists in feeding of poultry when a knowledge of foods is not understood. If we take the various foods, we note some run largely to fats, and others largely to protein. Nature will help us in our ignorance if we feed a food too rich in protein, because the hen has the power to revert the protein elements to fats, but she cannot turn the fat-forming foods into protein. It is here that knowledge comes in, and judgment can be exercised. How often do we hear of hens having died through being too fat. It is because the ration has been too wide, and resulted in a storage of the fat-storing elements. Fortunately in New Zealand there exists a general knowledge of feeding poultry a variety of foods, and one counteracts the other. We do not see the ill effects the same as if we were confined to a selection of one given food. We sometimes hear it said that if a variety of foods is fed, the hen will balance her own dietary, but this is not so. The hen herself is not a safe guide. If we place a variety of grain before her, she will unhesitatingly select maize all the time, but this as her sole feed would be most injudicious. The hen likes maize above all feeds, and will discard all other grains in preference to it. Still, she simply shows that she is incapable of knowing what is good for her. She goes by taste and appearance, and to pursue her task will lead to her system being overcharged with that element for which the food is noted.
For the process of digestion, it is desirable that as much of the food as possible be prepared for quick assimilation. The hen's storage capacity is not great, and the more food she can turn to good account the better the egg yield. For this reason, we should not make a sudden change in the foods when the egg flow is good. We should feed a fair proportion of foods in mash or ground form. The hen has the ability to assimilate grains, but these take a longer time to digest; consequently in the process of digestion a whole grain ration will not extract the elements as quickly as if the engine-power had been applied. In the assimilation of food, the gastric juices play an important part. An old theory still exists that hard grit is essential for grinding the grain in the crop, but this has been disproved. Grit in small quantities may help to promote health, but to allow the hen to half fill her crop with it is false economy, and bad judgment. The crop should be filled with solid egg-producing foods. As the quantity of
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
lime in most foods is small, and insufficient for the manufacture of the egg-shell, ground oyster-shells should be supplied, and kept before the layers at all times. It is easily demonstrated that the hen that has the largest crop is invariably the best layer. To develope the crop feed wet mashes to the growing chickens at least twice a week from the time chickens are two weeks old. The mash can be discontinued if necessary should they approach the lay too rapidly.
As an aid to good feeding, exercise is essential. It is a recognised factor in the promotion of health and strength. Physical vigour soon deteriorates, unless the functions of digestion are assisted with liberal exercise. The active hen is often the creature of habit, and nothing will give a flock of birds a more dilapidated and unhealthy appearance than want of exercise. This is amply proved by the close confinement our birds suffer at shows when a few days in a coop produce ill effects. In winter-time the active hens increase combustion in the lungs, and the active hen will always be the warmer and more healthy than her idle mate. Judgment is needed in feeding at various stages of the hen’s life. As a chicken she needs special care. Thanks to our well-balanced chick foods and warmth-giving brooders, chicken-raising is greatly simplified. A critical time exists when the chicken is weaned from the brooders. Too often the times of feeding are lessened to such an extent that the young bird receives no more food than the matured. This is sure to work an ill effect. The maintenance of bodily vigour in a matured bird is more easily kept up than in the young bird. Young stock should always be fed to assure that growth is being madewhile growing, they can consume and digest more food than an adult. To give birds a set-back at this period is to make them stunts, and unprofitable. As the pullets mature, care should be taken not to use too rich a ration. If the birds are stimulated and forced to lay before they are matured, there will be a check in growth. We used to hear a great deal about getting birds to lay at four months old. Such an achievement is not a sign of judgment, but an indication of defective feeding. As maturity approaches, the pullet attains her most sensitive period. It is better to continue the growing ration for several weeks, rather than force for egg-pro-duction. The aim must be a gradual development. This will avoid the small eggs, false moults, and epidemics well-known to the initiated.
The system of feeding adopted during the moult will have a great effect upon egg-production. From experience,
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we find that during moulting period it pays to be liberal with health-producing foods. Everything in the nature of stimulants should be avoided. The moult can be hastened by a sudden change of the diet and lessening the amount fed, but care should be taken not to impoverish the bird's system, or the effect will result in great loss. By reducing the feed the condition of the bird goes down. The skin is loosened and the shaft of the feather contracts. The feathers are then shed and good feeding will reproduce new feathers. By this system of moulting care must be taken not to lower the vitality of the bird or a large portion of the laying season will be sacrificed. We have now bred birds to lay so persistently that the moult is imperceptible. The feathers are replaced gradually and instead of taking three months to idle through the moult, the well bred bird will lay right through the moulting period. Our record layers of 330 to 345 eggs (the latter being the world's record) have no time to waste in the replacement of feathers, for the bird that stops laying and moults early is a poor producer. She gives more attention to feathers than eggs. Keep the hens that lay on late in the autumn. Disregard their rough and bedraggled appearance. These are the best layers and most profitable. Sell the birds that have a glistening and new coat of feathers to obtain which laying eggs has been abandoned.
From our competitions we have found that the rations suited for the light breeds are not so suitable for the heavy breeds. Generally speaking, we would think that any ration possessing the necessary element for egg-production would be equal in results with one breed as well as another. This is not so in equal proportion. It is here that heredity comes in, and the characteristics of the breed are affirmed. Birds inclined to be fat require a narrower ration than the active breeds. The problem, as we have found it in our tests, is how to feed judiciously, so that the heavy breeds may not be impoverished in the egg-making materials, at the same time to avoid making fat. In the case of reproduction, there are few instances in Nature where the mother can sacrifice herself more than the hen. The system is subject to such a continuous strain during the course of egg-production that the natural offices of the mother for reproduction have been sacrificed. The health and vigour of the chicken will depend largely on the food given, while the power to transmit laying ability, type, and general constitution will depend upon the prepotency of the male. For the production of layers we cannot give too much attention to the male. It is often said that
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the male is counted the better half for production, but we consider the male is nearer three-parts in importance, and the hen and her food the remainder. Care should be taken in the feeding of the breeders. You can influence the quality of an egg in proportion to the way in which you feed the nitrogenous or carbonaceous ration. An onion, garlic, or an acorn will sometimes influence the flavour of an egg. Of how much importance is feeding when the chicken's life is considered? Don't push the breeders during the early months of winter. Let them rest. When the breeding season is on, feed to strike the happy medium, consistent with healthy chicks. Judgment should be exercised in feeding regularly and continuously when once a good balanced ration has proved effective. In time, quantity, and quality of feeding, the closest adherence should be observed, or the layers will fail to respond. In changes, of both hens and ducks at our competitions, the cessation of laying may be traced to a cause. The birds have suddenly ceased production at a time when eggs should continue. They are sensitive, especially during early spring; therefore a system should be closely adhered to. There are various systems of feeding, the chief among them being the dry mash (ground meals mixed and fed in hoppers), and grain system and the wet mash and grain system.
In every section of reproduction there is a growing attention to feeding. Among humans the hygienic system for infant life has become a science. No breeder of purebred stock can establish himself unless he studies the most approved system of feeding and has a practical knowledge of the foods most suited for the development of the young. There is a very close relationship between the production of an egg and the growth of flesh and blood.
The egg is the most compact and concentrated form of flesh and blood we have in the world to-day. It contains exactly those elements that build up flesh, blood, sinews, and bones. It is for this reason that convalescents are encouraged to use them. The egg contains all they need for the strengthening of the physical form. What a close relationship we have, then in the finished product, as we see it in the egg and the various foods that go to produce it! The foods available for egg-making are practically the same as those that go to maintain human existence. Nothing of an injurious nature can be used, because the hen, being the manufacturer, is most sensible to the ill effects arising from impure foods. For instance, animal food is necessary to produce the protein
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element of the egg, and yet if a portion of decayed meat is fed to a hen, ptomaine poisoning sets in, and death will result. In this respect the digestive organs of the human being will deal with poisoned matter with better results than a hen. The hen's digestive system works so rapidly, and the poisonous elements find their way into the blood so rapidly that the poultry-keeper cannot be too careful in his supervision of foods.
To feed intelligently one must be guided by results. Certain foods have certain effects. One cannot feed a given food solely and obtain good results in egg-production. There must be a practical blending of those foods that provide the complete elements of the egg. The system by which these foods are fed differ, and it is for the beginner to adopt what suits him best and gives satisfactory results. There are advocates of two systems—the wet and dry mash systems. The wet mash is the result of placing the meal foods in a trough and moistening them with water or soup. Pollard, bran, wheatmeal, maize-meal, ground oats, pea-meal, meat-meal, and barley-meal are the chief foods from which the poultry-keeper can make his selection. In small flocks the scraps from the table can be made the basis from which to work. If these are placed in a kerosene tin half-full of water, to which are added potato peelings and waste vegetables, they may be boiled on the kitchen stove. A good way to prevent the tin being burned or an unpleasant odour going through the house is to nail a piece of tin on two strips of wood, inch by inch, and place it on the bottom of the tin wood downwards. The piece taken from the head of the tin may be used. This will allow of an inch of water between the food and the bottom of the tin and will prevent burning. After the contents are boiled, a few handfuls of wheat or maize added will make the mash easy to mix. Those in a larger way should use a copper, to which can be added extra meat and grain for boiling. When emptied into a trough or mixing receptable, add two parts pollard, one part bran, and for every 20 birds one-quarter pound of meat-meal. If fresh meat can be obtained and boiled with the scraps, there will be no need to add the meatmeal. The whole can be mixed in a crumbly form, and fed to the birds. If available preference should always be given to skim milk for mixing the mash in addition to the liquid obtained from the meat.
Opinions differ as to the better time to feed the mash. Some advocate the morning, some evening. Beginners need
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not worry about the matter. Feed either morning or evening, whichever time is the more convenient. At noon, green feed should be fed the birds. Lawn clippings, rape, lucerne, or cabbage leaves may be used. A patch of ground for green feed is a necessity. Silver beet is one of the best green foods for winter use. If unable to feed at noon, feed overnight, so that the birds may have access to it in the morning. For some reason birds prefer green food to finish the evening meal. It aids digestion and is the great health protector of the blood. For evening, feed grain, wheat maize, oats, peas, or barley, whichever is adopted, or either two of these (mixed) should be spread in the scratching material, and the birds made to work for it. Should the mash be fed in the evening, the grain should be fed in the morning in the scratching material. The question whether the wet mash should be fed warm or cold matters little. In very cold weather the mash may be fed warm. Unless distributed quickly it will be scarcely improved. Feed the birds all they will clean up at a meal. About two ounces per bird will be required. The dry-mash system is considered a labour-saver, and in large flocks it doubtlessly is. Instead of feeding under wet-mash directions, the various meals are mixed and fed in dry form. The pollard, bran, ground oats, maize-meal and meatmeal are taken in certain proportions and thoroughly mixed and then fed in hoppers. The hoppers are so constructed as to ensure a continuous supply of the meal being before the birds at all times. The hoppers may be filled once a week, or more often according to the capacity or the number of birds to be fed. It is remarkable how fond the birds become of dry mash. Equally good results have been obtained at competitions with this system, but, for general average, it is admitted that the wet-mash system leads. Probably this is accounted for by the large proportion of the egg - laying tests being run on the wet-mash system. The systems of feeding laid down here are merely suggestive. The beginner with his few birds can try out methods for himself, and adopt whichever system of feeding gives best results. In all feeding, let there be full and plenty for the birds, and common sense used as to variety. For guidance, we give the analysis of several of the leading foods, also explanatory terms used in foods and formulae for the mixing up of dry mashes. Stimulants must be used with great caution. There is little need for them, and on successful poultry plants are unknown. If fed to the hens indiscriminately, there will be ill effects. Stimulants are forcing, and will have the same effects as meat-meal or fresh meat if fed to excess. The
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hens will lay eggs with blood clots in them; the oviduct will protrude and cause considerable trouble. Be patient, feed thoroughly, and, once you establish a satisfactory system, stick to it, and success will be yours.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT,
A glance at the following table will be of great interest to the beginner in noting the close relationship between the finished product and the raw materials.
Ash Protein Fat
Water (or minerals) (whites) (yolks)
Hen 55.8 3.8 21.6 17.0
Fresh egg (inc. shell) 65.7 12.2 11.4 8.9
THE RAW MATERIALS.
Water Ash Protein Fats
Maize .. .. 11.0 1.5 7.9 76.4
Peas 10.0 2.6 16.8 53.4
Meat-meal . . . . 10.7 4.1 66.2 1.0
Wheat .. .. 10.0 1.80 10.2 73.0
Oats 11.0 3.0 9.2 56.8
Barley .. .. 11.0 2.4 8.7 69.2
We are unable to give an analysis of pollard and bran, as we have no standard by which to judge them. They differ much in quality. Good-quality pollard, according to the latest standard of approved commercial foodstuffs, should contain .5 water, 9.2 fats, and 16.1 protein. It must be apparent to the beginner that a judicious blending of the raw materials will result in an improved quantity and quality of the finished article. An intelligent use of these foods will keep the beginner in the field of experiment, and, according to his results, sc he may fashion his system of feeding.
The cost of production can only be ascertained by a judicious economy of feeding those foods costing least, and, providing they contain the necessary egg elements they should be given preference.
Protein is a term applied to those elements in food which are present in all foods. It is seen in a highly concentrated form in the whites of eggs. It is composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, etc., and sometimes minerals. Its great use is for flesh-building, and how
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it achieves this end is seen in the development of a chick from the white of an egg. Proteins represent a very extensive group, and in every portion of food are present in varying degree. It is for this reason that mixed feeding is desirable, as in a combination of foodstuffs you are likely to obtain the necessaries that are absent in a single food. A glance at the analysis will show that in barley or maize protein is low, while in meat-meal it is very high. The hen will utilise sufficient protein for the manufacture of the egg, and, to maintain her system; all excess is passed off as waste. The words albuminoids and nitrogenous substances are synonymous with protein.
Carbohydrates comprise the group of compounds related to protein elements, but in which are found sugar, starches, gums, cellulose, etc. Carbohydrates in animal life are used to promote energy and heat; the excess is not wasted, as in protein, but stored as a reserve force in the form of fat.
Crude fat, although it is composed of similar elements to carbohydrates, differs chemically, and contains oils, wax, etc.
The nutrition ratio is obtained by comparing the ratio of protein with that of carbohydrates. All foods have a ratio value, and, for best results, this must be understood, to be efficient in feeding.
A balanced ration is a combination of foods that gives best results in whatever proportion they are used.
Concentrates is a term applied to foods that are rich in easily-digestible substances.
To understand food values, each food should be analysed, when it will be found to contain protein, carbohydrates, fats, etc. This process gives the total elements present, but is no indication of the food value of the substance. To ascertain nutritive properties, the palatability and digestibility of the foods have to be known.
FORMULA OF DRY MASH.
No. I—For Spring Feeding.
lbs.
Pollard 50
Bran 20
Ground Oats .. .. 20
Meat-meal .. 10
100
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No. 2—For Winter Feeding.
lbs.
Pollard 40
Bran 10
Ground Oats . . . . 20
Maize-meal . . 20
Meat-meal . . . . 10
100
Where it is inconvenient to mix mashes ready-made, poultry mashes may be obtained on the market. They are admirably blended, and contain useful ingredients not easily obtainable by most poultry-keepers. Large grinding and mixing plants are now catering for the poultry industry and a great deal of time is saved by purchasing ready mixed foods.
COMPETITION DIETARIES.
Our egg-laying competitions are a safe guide t > feeding for egg production. World records have been established from them both in Australia and New Zealand. The different dietaries are too numerous to give here but every beginner should study well the dietary used in a competition nearest to his district.
As the egg is the product looked for, a brief description of how it is formed will lead to greater interest. The two organs of the hen that play the important part m the development of the egg are the ovarium, and the egg-tube or oviduct. The hen has two ovaries, but, for some reason unknown to science, one is dormant, while the other performs the function of egg-making. The ovarium is attached to the backbone. Its work is to produce the cell that developes into a fullyformed egg. The eggs are held in a cluster, and the egg organ contains all the tiny cells which a hen is to lay during her life-time. They are but a small yellow globule or sphere—the size of a clover seed —but they gradually increase in size until the yolk most full-formed ruptures its delicate outer covering, and drops into the mouth of the oviduct. This organ is 18 to 20 inches long. When the fully formed yolk drops it is without the white or shell, both of which are formed as it passes through the oviduct. The first five to seven inches it is coated with albumen (whites of eggs), which is gathered in the oviduct, and stored there by the pro-
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n . To complete the work the yolk and white nd sealed. As it passes along it is covered with a membrane, and, finally, with a shell formed from the ( ' ali:i the passage. It is for this reason that ground oyster shells should be always kept before the fowls. Being rich in lime, they assure an abundant supply of the substance required for the egg-shells. When the egg is complete, the hen expels it in her nest, and the next yolk is already on the way to go through the same process along the oviduct. Often you will see eggs laid soft, without shells. This is due to injury of the oviduct, or an insufficient supply of lime, so that cracked shell should always be accessible to the fowls. Oyster shells are best. Some eggs are rough and irregular. Others are double-yolked (two eggs in one), caused through two yolks leaving the ovarium at the same moment. We have also seen two eggs complete, each with its own shell joined together by shell material, and others with blood clots. All these are signs of impaired health or bad conditions under which fowls are kept. Often the hen loses its power to develop the egg, and as germ after germ leaves the ovarium they wither and die and set up disease. A hen incapable of discharging the high duty for which she is designed is a subject to command sympathy. She lingers round, discarded by her mates, as if dissatisfied that she is unable to do the work expected of her. Later her blackening comb and dull eye betoken her unfitness for profit, and, while one could give directions for her possible recovery and restoration to usefulness, the beginner is advised to kill the bird. To save her means she may reproduce her kind, and, if in human progress, we are slow to adopt eugenics, the poultryman must have no sentiment, but adhere strictly to eugenic principles, and eliminate all birds that show signs of constitutional weakness, lest his whole flock be ultimately affected by the fertility of the unfit.
Kapai Brooder, 400 chick size; Price £7/10/0.
Ttlephiiiu- 71S0A
H. WILLIAMS
in SOMERFIBLD ST.. BPRBTDON, CHRIBTCHUHCH, New Zealand.
ner and Maker of the Famous
KAPAI INCUBATORS, BROODERS and EGG TURNING TRAYS.
rWO TRAY KAPAI INCUBATOR—234 EGG SIZE.
Dimensions, 54 x 33 inches, A'l inches high.
P in Traya . . £lB 1" 0
With Turning I ... £2O 0 0
Write for the latest free 18 page catalogue ■ full particulars, different sizes, and prices of both tors and Brooders. Forty-five Incubators and ninety-two Brooders sold during 1926 season. reater than all the other Incubator Agei oanufacturers in New Zealand put together.
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Selection of Breeds
What breed shall I keep? is the question usually asked by the beginner. Nearly every poultry-keeper has a leaning to a certain variety of birds. Some favour Leghorns, others Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Rocks, etc., as the case may be. A question of great importance is what strain shall I use.
Strain is the characteristic that tells. When we look over the winners of the egg-laying tests we find that almost all breeds have made a good showing, and nearly all of the popular breeds have won a test. It is true the Leghorns preponderate in winning, but this is natural, as there are ten to one kept against any other breed. In the single pen test at Bendigo, which ended 31st March, 1917, we find the following birds scored as follows; —White Leghorns 315, 313, 302, Black Orpingtons 307. The record makers of America, Lady Eglantine, is a White Rock with 303 eggs to her credit, and a Buff Orpington with 343 eggs. The records for New Zealand are 342 eggs from a Black Orpington and an Indian Runner duck 363 eggs for the year. Australia has also made a record of 347 with a Black Orpington, while England has a record White Wyandotte that laid 327. These tests prove that there is no best breed, but there is a very wide divergence in strain.
The same applies to systems of feeding. There is no set rule. On the wet mash system a bird laid 315 while another on the dry mash system laid 307 during the year.
In all of these varieties birds could be found that would be laying only 50 eggs per year. In selecting his foundation stock the beginner should buy from a well-known strain Possibly the object he has in view will help to govern him in selection. The suburbanite may desire eggs only. He wants a quick moving bird that will lend itself to confinement and produce eggs. The Leghorn family should be his choice.
The White Leghorn has demonstrated its value as an egg-producer all the world over, and for practical purposes it is hard to excel. The Brown Leghorn is an excellent bird, and though in competitions it has not won many laurels still there are instance' where the Brown Leghorns have attained
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the 250 egg standard. It is a hardy variety, a great forager, and a good egg-producer. The farmer usually has an eye to a dual purpose bird. He fancies the variety that is suited for table purposes. He likes to see the sturdy Orpington, Wyandotte, or Rock on the farm. A few years ago the farmer fell a victim to the egg craze, and discarded all his table birds for Leghorns. The birds soon got intermixed, and in two or three seasons they were little bigger than Bantams, and were neither useful for laying or the table. He was quick to perceive the value of the heavy breeds. The Department of Agriculture helped him by providing settings of eggs of the heavy breeds at a very small figure. The result is that the farms soon became restocked with the heavy breeds and the farmer while contributing largely to the egg market has provided a splendid supply of table birds. The question then of selecting a breed is entirely governed by one’s own choice. The Leghorns properly cared for will do well on the farm. The heavy breeds well cared for will do equally well in the suburban yards. What one has to avoid is the purchase of stock that is not the result of selection and careful breeding.
It costs little more to feed the 200 egg strain than it does the 80 egg strain, whereas at the end of the year there is a great difference in the profit. The labour, care, and housing accommodation are the same, therefore begin well with good foundation stock. Among farmers we still have advocates of the cross breed. A good first cross makes a good farm bird, but usually the birds are turned out and allowed to inbreed, with the result that in a season or two all purity of breed is lost. The farmer certainly gets stamina and good table poultry, but his egg supply suffers badly. The pure breeds are most satisfactory from most points of view. There is nothing in the crossbreds that cannot be obtained in the pure, while there is much in the pure breeds that can never be attained by the cross breeds. Our competition records are all put up by pure breeds, and there is no loss of stamina. The records attained are better than ten years ago. Breeders are always breeding from the best, and the general average is constantly on the up grade. If a pure bred variety is kept the eggs may be sold for hatching, and be a means of extra income, while if allowed to cross no one wants the eggs except at table market prices. In the pure breeds the pullets and male birds can always be sold at better prices than the cross breeds so that from every point of view it pays to keep a pure breed. Of recent years Professor Punnett has demonstrated that the sex-linked inheritance birds obtained by
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crosses from pure bred birds lay as well as the pure breeds. These crosses are representatives of pure breeds and must not be confused with crosses of birds of the mongrel type. The great advantage of the sex-linked inheritance system is the sex may be known on the day of hatching. This is done by a determination of colour chiefly gold and silver. The female chicks hatch with an infallible guide in the colour of the feathers; the male chicks have a definite sign of an opposite colour. Special guidance in breeding of this kind may be obtained from Professor Punnett’s book on “Sex-Linked Inheritance.”
Standard bred birds are always a pleasure to look at, and the owner may take a pride in culling and selecting his flock for improvement. There are certain indications in the bird that posseses laying ability. They form a good guide for the beginner who should have the type of bird that makes for good egg-production constantly in his mind.
The eye of the bird is a strong indication of constitution. If bright and protruding it is certain the bird will be active and full of vitality. Either for a breeder or a layer constitution is essential. The eye dull and sunken is always a sure sign that the bird is a weakling. The body should be deep and long. It should contain great depth from the back down through the abdomen. The legs should be short and stand apart. These are signs of laying capacity. Study one of your best layers. Endeavour to get into your mind that type of bird we aim to describe. The feathering should be close, while the abdomen should be soft, silky to the touch indicating an absence of fat forming properties. It is possible that the beginner may find a difficulty in the selection of the best layers, but he will have no such trouble in culling the wasters, and that is what every beginner wants to be able to do. The waster that hangs around listlessly, and lacks vitality is easily discerned as a non-paying fowl, and should be sold in the market. The trouble is to find the drone among the liveliest and brightest birds; the birds that have a fine red comb, clean plumage, and a make-believe business appearance. That’s the one to detect. Here is information that is worth many times the price of this book. Take the bird suspected, in fact handle every bird in the height of the laying season which is August, September or October. If she has the laying bones well apart she is at least a layer in the natural season. Should the lay bones be hard and close, and the abdomen firm as if lined with fat, send her off to the market. The bird that cannot lay in September is a drone,
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
and useless for profit-making. Thousands of these birds are kept in poultrymen’s yards and upon our farms, kept even for three or four years, and they never lay enough eggs to pay for their food. Allow no sentiment to stand in the way. The beginner who wishes to make profits must learn how to cull. The lay or pelvic bones are no indication to the exact number of eggs a bird will lay in the year, but they are a guide in the laying season to show which birds do not lay. To be able to detect the culls, the non-producers, is to ensure an economy in the food bill which results in larger profits. Our competitions demonstrate that some birds possess all the apparent characteristics of layers and deceive by appearance even the most discerning expert. In a general sense the pelvic bones will reveal the waster which must be discarded.
Experience will soon teach the beginner his best layers. To keep poultry and devote no study to the subject is a losing policy. The field is wide and open for the investigation of the best brains. Poultry-keeping is a science, and so far the best of men have merely scratched the surface of the subject. Practical experience, and a studious mind will unlock the profits concealed in poultry-keeping.
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Hatching Chickens
To-day in certain parts of Egypt are to be found the old incubator ovens that have been in existence for centuries. To the ancients hatching chickens proved a charming occupation, and no small amount of scientific thought was devoted to the subject. It soon developed into a cult and the secrets of hatching became known only to a few. That women were interested and took a prominent part in poultry in those days is forcibly demonstrated in the old carvings and hieroglyphics to be found in Egypt of women carrying baskets of eggs to the ovens and baskets of chickens from the hatcheries.
All through the ages women have proved themselves the best attendants on chickens, and the most interested in chick life. The knowledge of hatching was jealously guarded, and the information handed down from father to son. In their crudity these old ovens were remarkably successful. They had no thermometers, but the experienced attendant could tell to a degree the temperature at which the eggs had to be kept. Thousands and tens of thousands of eggs were placed in these hatcheries, some of which would hold 100,000 eggs. One oven would serve the purpose for poultry-keepers for miles around. Each would come with the eggs he desired to have hatched and in three weeks’ time would return for the chicks. The Chinese have a secret system, and in China to-day there are places where chickens are hatched by the thousand. From Egyptian and Chinese methods we have perfected the incubators of to-day. These are now being built to hold thousands of eggs, and the old Egyptian method of hatching for others has come into favour again. In some localities poultrymen who own hundreds of layers never hatch a chicken, this class of work being relegated to specialists, who hatch as many as a quarter of a million chickens in a season. In many parts of America the poultryman never hatches any chickens. He buys his requirements from the hatchery. By this system he loses the advancement ensured by selection according to strain. It is this selection that has given New Zealand and Australia the fine average demonstrated in laying tests.
Modem artificial incubation dates back to 170 years ago, when Mon. de Reamur, the celebrated scientific inquirer of
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his day, devoted much attention to the subject, being inspired upon the wastage of egg production through the broodiness of hens. The first machines were necessarily crude, but year after year saw an improvement, and to-day we have the incubator as near perfection as it is possible for skill to make it. Even now we have persons declaiming against it, and they maintain that chickens hatched by the hen are stronger and better than those hatched artificially. This opinion can be held only by those who have failed to attribute the stronger chickens to the care and attention given by the hen subsequent to the hatching. In any case we cannot do without artificial incubation. It would be impossible to obtain sufficient broody hens to meet our needs. In the summer many hens go broody, but it is then too late to hatch chicks for winter layers. The winter supply would be insignificant were it not for the thousands of chickens hatched early in the spring with incubators. In England Mr Hearson proved to be the pioneer of incubators. It was he who discovered the sensitive operations of the capsule regulator.
Farmers usually depend on broody hens, and the few eggs that come in from the country during winter is proof that, were it not for the chickens hatched by incubators, eggs would be at famine prices. On the other hand, the late hatching by farmers gives us the winter supply of the table chickens without which the market would be depleted. There is a great deal of curiosity surrounding the incubator, and no beginner is satisfied until he has used one and seen for himself the little chicks bursting from the shell. Even though he may discard the machine later and fall back on day-old chicks to meet his demands, he likes to know something of the artificial method of hatching chicks. It is significant that if there is one thing in which the beginner usually succeeds in poultry it is hatching chickens. He is so keen, so enthusiastic, that he gives the machine no end of patient attention, and usually gets better results than the experienced hand. Whether the chicks are cared for and brooded successfully is another phase of the subject.
There are three systems of hatching chickens artificially —the hot-water, hot-air, and electricity. The last in largely in the experimental stage. Once either of the other systems is mastered, hatching by electricity will be easily acquired, as it is merely a system of additional convenience. The hotwater machines usually find most supporters, though the hotair machine advocates claim equal results. The systems are championed more by the manufacturers than by poultrymen.
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The chief mistake beginners make is the purchase of a small machine. For a 40 or 50-egg machine, the results from the three weeks’ attention, oil, and first cost are hardly worth the trouble. There are sure to be infertiles and a number that will not hatch, so that for 20 or 30 chickens the beginner is poorly repaid. For brooding he has the same trouble, same work, same oil and attention for 30 chicks as if the number were 60. Still, one gains experience, and possibly it is just as well it is gained in this way. It will not be long before the larger machine is demanded and the increased production obtained. The beginner must not look for every egg to hatch. He will meet his disappointments. Makers of incubators usually furnish a list of 90 to 98 per cent hatches, but these are exceptions. After several years’ experience, covering thousands of chickens hatched each year, we consider 50 per cent, of all eggs set a fair thing to expect, 60 per cent, remarkably good, 70 per cent, fortunate, 80 per cent, a rarity, and 90 per cent, ground for doubting accuracy. Taking one hatch with the other, the general average will be between 50 and 60. Many beginners will feel encouraged to know this is the average of those who hatch thousands of chickens yearly. When the machine arrives, unpack, and read carefully the manufacturer’s instructions. These do not contain all there is to know on incubation, but they are a guide to the beginner. The machine should then be set in a room well protected from draught, and ventilated. If advised to dig in the ground for an incubator room, or excavate a bank or cement a floor, pay no heed. The beginner can hatch in any old shed, unused room in the house, or stable or grain shed so long as the draught does not affect the lamp. It is better if the sides do not touch the wall of the room. If kept an inch away it will avoid vibrations if any heavy traffic is near. Set the machine level, especially if it is a hot-water machine. One of the troubles of hot-water pipe machines is the bubbling of water that takes place at the exhaust pipe. Manufacturers emphasise the need of keeping the machine level, but the cause of much of this trouble is due to air pockets in the pipes. This explanation appears now for the first time in print, as we have never seen a book of instructions refer to it. When filling the machine with water, keep the cup full all the time. Do not pour in a little water, then allow it to run in the machine and the air to follow it. Keep the cup supplied till the pipes are full. This will drive out all the air, and enable the water to circulate freely. As the water in the cup evaporates, refill before all the water disappears, and no trouble will be experi-
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enced with the heated water. The beginner should run the machine a day or two and learn how to regulate and keep the temperature even. When the temperature is steady at 102 the eggs can be set in the machine. They should be carefully examined before a strong light and all eggs with cracked shells, spotted, checked, and all under 2ozs. and over 2iozs. should be rejected. We prefer the eggs to be inclined at a slight angle, with the large end up. If this is done it will assist the air cell to form in correct position. After the third or fourth day the eggs may lie flat on the tray or slightly inclined. For the first day, gradually bring the heat up to 102. Do not be in a hurry to see this done. It will take several hours to heat the eggs through, and your temperature will fall through the presence of the eggs in the machine. Do not be impatient and turn the wick up higher. At the end of the third day the temperature should stand at 103. The eggs can then be taken out and gently turned. Now be careful in this operation. Many germs are ruined at this stage. Gently roll or turn the eggs, and then replace in the machine. If the eggs are tested under a good light it will be found the germ has developed. Fine blood lines can be discerned. These are very sensitive, and it is for this reason care must be exercised in turning. Should the blood vessels be ruptured the embryo will bleed to death. The blood line seen around the eggs at subsequent testings is proof of this. Daily in the early part of the season, or twice a day during the warm weather, the eggs should be cooled until the eighteenth day, when the machine may be closed till the hatch is complete. To insure successful hatching and good strong chickens, close attention should be given to the following chapter.
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The Breeders
It is taken for granted the birds selected are strong in constitution—weak birds have the tendency to produce weak stock, so that any bird lacking in vitality should be discarded, whatever other qualifications it may possess. The male bird must be strong and full of vigour. The feeding should be of the best. Forcing foods are to be avoided. Freedom should be given the birds, and especially is exercise to be encouraged. The inside of their house or scratching area should have ample material in which to scatter the grain, so that the birds will have to work for the food. Green food should be supplied, either in the form of chaffed lucerne, watercress, grass, rape or cabbages. Pure drinking water must be provided. The grain should consist of wheat for the fats, oats for protein, and maize for mineral elements and the thickening of the albumen. Where you see an egg thin and watery in the white and pale and soft in the yolk, you may know the birds are not going to give you healthy chickens. Break eggs in a saucer, and if the whites are thin, change the feeding. The white contains the body-forming element of the chick, so that it is most important that the albumen is dense or like a thick jelly substance. The yolk provides mineral elements, and gives food value to the chick for four or five days after hatching. Too much attention cannot be given to the care of the breeders.
As the eggs are gathered, store them in a warm place not exceeding 60 degrees. If they are being saved during the cold and frosty weather, they should be covered with a blanket. If kept slightly inclined while waiting to be placed in the machine, they cause no strain on the fine texture surrounding the egg-cell. There is no occasion to alter their position unless they are being kept for a lengthy period. Stale eggs do not give good results. The sooner eggs are placed in the machine the better they will hatch. Should you require a few eggs to fill the machine, you may set overnight and add all the following day’s laying to complete the required number. Do not set eggs small in size and weighing
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under 2oz. Rough-shelled eggs or eggs with shells having spots should be avoided. A strong, glossy shell is to be desired. Do not use eggs warm from the nest or they will not hatch.
The best temperature for eggs is 102 for the first two or three days, then increase to 103 till the last three days, when 104 will not be harmful. On cold nights the temperature may drop. Three degrees will do no harm for a few hours, hut to drop to 90 for several hours each night will result in an extended hatch, and weakly chickens. Keep the machine as even in temperature as it is possible to run it Guard against high temperatures, 105 to 106 will not do much harm for an hour, but if the machine runs for any lengthy period at this heat there will be chicks dead in shell, and many that hatch will be crippled. A machine that runs up to 110 is courting absolute failure. Hot temperatures stifle the chicks, toughen the membrane of the egg, and make the excess white of the egg stick like glue so that the chick cannot hatch. On the last day when the chicks are hatching the animal heat may cause the temperature to rise, but this will not prove injurious.
Early in the season eggs can do with less cooling than later in the Spring. On the third or fourth day they may be cooled for five minutes and turned. Each succeeding day the time for cooling may be extended. If draughts are avoided the eggs will take little harm, but if a current of air is coursing through the room, the eggs will be in danger of being chilled. Always place the trays on a blanket on a table. Never rest it on anything that will enable the cold air to strike from under the tray. Thousands of chicks are lost through this practice. The exposure of the egg to the current of air is too severe, and causes many deaths in the shell. Turning need only be done once daily, though if it can be done twice daily it helps in the development of the chick. Cooling should be done twice daily after the first week, especially in warm weather, and the time of cooling be left to the judgment of the operator. On the eighteenth day the chicks will be heard, and if the eggs are held to the light their heads will be seen to move around the air cell. On the day the chicks show signs of pipping the shell, the machine should be closed, and left so until the hatch is complete. No arbitrary rules should be adhered to in this matter, but sound judgment.
No one occupied in hatching chicks will escape failures. There will always be some chicks dead in the shell. Why they do not hatch is not a cause for regret, unless carelessness
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has been the cause of the trouble. To lessen the dead in shell see that breeders are not force fed, exercise for the birds provided, eggs gathered carefully, and not kept till they are stale; do not chill the eggs when cooling or handle roughly when turning; see that the egg is well dried down, and air cell large enough for the chick’s movements on the day of hatching. Keep the temperature from going too low or too high. When you have guarded against these things, and the chick does not hatch, it is due to weak constitution, and you are saved the trouble of caring for a sickly chicken. Beginners will waste time trying to help chicks out, and care for them for days, only to lose them in the end.
All modem incubators should have a nursery into which the chicks drop as they hatch. Here they may rest in comfort at a temperature of 90 degrees. If an old blanket or a piece of thick scrim has been placed on the bottom of the machine, it will afford a footing for the chicks, and leave the machine easy to clean after the material is rolled up and taken away. The chicks, when hatched, will soon dry, and when it is seen that all the chicks are out, which should not be longer than the end of the twenty-first day, they may be removed to the brooder. A warm basket should be used in transferring the chicks to the brooder, so as to avoid giving the little fellows a chill. It will usually be found that some chicks have weak legs, and cannot stand, or turned toes and cannot walk. This is the result of high temperatures or weak constitution. If the temperature has been too high, the chicks will begin to hatch on the nineteenth or twentieth day; if too low, the hatching may not begin till the twenty-first or twenty-second day. All cripples and weak chickens should be destroyed and buried with the egg shells and unhatched chicks. It is only time wasted, and prolonged discomfort to them, to try and rear them. The beginner will try and save them, notwithstanding this advice but he will soon learn which method has the better results.
The thermometer should be carefully tested with a clinical or standard instrument. Cheap thermometers are a death trap to chicks. Good, well-tested thermometers are invaluable. An instrument registering too high or too low will give fatal results. It should simply lie on the eggs, where it can be easily read. Some machines differ in temperature in different parts. This is the result of faulty construction, and will not be found to exist in a good standard make.
All machines should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before using. A strong solution of good sheep dip,
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or household disinfectant should be used, and the machine thoroughly cleansed. Especially should this be done at the close of the season. The unerring testimony of a slovenly poultryman is the appearance of an idle machine just as the last hatch was taken from it. Hot-water machines should be drained off, so that the pipes or water tank will dry with the warmth. If drained when the water is cold, it will leave a coating of rust that will shorten the life of the machine several years.
The lamp should be cleaned, and filled daily. The wick should not be used for more than two hatches. If allowed to burn short, it will not reach to the kerosene, and some day it will be out several hours before the attendant knows it. The gauze of the burner should be kept bright and clean, so as to insure the clear flame that a current of pure air affords. Smoky lamps are the result of slovenliness, or draughts, more usually the former than the latter. At the end of the season, remove the lamp from the machine, empty the oil, and leave clean and ready for the next year. Do not leave the lamp attached to the machine. The oil evaporates and permeates the heating apparatus, and when the lamp is re-lit will smoke badly for hours. Clean out the heating apparatus occasionally in case soot has accumulated. Gas burners should be used when gas can be obtained. The gas saves a lot of labour, is cheaper, cleaner, and even in giving the desired temperature. A governor should always be used to protect the burner against the varied pressure of gas. Electric incubators give excellent results but are subject to the caprices of a town supply and often the current is off and the machines lose their heat.
The beginner will be perplexed with all kinds of theories in regard to hatching. He will be told that no moisture is required, turning is not essential, cooling is unnecessary, but we strongly advise him to try out a good system for himself. Certain results may be obtained under almost any system, but practical experience is the surest guide. That the Egyptians or Chinese never turned their eggs, or that mound builders, alligators, or turtles pay no attention to cooling or turning may have certain weight in an argument, but practical experience is the best guide, and to this the beginner should adhere. The theory of determining the sex either by the shape of the egg or by instruments must be discarded. Science has established the fact that sex is not determined till the fifth or sixth day of incubation. Do not waste money buying indicators for telling the sex of an egg and ignore the poultry
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journal that advertises such instruments. Food nutrients may determine sex but science has not yet solved the problem.
Experts may test their eggs on the fourth day, but it is preferable for the beginner to test on the sixth day. A green blind with a hole cut in it the shape of an egg and placed over a window is the best means of testing. The work may then be done in daylight. Failing this, egg-testers or lamps may be used at night. In testing, the first thing to look for is fertility. The fertile eggs can be readily distinguished by the development of the germ, which in its centre is dark, and throws out little capillaries, and quite a red network can be seen showing against the light. Eggs infertile are perfectly clear, and may be boiled up for the fowls. They are wholesome for cooking, but the yolks will usually break when emptied from the shell. The practice of including them among fresh eggs for the market is to be condemned. One hatching in a large way can easily quit them to bakers at preserved egg prices. Only the clear eggs should be sold. Many eggs may be found to have a red blood-line around the shell. This is the result of rupture, and the embryo has bled to death. Possibly, in turning, the egg has been roughly handled, or too high a temperature has forced the blood to flow beyond the capacity of the capillaries. These eggs can be taken out and boiled for the fowls. Other eggs will have a dark spot showing a dead germ; others will show a faint embryo, and he who desires a strong chicken should discard these. Watch the air cell, and see that it is shaping well. Eggs with air cells on the side and on the small end of the egg rarely come to any good, and can be taken out. Shells with fractures will hatch if the inner membrane is not injured. If the white begins to escape do not waste time setting it. On the fourteenth or sixteenth day the second test should be made when all eggs containing chicks that have died off should be removed.
The vexed question of moisture is a source of anxiety to every beginner. However, it will be found that too much moisture is usually the trouble. The air cell is a good indicator, and one can usually judge the right amount of moisture by its appearance. A glance at the diagrams usually found in the book of instructions will aid the beginner. Ventilation is usually overdone. When the machine is first set the ventilators may be almost closed for three days, then partly opened till the last three days. A little experiment with the machine will soon show the beginner the best system to adopt. Moisture is usually added in the hot water machine.
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By using it the air cells are enlarged. Should the air cell be drying out too quickly the water should be withdrawn from the moisture pan. In some machines moisture is not added; in this case follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
The beginner should be familiar with the development of chick life in the shell. To the student of biology it opens a wide and interesting field for research, and a number of books are published that deal exhaustively with the subject. Briefly, we have in the egg all the elements that constitute perfect bird life. Not a single atom is absent, even to the iron that is manufactured into a little pick-axe to cover the beak of the chick and so enable it to cut its way through the shell without injury to the soft homy substance of the beak.
Could Nature provide a detail more minute? In the system of respiration adopted by the chick before using its lungs we have one of the wonders of biology. After being in the incubator for twenty-four hours the signs of life may be noted. By the third day the blood-vessels spreading across the eggs are noticeable in great numbers. These feeders convey to the embryo all the different elements contained in the egg. There is a precise moment for every detail of growth. Even to the piercing of a bone, the first beat of the heart, or the initial respiratory movement of the lungs. The progress of growth is continued till the eighteenth or twentieth day, according to the temperature at which the incubator is run, or the time given in cooling the eggs.
We have hatched eggs on the nineteenth day, and also on the twenty-fourth day. The protracted hatch is not good, and results in heavy losses. The chick up to its time of completion has extracted from the white of the egg its nourishment. It has breathed by means of its abdomen. This singular method of its breathing is one of the most marvellous problems of Nature. While breathing by means of the allantois, the chick gives us one of the finest demonstrations in the whole organic creation—the most complete substitute for the lungs. On examination, the surface of the egg is seen to be covered with innumerable blood-vessels leading out to the confines of the shell. The veins are bright red, and carry the oxygenated blood for the chick, while the arteries are deep crimson, and carry the carbonated blood from the embryo.
This is just the reverse of what happens after the chick begins to breathe through its lungs. The process is reversed
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in the chick by lung breathing. Prom observations we have made we have noted that the moment when the lungs begin their work is the most critical of the chick’s development. The amount of air required appears to be greater and is to our mind the signal for the chick to begin to liberate itself. It must perforate the shell or suffocate. With its head tucked under one wing it gathers strength to work its little pick which is provided by Nature for the purpose. This iron point fits on the end of its upper mandible and is as hard as iron. If it were not for this the chick could not pierce the shell. The head under the wing assumes a peculiar position, but it serves as a support for the head as it revolves to cut off the upper portion of the shell.
The only purpose for which that scale on the beak is made is to break the shell. Two or three days after hatching the scale falls off owing to the contraction ana hardening of the beak. It has served its purpose, and without it no chick could be hatched. When the lungs are complete and the abdomenal system of respiration is abandoned the chick draws into its abdomen the yolk of the egg.
Here again is a wise provision of Nature. Knowing the chick would be helpless for three or four days of its life, it provides for the absorption of the yolk of the egg which acts as food for three days after hatching. It is this provision that enables us to ship the day-old chicks from one end of the Dominion to the other. The transit must be made during the first three days. The chicks need no food and are well provided for against hunger. It is unwise to feed chicks for three days after hatching. The food gets mixed with the yolk and assimilation is hindered. The little chaps will soon let you know when they are ready for their first meal. During the first week after hatching chicks may be marked for pedigree purposes by punching the web of the foot. Special markers are made for this purpose.
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Brooding the Chickens
Anyone may be successful in feeding adult poultry, he may hatch chickens without difficulty, but brooding and raising chickens are the keystone to success in poultry-culture. It is here where so many fail. It is here where inexperience manifests itself in failure in more pronounced form than in any other phase of poultry-keeping. Some people have a natural taste for chicken-raising, and among those who display that characteristic are women. It is safe to assume that fully two-thirds of the chickens raised are the result of women’s work. They rarely fail in this undertaking. Their maternal instinct seems to suggest the right conditions and care needed for the good of the chickens. When the work is entrusted to them, and where the conveniences are provided, chicken-raising is a pleasure to witness. Too often they are asked to achieve the impossible. No provision is made to brood the chicks, and the work becomes irksome. The beginner may be given alt kinds of advice on this subject, but it is only practical experience that counts for success. It is a good place to study the hen and her method of raising.
For experience the beginner should set a hen in a quiet place or a coop. The nest is best placed on the ground, and provided with hay or straw. The hen should be well powdered with disinfectant, so that the irritation of vermin may not cause her to break the eggs or transmit them to her chicks. Food and water should be placed where the hen can have easy access to them when she desires. She will regulate her own feeding and cooling of the eggs. When the chicks arrive, the provision of a good chick food is all that is necessary; the hen will do the rest. Her methods convey much to the beginner, and experience with even one clutch of chicks will suggest to him many common-sense methods of artificial brooding. The one great requisite is warmth. If you watch a hen early in the season, it is remarkable the number of times she will gather her chicks under her wing during the day to keep
Bronze Turkey.
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up warmth. In artificial brooding, warmth is the great essential. He who does not make provision for it can never succeed. Chilled chickens mean dying chickens, and no amount of subsequent care will ever restore the vitality that has been sacrificed. There are two systems of brooding—cool brooding and heated brooding. The cool-brooding system has come into prominence of late years, especially for late-season hatching. The operator is saved the expense and trouble of heating by lamps or stoves.
The brooders are simply constructed. There are various designs, but the principle of heat-retention is common to all. The animal heat in chickens is considered sufficient for them, and when congregated they throw off enough warmth, which if retained, keeps them comfortable. The advocates of cool brooders affirm that chickens raised under this system are hardier, tighter in feather, and develop more naturally than those raised with artificial heat. The advocates of heated brooders affirm that chickens must have artificial heat to retain vitality and assist growth. We have seen excellent chickens raised with both systems. It simply depends on the care and attention given by the attendant. One thing is certain—that he who cannot raise chickens with artificial heat is unlikely to succeed with cool brooding. With cool brooders closer attention is required, as the chicks must be hovered and placed under the quilts several times, until they learn to seek the cover for themselves. With artificial heat, the chicks care for themselves. The heat attracts them, and they learn more quickly to take advantage of it. Either system will raise chickens successfully, given careful attention in the early stages of life. Several arguments could be extended in favour of or against both systems, but the beginner should try out the systems for himself, and if the economical method appeals to him and gives satisfactory results, there is no need to adopt the heated system. A cool brooder can be made from a frame of 8 x 1 boards, nailed together to form an enclosure 2ft square. A frame is then made to fit snugly on two sides which rests on two slats nailed to the inside of the box. The other two sides of the frame should be made two inches smaller than the box. This will give an inch space between the frame and the side of the box, which provides for ventilation. Across the frame flannel should be tacked so as to sag in the centre. Quilts are made, usually two or three, according to requirements of the weather. Art muslin is cut two feet
4
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square, and layers of cotton wool are placed between, to form the quilt. An entrance is provided to the brooders on one side three inches square. This should be cut across, so as to allow an inch of the board to rise above the floor. It keeps the chaff in position, and saves its being scratched from under the quilt. The floor of the box can be bedded with hay or chaff, and for the first few days should be placed in nestform, so as to keep the chicks in the centre of the brooder. The quilts are placed on the frame, and it is found that the heat generated by the chicks is retained.
The great danger of brooding is to place too many chicks under one hover, but not more than 50 chicks should be placed under any brooder, unless specially built for them. The colony stoves and hover brooders will accommodate 300 to 500 and are now largely used in large plants. Thousands of chicks are lost annually through overcrowding. In the cool brooders small numbers of chicks are to be avoided. If less than 20 or 25 chicks are placed together, the heat is not generated to the same extent, and the chicks remain cold. As the chickens grow, one quilt may be discarded. and the frame reversed, so as to raise it higher from the floor. The great danger among beginners is to place the hover too high from the floor. The flannel when in position, should just touch the bedding. If too high, the chicks will want to stand up, to feel the quilts against their backs. This breaks their rest, and soon weakens them. Cold chicks are always restless, and chicks that cannot rest soon droop and die. It will be necessary to attend the brooder for a few days after introducing the chicks, so as to familiarise them with the quilts. Should the weather be severe, a stone jar or hot-water bottle can be placed in the brooder before taking the chicks from the incubator. Heated brooders should be ready for the chicks a few hours before the chicks are taken from the machine. When the hatch is complete, care must be taken that the chicks do not take chill. Remember, they come from a temperature in the incubator nursery of 90 to 100 degrees, and the brooder should be heated to at least 90 degrees, or when transferred they will take chill. In transferring the chicks from the machine, keep the chicks covered. They are very sensitive at this stage, and yet it is a period most prone to neglect. After the chicks are placed in comfort, leave them one whole day. Chicks should not be fed for 50 to 70 hours from the time they hatch. Nature has provided the food in the yolk of the egg, which is absorbed into the chick’s system before
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hatching is complete. To force food at this period is to cause bowel troubles, as the food interferes with the digestion of the yolk. Do not be afraid of the little chaps being too hungry—a keen appetite will mean a healthy chick. The first food of chickens represents a great variety. It is simply wonderful the many things that are resorted to. We have tried them all, but we find that to place a trough full of chick food before them, and go away and leave them, is the best plan. This, of course, cannot be done with cool brooders. They must be fed, then replaced in the hover. Many good, ready-made chick foods are now obtainable. These foods contain all that a chick needs, and if fed and fresh water is kept before them, they need little else. After the first week a dry mash may be kept in front of them. Equal parts of pollard and bran and a sprinkling of oat and maize meal may be added. If taught to eat dry mash when young the chicks will never forget it, and, should the owner desire to feed dry mash to adult stock, the birds will take to it readily. Green food, if chopped up fine, will be relished by the chicks, and mash moistened with soup is much enjoyed as a change. Avoid forcing foods. Let the chicks grow slowly. Forcing is a ruinous practice for chickens; it will give them leg weakness and other ills, they will mature and lay two months before their time, and become stunted and useless as layers. It is no sign of great skill as a poultryman to get pullets to lay at an early age. It is a danger to be avoided. As the chicks thrive, lessen the heat. When they are two months old they may be weaned. Care is needed here. A warm coop or, better, a box with a hover in it are helpful to avoid the chills. Be careful not to place too many chicks together at this period, or they will smother one another. Cool-brooder chickens may be weaned earlier, and with greater safety than the heated-brooder chicks. They are more accustomed to normal temperatures, and do not crowd so readily. Study the subject of chicken-raising closely. Practical experience is your best guide. Cleanliness is a great essential to success is chicken-raising. The brooders should be cleaned at least twice a week. If a piece of old sacking is used, it is an easy matter to keep brooders clean. The sacking may be shaken or washed as required, and fresh chaff placed upon it. Thousands of chicks are lost annually for want of cleanliness. Its importance cannot be too strongly emphasised. Women are especially successful in attending to cleanliness with chickens, and seldom fail of success. They are the great factors in supplying the world to-day with its egg supply, and no one can estimate our indebtedness to them in the poultry industry.
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There is not much fear that the beginner will fail to give his chickens all the attention they require. While young they appeal to him, they arouse his interest, and, if he is fortunate in having a wife who likes the work, the chicks will be in good hands. It is when the birds are half-grown that there is a tendency to neglect. At this period it is assumed they will get along for themselves, and they are often turned out with the matured fowls and treated to their rations. This is a fatal error. From three or four meals a day they are cut down to two, and have to be quick to get their share. Is it any wonder the birds get a set-back? Once they get back in condition, it takes weeks to pull them round again, and usually the laying is protracted as the result. This means they are idle when eggs are dear, and the owner loses the profit. Keep the birds growing. Give them ample food, in fact all they will eat. Full and plenty must be your motto if you wish to have the birds mature satisfactorily. If possible keep the birds separate till near the lay, then they may be removed to their winter quarters. While growing, they should have free range as much as possible. The exercise they obtain strengthens the frame, and keeps them from maturing too quickly. As stated, there are some poultry-breeders who make a boast of getting their pullets on to lay at three or four months of age. Do not be misguided. Anyone can do this by forcing feed, but one pays a heavy penalty. The birds lay a small number of eggs, and are never profitable as layers. Forced maturity is to be avoided. The inexperienced, when selling, use this as a desired characteristic to show the constitution of their stock. We are satisfied to have pullets laying at five to six months in the light breeds and six to seven months in the heavy breeds. This maturity enables them to stand the strain that egg laying entails. Give the pullets all the freedom you can, and let them mature on grain food. Do not underfeed them, or you run to the extreme danger of possessing a stunt. Should pullets begin to lay before being properly matured they may be retarded by feeding grain only and removing to fresh quarters once a week. Do not on any account cut down the feed. This will prevent growth and development and put the birds into a false moult. No class of animal ever regains its vitality if subject to a period of short rations during the growing period. This fatal practice must be avoided. Always remove the chickens into permanent quarters a month before they commence to lay. If removed when at a laying age removal retards production.
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Eggs and Table Poultry
If producers would devote some thought to marketing •ggs and table poultry, thousands of pounds would be saved annually. It is most regrettable that 90 per cent, of farmers are absolutely indifferent as to how their eggs or poultry reach the market. There is no source of leakage and waste in farm-production so great as in eggs and poultry.
The condition in which farmers’ eggs reach the market is evidence of want of system and care in marketing. Often on the farm, eggs are gathered only once or twice a week. Eggs taken from nests upon which broody hens have been sitting are included in the gathering. The eggs are not washed or graded. They are simply stored till the grocer’s cart happens to call—in some instances once a week, or in others once a fortnight. The grocer completes his round, and his gatherings comprise eggs of all classes—fresh, stale, clean and dirty, the day-old and the month-old, the infertile, clear egg, and the egg with the chicken partly hatched. These eggs are placed in boxes, and mingled with a motley crowd of others gathered possibly a week before. The grocer is busy, his man is busy, and such commonplace articles as eggs have to wait the time—often in a hot shed—when they can be packed and sent to market. By this time many of the eggs are partly hatched, and one instance is on record where no less than eight chickens did hatch before the eggs reached the salesman. It is safe to say that fully 5 per cent, of these eggs are unfit for use. They are discarded, and form part of the great waste in egg-production.
If the annual value of eggs in Canterbury Is estimated, on a modest scale, at £lOO,OOO, no less a sum than £5OOO is being wasted. Surely such waste is criminal. We have seen eggs arrive in the market packed in stable bedding, brooder chaff, and all classes of packing injurious to public health. By the time the eggs are unpacked, and the broken and bad eggs are discarded, 5 per cent of their value is lost. The Circle movement has done much to remedy this evil, but much remains to be done. Many farmers murmur at the price of 1/per dozen for eggs. For many of the eggs, the price is quite high enough, but it is 30 per cent, below the price the same
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eggs would bring if marketed in approved form. Many farmers look on poultry as a side line. Attention to the birds is solely the result of the wife’s care. Often her numerous duties on the farm preclude her from giving close oversight to the marketing of the eggs. In many instances, younger members of the family are interested in the work, and if encouragement is given these, there will be a vast Improvement in the manner in which eggs reach the market. The Circle system has improved the price of eggs because the market quality is much better. It is only a few years ago since the system was introduced by the writer into New Zealand. Its value lies in the enforcement of the following rules:—
1. Eggs are to be gathered daily. To keep up quality this is essential. Eggs allowed to remain in nests where broody hens are to be found soon deteriorate. If left under hens for 24 hours, incubation is begun, and the egg soon decomposes, especially in the warm months of the year, when eggs are most plentiful. The farmer benefits by having eggs gathered daily. It obviates the crowding of eggs In the nest, and breakages, which are sure to develop the egg-eating habit. This habit is inevitable, especially where ground oyster shell is not kept before the birds. The hens lay soft-shelled eggs, and soon leam to eat them. Thousands of eggs are consumed on the farms by the hens that lay them, and often when the farmer thinks his egg-production is low, the scarcity of eggs is due to this pernicious habit among his own birds, To keep shell-forming material before the birds, to keep the nests well supplied with straw or hay, and to gather the eggs daily, are valued aids to increasing production, as well as improvement in quality.
2. Eggs are to be cleaned. During bad weather, eggs are sure to become soiled, and it is most distasteful to see such a choice article of food tainted and soiled by the adherence of dirt, and oftentimes excrement. As eggs are gathered, they should be sorted over; those having clean shells should be set aside, the remainder wiped with a damp cloth, or washed as required. A washed egg loses its bloom. It is never as attractive as an egg taken clean from the nest Still, it is preferable to a dirty egg. On wet days, if birds are enclosed, and good straw nests provided, it means a great saving in cleaning eggs, but on many farms the shedding conveniences do not allow of this being done.
3. Eggs are graded and may be stamped. After eggs are cleaned, it is an easy matter to sort them into grades. All the
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eggs that are very small or cracked should be used in the household. Eggs weighing two ounces and over go into the first grades, and may be stamped. Eggs under this standard form the second grade, and are left unstamped. A little practice soon enables one to do the grading without weighing. Each member of the Circle has his number, which is stamped on the egg. By this means a guarantee is given of the quality of the egg, and, where negligence is exercised, it is soon traced to the right person. Eggs should p>e packed in cardboard fillers or wire carriers, and forwarded to market at least once a week in summer; once a fortnight in winter will not much deterioration. Still, it should be remembered that the fresher the eggs are sent to the market the more satisfaction is derived by the purchaser. Should eggs be packed in chaff and sent to the market, the chaff should be clean and sweet. The risks of breakages are much greater, especially if sent by rail. If they can be delivered to the market by the farmer himself, the danger of breakages is not great.
4. Eggs are to be infertile. Thousands of eggs are lost annually through the presence of male birds in the flock. Unless used as breeders, the male birds should not mix with the hens. This practice results in the fertilisation of the eggs. A fertile egg will not keep, especially in warm weather, whereas the infertile will not take harm. On farms where provision is made for one flock of birds only, it is difficult to keep the males separate. Still, if quality is desired, and losses through bad eggs are to be avoided, the male birds should be separated or sent to market. Many farmers depend on the promiscuous breeding and hatching of chickens all through the summer, so that it is only in special cases this source of loss will be avoided. The public, and especially the salesman, look on farm eggs with suspicion. The bad eggs, cracks, small, and badly-shaped, give farmers' eggs only a nominal value. By care and marketing in approved form, producers can greatly augment the prices of their products.
TABLE POULTRY.
Gradually the number of farmers who seek to forward their table birds in prime condition is on the increase. The old system of allowing male birds to roam around the farm until they are aged is dying out. Most farmers have learnt that to pen their male birds, feed them full and plenty, and market at five to six months old secures for them the high market prices that rule. Table poultry realise extraordinary
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prices in New Zealand; in fact it is questionable if higher average prices are obtained in any part of the world. The old system of giving male birds freedom for so many months is to be deprecated—the birds develop muscle, and not flesh. If they are kept till they are one year old they not only lose in quality and price, but they take extra months of feeding. The following comparison will show the difference between two farmers who marketed their birds at the one sale. The following are the results:—
Farmer "A," 20 birds marketed in good condition at five months old, as roasters.
£ s. d.
20 Birds at 8/6 per pair . . .450
Less five months feed . . .200
Profit . . . .£250
Farmer "B," 20 birds marketed at 12 months old, when spurs are well out and flesh is only of boiling quality.
£ s. d.
20 Birds at 4/- per pair .200
Less 12 months' feeding . .400
Loss . . .£2OO
A glance will show what a bad policy it is to keep male birds until they are twelve months old. Not only are there seven months’ extra feeding, seven months’ care and attention, but the birds decline in value more than half. It should always be remembered that when male birds are just showing their spurs through the skin, that this is the most desirable time to market them. It is not always convenient to pen birds up by themselves, but the farmer will find that it pays to do so. The birds should be separated from the females as soon as they can be discerned. If they are penned separate they will not fret, and will become accustomed to their mode of living. They will grow, and be ready for market much sooner than if allowed to roam round the farm with the other birds. Many farmers close the birds up when they are well-grown, and expect them to put on flesh in two or three weeks’ time. This practice is little better than extending
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freedom to the birds. When penned up, say, at five months, they will fret for several days, and lose condition. It will then take an additional three weeks for the birds to increase in weight. Farmers should study well the following experiment carried out by the New Zealand Government, and reported in the “Journal of Agriculture,” as follows:
MARKETING POULTRY FOR THE TABLE.—A STRIKING TEST OF THE PRIMING PROCESS.
The marketing of poultry, especially cockerels, in a proper table condition is an adjunct to egg-production the value of which is not appreciated in New Zealand as it should be. The great bulk of our poultry is marketed in merely store condition, and thus sold at merely store prices. Yet were cockerels marketed at a right age—four to five months old—and properly primed, they would bring highly profitable prices, and the table-poultry trade would be a valuable source of income to the producer.
In order to give some idea of the money now being lost to the industry by the marketing of poultry for table purposes in poor and practically unsaleable condition, and incidentally to demonstrate the cost entailed by feeding birds from month to month (vast numbers of cockerels are fed up to eight or twelve months, when they should have been sold at half that age), the Department recently conducted a feed-ing-test for determining the actual cost of converting the ordinary store birds seen at city auction rooms into a prime table condition.
A number of cockerels were purchased under competition at one of the weekly auctions at Christchurch. They were taken to the Department’s reserve at Quail Island, and there fed on ordinary well-balanced fattening diet. After twentyfour to thirty-one days’ treatment the birds were again offered for sale at the same auction mart, and returned, after deducting cost of feeding, a profit of 92 per cent. The result affords a striking illustration of the value of priming poultry before marketing, and also of the money lost to the poultry-keepers of this country by failure to treat their birds for market in an intelligent manner.
Thirty-one cockerels took part in the test, divided into two pens, No. 1 containing fifteen birds, and No. 2 having sixteen. The following tables give particulars of the results:
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The result of the operations is summarised as follows:
Number of birds bought . . .31
Average weight when bought . . 3.081b
Average weight when sold . . 5.111b
Aggregate purchase-price . .£274
Aggregate selling-price . . . £5 12 7
Gain in value . . .£353
Cost of feed £llB
Profit £2 3 7
PRELIMINARY TREATMENT OF BIRDS.
Before fattening was attempted—and this point should be emphasised—the birds were put into a healthy condition. Epsom salts and sulphur were employed to clear the intestines, and thereby bring the birds into such condition that they could make the best use of the fattening diet. One packet of salts dissolved in the water with which the
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mash was mixed was allowed for every twelve birds. The sulphur (about the same amount as of salts) was also added to the mash, and was well mixed with the ingredients before they were moistened. The birds were also carefully treated for vermin, being dusted with carbolic powder before the test commenced, and again a week later. Everything, in fact, was done to ensure that the effect of the neglect to which the birds had previously been subjected should be overcome, and that the priming treatment would have every chance of success.
THE DIET PRIMING AND MANAGEMENT.
Pen. No. I.—The mash formula used in feeding pen No. 1 was as follows:—1001b ground hulled oats, 501b ground wheat, 101b ground maizemeal, 71b oatmeal, 11b salt.
The fifteen birds consumed 1131b of this mixture costing 10/31. In addition they were given 8!b of whole wheat costing 75d., and charcoal, sulphur, and insect powder, costing 6d.— a total approximate cost of food of 11/5/ J.
The mash was mixed into a crumbly mass with sour skim milk. The birds were given this twice each day—as much as they could eat without waste. During the last eight days of the test whole wheat and some of the dry ground-grain mixture was always left before the birds in separate receptacles.
Pen No. 2.—The following mash formula was used in feeding pen No. 2: 501b ground hulled oats, 501b ground wheat, 61b meat meal, 11b salt.
The sixteen birds consumed 7151b of this mixture, costing <5/85, and, in addition, 7451b potatoes, costing 1/5, 1651b whole wheat, costing 1/53, and charcoal, sulphur, and insect powder, costing 71d., the total approximate cost of food being 10/3.
For the first week the mash was mixed with boiled potatoes and sour skim milk, as near as possible two parts of potatoes to one of meal. From the commencement of the second week to the end of the test the mash was made of equal parts by weight of potatoes and ground-grain mixture. During the last week whole wheat and some of the dry grainmixture was left always before the birds in separate receptacles.
All birds were given sour skim-milk to drink, as well as clean water in a separate receptacle, while grit and charcoal was always before them. In addition, raw mangels were
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always left before the birds to pick at. No account was kept of the amount of skim milk or mangels that was consumed.
The pens in which the birds were running were about 20ft. wide by 40 ft. long.
It will be noted from the tables that the birds were fed till 6th May made little or no gain in weight during the last week of the test, indicating that in most cases three weeks of proper priming should be sufficient for well-grown birds.
The success of this trial is due in a large measure to the efficient supervision of Mr. C. Cussen, Poultry Instructor, Christchurch, and to the close attention given to the birds by Mr. R. M. Henderson, Caretaker of the Quail Island Quarantine Station.
THE LEGHORN CRAZE.
A few years ago, when the White Leghorn craze set m, most farmers sold off their stock and went in for Leghorns. The result was that the table-poultry industry was ruined. The Leghorn, while it can be made a useful table bird, under suitable conditions, cannot stand the severity of farm life. The exposure of the trees, the need for foraging for feed, and the inattention given as chickens soon told on the breed, and the farm specimens became diminutive and useless as table birds. Fortunately, the farmer has returned to the heavy breeds, and though the old cross-breeding has again been resorted to in many instances, a much better class of bird is being marketed
The rapid transition from the light back to the heavy breeds was hastened by the wisdom of the Government in reducing the price of settings of the heavy breeds to a very low figure. The comparison of the prices obtained by the farmer for his neglected Leghorn birds and the crossbreds of previous days soon led him to abandon the lighter fowl and devote attention to the heavier breeds. In the markets of to-day there is no class of stock that shows such a decline in value as poorly-fed birds. It is to the interest of the farmer to feed his birds well. He will be handsomely remunerated when they are sold. Poorly-fed birds indicate that the females of the flock are badly fed, too. When impoverished, the hens will not lay, and the egg-output goes down to nothing. It pays to feed either for table poultry-production or for eggs, and the farmer who does this will be amply rewarded. The
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class of foods to be fed may be determined by the farmer. He grows practically all of them. In preparation of table birds it is not so much the nature of the foods that are fed, but to make sure the birds get plenty of it. The question is often asked if it pays to feed White Leghorn cockerels for the table. When hatched early in the season, it certainly pays, as the birds will realise 10/- to 12/- per pair when five to six months old. When hatched, later in the spring, the chances of remuneration are not so good, and it is well then to sell them at an early age to someone who has access to cheap food. That Leghorns can be fed to make suitable table birds is obvious. On 20th September, 1925, 30 White Leghorn Cockerels were sold for table purposes and realised in public auction 12/9 per pair live weight. These birds were hatched on the farm during April, were well cared for, and returned a good profit to the farmer. Too many breeders devote their attention and feed to the females, and neglect the males, with the result that they lack warm quarters, are short of feed, and naturally make little growth. The farmer is not likely to devote his attention to caponising for the market. In New Zealand the demand for capons would be very limited, while the time taken for them to mature would give very little profit to the producer. Caponising sets, with full instructions, are easily obtainable for those who desire to experiment with this class of bird. The farmer is strongly urged to go in for heavier breeds. They lay well in winter, and make good mothers for hatching and raising young stock. They secure highest prices as table poultry, the birds are hardier, and stand more exposure to the weather. If allowed to cross-breed (not inbreed) they will retain their laying capacity, and increase in vigour and constitution. To the farmer we must look for the table poultry supply, and, were it not for him, famine prices would result. It is not our purpose to deal with chicken-fattening establishments. This is a branch of work that belongs to the specialist, and requires special facilities and knowledge. The broiler business is one that could profitably be undertaken. The chickens are milk fed up to eight to ten weeks and are killed when weighing 1J to 21bs weight. They realize good prices and on the Continent and in America are in great demand.
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Poultry Diseases
The beginner is, sooner or 'ater, sure to be troubled with ailments among his birds. There is a general impression that poultry are more subject to diseases than any other classes of live stock, but this can only result from neglect and want of caution. Though some poultry can stand a great deal of hardship, those raised for egg-production must be treated with greater care.
Poultry on the farms are practically free from disease. They roost in the trees, in rain, snow and frost, and have a strong constitution, but their egg output is very small and does not cover more than a few months in the year. They are accustomed to this class of life, and use becomes second nature to them. With birds kept under modern conditions for egg-production, it is a different proposition. The blood of a fowl is warmer than that of a human being, and such things as draughts, sweating, coldness, and wet are sure to affect them. Weak stock, improper feeding, sick soil, contagious complaints, lack of cleanliness, want of vitality in parent stock are contributing forces that the beginner has to guard against to avoid disease. The old saying, “Prevention is better than cure,” can never be applied more fittingly than to the poultry-keeper. Precaution is the word that must ever be in the poultryman’s mind. For him disease will have no terror. Though warmly clad in a coat of feathers, the hen is open to effects against which the natural protection has no power to resist. Rarely do we see wild-bird life affected with the complaints to which poultry are subject. The artificial conditions under which they are kept afford an opportunity for disease to affect them.
1. Avoid draughts. As the blood of the bird is of a high temperature, the feathers tend to set up perspiration. Draughts divide up the feathers, and expose the body, which leads to chills. Colds eventuate, these develop to catarrh, later to roup, and, in its worst stages, diphtheria. (2) Sweating is caused through want of ventilation. The bird consumes an enormous amount of oxygen for its size, and in a close, ill-ventilated house the bird’s temperature rises, and, when released in the morning, the body immediately feels the
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effect, and a chill results. These are the two greatest evils to guard against. (3) Want of vitality in parent stock. Such a reminder should be unnecessary, but frequently the beginner is unaware of the class of stock he is breeding from. Most diseases among poultry are not inherited, but birds bred from weak stock have a predisposition to disease, and, for this reason, should be guarded against. (4) Sick soil. Many diseases are infectious, and those of a bacterial nature find their location in the soil. To constantly keep the birds on the same ground is to invite trouble. You will note the healthy appearance of birds on new ground. As the freshness is lost, and the soil becomes contaminated the birds do not retain that freshness and bloom. It is for this reason sandy or stony soil are more preferable to the rich ground with a clay subsoil. Ground in constant use should be dug over at least every other season. Lime should be used freely, and the soil disinfected. The greatest cleanser is a crop of green oats, Cape barley, or rape. (5) Want of cleanliness. Someone has said “cleanliness is more desirable on the poultry-farm than godliness.” It is difficult for a poultryman to get along without the latter, but without the former he must fail. There is too much fear of using disinfectants. The man who sprays once a year, or cleans out his fowl house once a year, can have little conception of cleanliness. We know there are some, who, for a whole year, allow the droppings to deodorise in the soil and scratching material, and though this may have no visible effect on the birds for a season, yet the practice carries its penalty. This all important feature of the work is so obvious, that the beginner’s good taste should direct him along a precautionary line. (6) Faulty feeding. Slackness in method of feeding is sure to produce bad effects, and engender disease. Some people imagine fowls will eat anything. It is true they will if given no other choice but the hen is a fastidious creature and likes sweet food. Mouldy or sour foods, contaminated meat, or excess in stimulating foods are sure to work ill effects. (7) Contagion. Birds are quick to take on contagious diseases. They come in such close contact with one another by drinking and feeding at the same receptacles. They breathe in the same air, and diseases of a germinal nature will quickly spread through a whole flock. Birds suffering from contagious diseases should be at once removed. “Do it now” should be the motto as soon as the complaint is seen. One bird suffering from a cold in the eye, will quickly develop into roup and spread the complaint to others, but if taken at once, separated and treated, will re-
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cover in a few days. (8) Culling. The value of culling the flock is inestimable. Keep a keen eye on all weak looking birds. Market them as soon as they show constitutional weakness. You may tell from the appearance of the dropping boards whether there are any birds that need correction. Weak birds are sure to be the first to fall to disease. From experience covering several years, and the handling of thousands of birds it is an unwise policy to keep birds weak in constitution. If the beginner will cultivate an eye for culling, and take the precautions suggested he will have little time to doctor sick birds. While the beginner is not advised to linger over the destruction of a bird suffering from advanced stages of a contagious disease, he should remember there are simple ailments, which, if he will take action promptly, the birds may be soon cured and restored to health.
Preventive measures must be the aim of every beginner. These suggestions for the cure of ailments are provisional. This work cannot deal with all the ailments to which poultry are subject. The study of poultry-books on diseases is not for the beginner, he must study cleanliness and prevention. When he is constantly seeking advice on poultry diseases ho had better quit poultry-keeping. He was never intended for it.
Abdominal Weakness.—The abdomen is liable to certain complaints. Dropsy is one causing a great distension which is filled with fluid. At other times it is found hard and firm due to an accumulation of fat. Dropsy is due to injuries or is hereditary. The bird is hardly worth the effort of a cure. If fat develops market the bird for table purposes. It is a sign of the best use to which she can be put. Sometimes an egg or several eggs, may be felt in the abdomen. This is caused though the bursting of the oviduct allowing the eggs to fall into the abdominal cavity. In this case an operation is needed, but unless an expert is near, the bird had better be marketed for the table.
Apoplexy.—This is caused by a rupture of a blood vessel affecting the brain. It generally results in paralysis or death. In minor cases such as heat prostration, if the bird is kept in a cool place she will usually recover.
Bowel Protrusion.—-This is a complaint most frequent among pullets coming on to lay. It is usually hastened by the forcing foods. If taken in time when the bird shows signs of labour valued assistance may be given. If the bird is allowed to strain herself until the oviduct is partly ex-
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pelled, it will be difficult to effect a permanent cure. In advanced stages when inflammation of the oviduct sets in, it is just as well to destroy the bird. Though temporary cures may be effected, the bird will always be subject to the weakness. If taken in the early stages, when labour is evident, the application of luke warm water, and a little oil round the effected parts will be of assistance to the bird.
Bronchitis is usually the result of a bad cold, and the treatment should be the administration of one drop of tincture of aconite every hour or two. The hen should be kept warm and fed on mash foods.
Bumble Foot is caused through the hardening of the skin on the ball of the foot which develops to an abscess. The foot should be lanced, and boric acid applied. In advanced cases the foot should be bathed in warm water, and the bird kept in a coop. Sometimes this complaint is an outward manifestation of tuberculosis, when such is the case the bird may as well be killed. A lameness will be noted and a shrinkage of the muscles of the legs will be in evidence.
Cancer These may be found in different parts of the body of the bird. When discovered the birds should be destroyed.
Cholera,—One of the most reliable signs of cholera is the discolouration of the excrement. The kidneys give an early sign of the approach of the complaint. Violent diarrhoea sets in which is contagious. The affected birds should be removed. An examination of the internal organs shows the ravages of the complaint. The inflammation of the digestive organs, the enlargment of the liver, the congestion of the kidneys, the gall large, thick, and dark. The disease is practically incurable, and it is better to get rid of the affected birds and save the others.
Colds. Catarrh, etc. —Fowls, owing to the heat of the blood, are subject to colds, and every beginner must seek to prevent colds which are by far the most common complaint among poultry. Draughts, wrong temperature conditions, cold and damp quarters, are usually the cause. Often they disappear with a little treatment, but if allowed to develop they become most serious, and lead to the advanced stages of catarrh, roup, diphtheria, influenza and bronchitis, etc. In many cases the removal of the cause will soon set the birds right. The best remedy we have tried is to take a few drops of creosote and flour and mix into little pills. Ad-
5
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minster one of these to the affected birds. It will be found that two or three pills will effect a cure. In advanced stages of colds the nostrils and mouth should be cleansed with hydrogen of peroxide mixed with water in equal parts. A lump of sugar saturated in spirits of camphor and dissolved in the drinking water is useful. Above all do not neglect treatment of the birds, as soon as the complaint is discovered. Other diseases that develop from cold can only be the result of neglect. A preventive may be used by colouring the drinking water with Condy’s Crystals or permanganate of potash to the colour of claret. This should be given the birds twice a week if colds are suspected.
Crop Bound is a complaint that is usually the result of some indigestible foreign matter refusing to pass out of the crop. It leads to an accumulation of other foods, and the passage is blocked. It should be taken in its early stages, and half a cup of warm water given to the bird, and the crop well massaged. This will generally result in removing the substance. Should the trouble continue an operation will be needed. Remove a few feathers from the skin of the crop, and with a sharp knife make an incision an inch long. Be careful not to cut the under skin. Draw the crop up to the incision, so that it can be cut so as to allow of a small spoon being entered and the deposit removed. Wash the crop out with warm water, insert a stitch of silk thread in the crop, and another in the outer skin, and the bird will soon recover. Soft food should be fed for two or three days. A teaspoonful of castor oil will be of great help in some cases. The crop to be kneaded with the fingers, and if the head of the bird is held down, the contents of the crop may be worked along to the mouth, if swelled grain is the trouble this process will be successful, but if the contents are foreign matter and are caused through string, dried grass, etc., the operation would be necessary.
Diarrhoea.—This is a common trouble. If neglected it leads to the debility of the bird, and it cannot prove profitable in its work. The cause is usually improper feeding. The birds should not be fed wet mashes. A little boiled rice for a few meals will usually prove a corrective. A teaspoonful of oil and half-a-dozen drops of chlorodyne in water or wine will be found to effect a cure. This complaint, if neglected, will develop into dysentery, enteritis, inflammation of the bowels, etc., so that it is essential that a cure be effected as early as possible.
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Egg-eating is a vicious habit brought on through thinshelled eggs. Feed plenty of oyster grit and keep the nests darkened- The mandible may be pared for the worst offender, but dark nests are the best preventive.
Favus is a complaint of the comb. It is not very common. It is due to anaemic condition. If it becomes established it is highly contagious. Small spots are seen in the comb which if neglected eat through the outer skin, and cause an ulcer to form. The comb should be washed in warm water and castile soap and imago ointment supplied. Tincture of iodine is useful and generally proves effective. An ointment of oxide of zinc and vaseline may be used with good results.
Feather-Eating.—This is a vice that is the result of idleness, close confinement, and an unbalanced ration. Feed ample green food and animal food- Provide the birds with exercise in scratching for their grain. The first offender should be promptly removed.
Going Light is a complaint similar to anaemia, or tuberculosis. It is the sign of a wasting form, and is the result of the consumptive disposition of the bird. When in advanced stages the bird should be destroyed.
Inflammation of Bowels.—lnflammation is the result of some neglected indisposition. Dose with castor oil, then give barley water, milk, or arrowroot. A little raw egg may be given. Usually the bird is too far advanced before the discovery of the complaint is made.
Liver Complaint.—There are many losses each year through liver troubles. Improper feeding and lack of exercise is usually the cause. The complaint is not contagious. The external symptoms are rarely noticeable. The comb usually turns purple, then dark and finally goes black. The plumage is loose and rough while the excreta is brownish or yellow. There is no pronounced or special treatment. When suspected the bird should be given oil and a half teaspoonful of sulphate of magnesia in water once or twice a day.
Lung Troubles.—As the result of violent colds congestion of the lungs sometimes results. It is a violent and sudden complaint. Preventive treatment is commended as very little could be done to save the affected bird.
Ovarian Trouble.—The chief trouble in connection with
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the oviduct is egg bound, and prolapsus. Treat as commended for bowel protrusion.
Over-Feeding.—A good many beginners are perplexed with the belief that birds may overfeed. The only class of bird that can be overfed is the non-layer. The laying hen cannot be overfed, and should be given as much food as she will eat.
Pale Combs.—A pale comb is a symptom. It is an indication that the birds are suffering from indigestion, liver complaint or some internal trouble. As soon as the bird’s comb begins to get discoloured treat with laxatives so that the system may be corrected.
Poisoning.—There is great danger that fowls become affected with poisoning. Bad meat is the chief cause. The hen’s system does not possess the power to resist decayed meat as the digestive organs work so rapidly. The bird shows signs of staggering, is dull of comb, and soon dies. The cause must be promptly removed and avoided.
Rattling in the Throat. —This is a common complaint, but no cause for anxiety. If it is the result of a slight cold it will soon disappear. If it continues over a few days the bird should be treated for bronchitis.
Red Mites. —These are a pest, and prove exceedingly troublesome if they once get in a house. Paint the perches with tar and kerosene, and keep the house sprayed with a good disinfectant.
Rheumatism.—This is often mistaken for leg weakness, which is often due to defective feeding, when the bird has swollen joints, the rheumatism has reached a stage where little can be done for it. The legs may be rubbed with a tincture of opium. Bicarbonate of soda, or iodide of potassium may be used with success.
Roup.—ls the most dangerous disease on the poultry farm. It is undoubtedly the result of neglect. Colds develop and soon go through the flock. The advanced stage is reached when evil smelling discharges run through the nostrils. In such a condition the birds are useless. If the treatment prescribed for colds is promptly given there will be no need to deal with roup. Once a bird has roup, it is useless for any purpose, and though it may be temporarily cured, the whole constitution is ruined.
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Scaly Leu. —A very common complaint and seen in some degree in almost every poultry yard. It is unsightly, and the work of a parasite. In the early stages the bird’s legs should be dipped in a mixture of equal parts of kerosene and linseed oil, when the complaint is well advanced, and the bird’s legs covered with scales, paint the legs with warm tar. The treatment should be done early in the morning, so that the bird can walk round, and allow the tar to dry, and not soil the feathers. In a few days the scales are loosened and fall off leaving the leg clean and free from scales. Scrupulous cleanliness is essential as a preventive of this trouble.
Sudden Deaths.—Sometimes the beginner will find birds dead in the yard, or under the perch. These sudden deaths occur in all poultry yards. It is the result of rupture of the heart, choking, or apoplexy usually caused through excessive heat.
Swollen Eyes.—When the eyes show signs of discharge of a glue-like substance, it is the result of catarrh, or violent colds, when it develops to a cheesy substance it is a symptom of croup.
Toe-picking is the result of chickens obtaining a taste for blood. The victim should be removed. Chicks should have ample exercise, and provided with meat scraps. The habit is often begun through hard floors with insufficient scratching material. The exercise causes blood to appear from the web of the foot.
Tuberculosis is speedily discerned by the loss of condition. The bird’s feathers have a loose appearance, and the body shows signs of wastage. It is useless to attempt a cure, and it is better to kill the bird, and bury or bum the carcase.
Vent Discharges.—These are often the result of diarrhcea. When accompanied with a white discharge it is a venereal disease, and very contagious. It may also be transmitted to other birds in copulation. The victim should be promptly killed.
Worms.—There are many kinds of worms, but intestinal are the most injurious. The birds are often affected unknown to the owner. A close investigation should be made of the voidings. The outward symptoms are dullness, looseness of the feathers, and a general depression. When accompanied with fits or convulsions the birds are in a very advanced stage. Fifteen to twenty drops of oil of turpentine in a teaspoonful of sweet oil should be given. The house and runs should have a thorough cleansing. Tobacco powder in the mash will also effect a cure.
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DANGER FROM EPIDEMICS.
Fortunately in New Zealand we are not subject to the epidemics among poultry that are prevalent in other parts of the world. Anything in the nature of an epidemic, is usually confined to one poultryman’s yard. When this occurs it can usually be traced to some cause chiefly neglect. Even with the greatest care, disease will sometimes spread through a whole flock. As we have already emphasised, “Prevention is the way to safety.” It is much cheaper to prevent than to cure. The object in devoting some space to the subject of disease is rather to teach how to prevent than to cure. The beginner usually starts off with a new house and new ground. Provided the stock is healthy and clean, that he purchases, it is only neglect that brings him trouble. Some precautions are necessary when buying the stock. Get advice as to the health of the birds, and if there are any signs of colds, or other complaints about the poultryman’s yards do not purchase. Should eggs be purchased for setting, take a cloth and wipe them with a strong solution of alcohol, half spirit and half water. This will help to prevent white diarrhoea, which is often prevalent in chickens, and for which there is little hope of a cure. If eggs are hatched under a hen, disinfect her thoroughly with insect powder. Should she have scaly legs do not use her on any account. The incubator should be thoroughly cleansed with sheep dip or a good household disinfectant. By taking these precautions, the beginner will avoid much that brings distress to many a poultrykeeper.
SPRAYING AND USE OF POWDERS,
At least once a month, the poultry-houses should be sprayed. A strong disinfectant is needed. Should the hens have access to good dusting quarters they will keep themselves free from vermin. The parasites that affect poultry and live on the body breathe through the skin, and a fine dust-bath blocks up the skin and causes death. The red mite is not a body parasite. It is a night intruder, and visits the perches and sucks the blood from its victim. So vicious are the attacks that birds have been known to be actually sucked to death, and when opened showed no signs of blood. Spraying will prevent this pest getting a hold, and means much in extra egg-production. In addition a good liquid disinfectant will destroy the germs ot disease. The premises will always be clean and sweet. The health of the birds will improve, epidemics will be kept away, and a good margin of profit will be shown in egg-production.
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Duck Culture
There is a wide field for the production of duck eggs and ducks for the market. Of recent years fanners have been greatly encouraged to raise ducks because they have a standardised value on the market. When in the flush season ducks sold at 2/- each, the farmer was discouraged, and for several years duck-raising was at a low ebb. The shortage soon became apparent, with the result that exceptionally high prices were paid for ducks. These prices attracted duck breeders, with the result that production has greatly increased, and to-day large numbers of ducks are finding their way into the market. Prices are also more encouraging. Those governing the market have set a standard value on them for the season when large numbers are to be sold. Good table ducks need never go below 8/- per pair, while during certain months of the year 12/- to 14/- are the ruling prices. Duck eggs are also in keen demand, and if marketed promptly realise equal prices to hen eggs. There are many advantages in duck breeding. The plant necessary is much less than for hens. The houses, if any at all are needed in the country, need only be sufficient to give shelter. They may be erected on a most economic plan, and are only necessary when one goes into duck raising on a large scale. On farms duck shelters are rarely seen, and if good tree shelter is available, shelters are unnecessary except in the very coldest climate when they must be closed in at nights to prevent the eggs from freezing after being laid. The fencing required for ducks is much less than for hens. Netting three feet high will serve the purpose, while the stakes need only be placed at such distances as will keep the netting from sagging. Ducks are most docile and contented. If given their liberty, they will forage for a great deal of their food, and will return to their runs at night with little trouble. They will live on mash foods as they have no crop, and soft foods are less expensive than the foods demanded for the laying hen. Ducks are not subject to diseases to the same extent as laying hens. The death rate is considerably lower. With proper care ducks will remain in a healthy condition, and be free from the contagious diseases that work havoc on the chicken farm. They are also
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free from vermin. The oily nature of the feathers act as a preventive against parasites, and only when very low in condition, or badly cared for, will vermin of any kind affect them. Ducklings may be subject to sunstroke, chill and exposure, but with ordinary care they are more easily raised than chickens. There are other advantages why farmers should give attention to duck-raising. The birds will lay well when eggs are dear in winter. They require less labour to care for them, and they may be prepared for the table in half the time it takes to prepare table chicken.
SELECTION OF BREED
There are two classes from which to select: (1) The laying, (2) the meat class. To the former belong the famous Indian Runners. They are undoubtedly the Leghorn of the duck family, and there are few things on this earth that awaken wonderment more than the rapid and regular manner in which this duck produces it eggs. For laying purposes they stand out in the duck family. They are layers of large, white-shelled eggs, and in addition are real good table birds. Although small they dress out well, and while not so heavy as the larger birds, they are of excellent quality. They come from East India, and are a hardy breed, and more ducklings can be raised from the same number of breeders. They mature quickly for the table, and the drakes can be made ready for market in ten to twelve weeks. The ducks will come on to lay at six months. The Indian Runner is a good breed, for the farmer. It is active, and a small eater. It is most profitable as an egg-producer. There are three varieties of Runners, but the fawn and white are the most numerous. The White Runner is an attractive bird, but possesses no features except plumage that are not found in the fawn. It has an erect carriage. The breast is full and the body long and narrow. It has no indication of a keel and resembles a penguin in shape. The Khaki Campbell, lately a production of England, is another good breed suitable for egg and table purposes. They are hardy and quick to mature. They lay a beautiful snow white egg. Quite a number are now in this country and give satisfaction to their owners.
THE MEAT CLASS.
In the meat class, the chief varieties are the Pekin, Aylesbury, Rouen, and Muscovy. The Pekin is probably the most popular, especially on farms. It is kept almost
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exclusively by commercial duck farmers, who make a special feature of "Green ducks" which are not more than eight to ten weeks of age when marketed. If they are not sold at that age they depreciate in quality, lose weight, and it takes several weeks to get them back into condition. Pekin ducks originated in China. They are hardy, fair layers, and specially suited for the production of flesh. The Aylesbury is a native of England, where it is more popular than the Pekin. It is much the same in body, but has pure white plumage, while the Pekin is a creamy white. It also has white bills and legs as against the deep yellow of the Pekin. The Rouen comes from France. It is similar to the Pekin in type, but does not possess equal laying powers. It has beautiful plumage, but is not a success for a commercial duck farm. The Muscovy comes from South America. It is considered by some writers to be of a different species from other ducks though it has become very popular for table purposes. It is a remarkably quick grower, and may be made ready for the table in eight weeks. It has a plump body, and looks specially well when dressed. The Cayuga, Buff, and Crested ducks do not call for special mention. For table purposes a first cross can be used. The Pekin-Rouen cross is the best. It is better to cross a Rouen drake with Pekin ducks which are better layers, and more ducklings can be raised than if Rouen ducks were used with Pekin drakes.
FEEDING DUCKS.
Care should be exercised in feeding ducks to see that all foods are pure and free from taint. The prejudice against duck eggs on account of their strong flavour is due to access the birds have to unclean food, muddy water and swampy land. Duck eggs soon deteriorate unless good wholesome foods are fed. When this is done, the flavour of the egg cannot be distinguished from that of a hen egg. Those preparing duck eggs for the market, should avoid feeding on swill, and offal from abattoirs. The digestive organs of the duck work rapidly, egg manufacture is a rapid process, hence the flavour of strong foods is left in the eggs. Eggs should not be left lying in the sun. Careless breeders do not gather their eggs till well on in the day, with the result that the heat ferments the egg, and it loses its freshness. Of all food products duck eggs want marketing quickly, and kept from a warm temperature. The mashes usually fed to hens may be mixed in a similar way for ducks. Green feed is essential, and if not provided with free range should be supplied with
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the mash. Green food may be supplied in the form of chaffed lucerne, clover, short lawn clippings, boiled cabbage, etc. Grain may be fed in the evening if desired. Split peas and kibbled maize are the finest of foods. For fattening ducklings for market, the birds should not have access to swimming water. By constantly swimming they use up their energy and will not grow fat; they develop muscle instead of flesh. Just sufficient water should be given for drinking and no more. On the other hand, breeding ducks will give more fertile eggs if allowed swimming facilities. Exercise is a great factor towards vitality, and breeders should have free access to ponds or streams. When watering ducks the receptacles should contain at least six inches of water, and no less than three inches for ducklings up to a month old. Unless the ducklings have sufficient depth to cover the whole of the head, they will develop soreness of the eyes. There is a sticky substance that escapes from the eyes, and by constantly plunging the head under water the eyes are cleansed. The duck also loves to cleanse its nostrils. If the water pan is shallow it will constantly work its head sideways along the bottom of the water pan with the result that the bill becomes twisted. Being of a soft substance, it soon yields to pressure, and is deformed. Ducks on the farm may be given free range through the day, and if trained to come for an evening meal, will usually return, and may be enclosed for the night. They should not be released till after nine in the morning when the egg-laying for the day is complete. Ducklings should not be exposed to a hot sun or cold showers. They are sensitive to sun stroke and chills. Ducks are always in keen demand for the market, and are popular on the farms. They are economical to feed, and when raised in large numbers show a good profit for the care bestowed on them.
SELECTING AND MATING
Ducks may be mated in larger numbers than hens, as the male birds will not fight with each other. In Indian Runners ten or a dozen ducks may be given to each drake. In the heavier breeds one to seven or eight ducks to each male. Only mature birds should be used, especially on the female side. In selection take the birds with good long bodies, and flat backs, and a good depth to the keel bones. It is usually considered that ducks with watery eyes lack constitution. The drake is always more masculine in appearance, and can be readily distinguished from the ducks by the softness of it* voice. Breeding ducks are at their best in their second year.
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Ducks should never be handled by the legs or wings. They should be picked up by the neck, and will take no harm if handled in this way.
INCUBATION OF EGGS,
Eggs are successfully hatched under hens, which make splendid mothers for the ducklings. The eggs take 28 days to hatch, except in the case of the Muscovy, which takes longer, usually 33 to 35 days. Many beginners have discarded Muscovy eggs after the 28th day of incubation, believing that they would not hatch. A little patience, or rather, knowledge, would have given the desired result on the 35th day. On all commercial plants the incubator is used. The eggs should be cared for by being placed in a cool temperature not to exceed 70 degrees. Very hot days, or exposure to the sun will impair the eggs for incubation. Properly mated birds with ample exercise will give strong fertile eggs, but if the birds are allowed to grow fat, and take little exercise there will be a large percentage of ducklings dead in the shell. The eggs when gathered should not be washed, so as to preserve the oily substance left on the shell. If very dirty it is best to wipe off the dirt with a damp rag before the dirt dries to the shell. The best temperature at which to incubate the eggs is 102 degrees. Too high a temperature is fatal, the first few days. If 104 or 105 the membrane under the shell is toughened, and prevents the exclusion of the duckling. After 20 days the temperature may be increased to 103 degrees till hatching is complete. It will be necessary to add moisture to the machine in order to dry down the air cell.
The best method is to spray the eggs over daily with warm water after the first week of incubation. Eggs should be tested similarly as advised for hen eggs. A dead embryo will soon make its presence known in the machine, and should be promptly removed. Infertile eggs may be used for baking purposes if tested out before the fourth day. Should the ducklings be slow to hatch, soak a piece of blanket in boiling water and spread on the eggs. We have used this method with surprising results. The steam and moisture act like magic, softening the texture of the shell membrane and making it easy for the duckling to escape. Should hens be used for hatching, set the bird on the ground, and give her a good dusting with insect powder. A dozen eggs may be given to each hen. In New Zealand fully ninety per cent, of the ducks raised for the market are hatched by hens. Do not disturb the hen while sitting. Provide water, grain and a
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dust bath, and she will vacate the nest periodically, and will do her work better if not disturbed. Handling a setting hen is a bad practice. It does not teach her to guard the eggs with the same care as instinct suggests. Better results will be obtained if the eggs are sprinkled with warm water during the last week of incubation. This can be done while the hen is feeding.
BROODING DUCKLINGS.
If hatched with hens, ducklings are easy to rear. The hen assumes the responsibility, and is far more successful than a mother-duck. Though water is the natural element of ducklings, it proves fatal to them under modem conditions until they are fully feathered. They take chills, and die quickly. If superficial heat is given, care should be taken that the temperature is not too high. While 100 degrees are suitable for chickens, it will be found that 80 to 90 degrees are better for ducklings. Chickens will spread out, if too warm; ducklings will crowd together, with the result they sweat and take chill. A duckling does not linger in sickness. A chicken will hang on for days and weeks. Once a duckling takes chill, either through sweating or from cold rain showers, a few hours seals its fate. The cool brooding system is used most successfully for duck-rearing. Many a farmer’s wife saves the life of a duckling with the aid of a piece of flannel. It is wise not to keep too many ducklings together. Forty will thrive better in one flock than one hundred.
FEEDING METHODS.
Ducklings do not require food for the first two days after hatching. Equal parts of rolled oats and breadcrumbs, with a sprinkling of coarse sand, should be fed. The mixture is improved if mixed with raw egg and milk. After the first week the ducklings have very keen appetites, and look eagerly for their meals four or five times a day. They may then be fed on pollard, maize meal, bran, chopped green food, and meat meal. The last-named food is a great frame-builder, and excellent results are obtained when this is used. The ducklings should not have access to drinking water till they are fed, as it frequently brings on cramp. In preparing ducks for market, the meat meal should be used up to 15 per cent, of the mash after the ducklings are one month old. This forces them on for the market. Birds fed with this animal food will be ready for the market two or three weeks
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earlier than if raised without it. Indian Runners to be kept for laying should be fed sparingly of animal food until they are ready to lay. It is to be regretted that the value of Indian Runners is not better known. They are great eggproducers, and on many of our farms there would be no scarcity of egg in the winter season if Runner ducks were hatched from October to the first week in December. In marking ducklings for pedigree purposes, the ordinary chicken toe-punches are useless, as the hole soon webs over. A larger-sized punch, such as ear-markers use, should be used. Splitting the web of the foot may be resorted to, but a hole in the foot, leaving the outer fringe of the web intact, is more preferable. Ducks moult two and three times a year. The egg-flow will cease while the change of feathers is taking place, but the food ration should be kept up, and the birds will soon come on to lay again. As with hens, soft-shelled eggs will make their appearance. Oyster-shell should be kept in tins, and the meat and bone meal regularly fed in the mash. Should the trouble continue to excess, cease the mash feeds and resort to grain. It will sometimes be noted that the yolks of the eggs are an objectionable colour. This is due to access to unsuitable foods. Acorns work disastrous results if the ducks have access to them. The writer was one of the first to investigate, and solve the problem of discoloured yolks in New Zealand, due to acorns. Flax roots affect the eggs in a similar way. Care should be taken to handle the ducks quietly. They are timid, yet very tractable, once they have confidence in the attendant. The market for ducks is good right through the year, and there is an increasing demand. When it is considered how cheaply they may be raised, it is a matter of surprise that our farmers do not give the subject more attention. At the present it is the farmer’s wife who produces and cares for ducklings, and were it not for her efforts the demand would be many times greater than the supply.
Geese
The raising of geese may be made an adjunct to farm work. They are very inexpensive to raise, especially where grass grows freely. In dry seasons or on land that does not produce grass freely, it is always noticeable that geese lack condition. Geese are not egg-producers in great quantity.
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They will lay 20 to 30 in the year. Chiefly their laying consists of one batch of eggs, upon which they will set and produce their young. A good gander may be mated to four geese. The fertility of the eggs is good. The geese will mother its young with great care. They will forage for almost all the food they require. A little mash similar to that fed to ducks or hens will hasten maturity in a few weeks. Stubble fed goslings are usually in excellent condition, though it will be found that to hatch early and supplement their feed with a good mash will result in good market value.
Turkeys
There is an excellent demand for turkeys. A few years ago, prices were remarkably low, sixpence to eightpence per pound being given for gobblers while to-day first-class birds command more than double that price. The demand is certainly greater than the supply, and each year New Zealand imports many turkeys to supply her needs. We badly need a change of blood in New Zealand. Most of the birds are inbred with the result that vitality is sacrificed. Heavy losses occur annually among poults, while those birds that are prepared for market lack size and weight. Turkeys require free range. In many places they are allowed tc run wild, and in Hawke's Bay and North Canterbury they may be seen in flocks, difficult to approach and to be obtained only with a gun. The turkey hen will hatch her own eggs if allowed to sit. She makes a good mother, but should not be given too much liberty with her young. She will over-exercise the poults. If kept in a small run until the birds are feathered and the "shooting of the red" is accomplished danger is avoided. The first food for the young birds may be either soaked bread, boiled rice, or rolled oats. Later broken wheat and other grains such as kibbled maize or barley may be fed. Turkey raising is an art. If the mother hen is left to her own resources and food supplied, she will raise her young satisfactorily, though heavy losses are experienced each year by many farmers, who do not understand the work. We regret space will not allow in this work for the publication of much helpful information that has been secured as to the cause of such heavy losses. One male bird may be used with ten females. The Bronze Wing and the White Turkey are the most suitable for market purposes.
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VALUE OF POINTS IN JUDGING TURKEYS.
Deduct.
Defects in condition .... 5
„ head, neck, and wattles . . 15
„ colour . . . . .25
„ shape 20
„ weight 25
„ legs and feet . . . .10
A perfect bird to count
100
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Preparing Birds for Exhibition
From the fancier and his hobby has grown an industry. In every country poultry and eggs are produced for the needs of the people. This vast amount of production has arisen from what originally was considered a fancy. From the large number of varieties those breeds have been selected that gave most promise as a business proposition. Careful selection and breeding have given us several breeds that can be kept at a good profit either for the production of eggs, or table poultry. When the fancier attained his ideal in many of these varieties he looked for a change of characteristics to maintain interest, and create competition, with the result that it was found many of the points aimed for were inimical to utility purposes. For this reason the N.Z. Utility Poultry Standards have been produced, and as shown in the appendix contain a simple exposition of what utility standard birds should be. Though the utility breeder is actuated chiefly with the commercial aspect, in the production of a flock, he cannot afford to ignore standard requirements or he will find that he will soon produce degenerates and poor specimens of a breed. Our Poultry Shows are the chief means whereby ocular demonstrations are obtained of the true type, colour, etc., demanded by the Standard. Not only should the breeder visit these shows, for his guidance, but he should support them with his entries, and take a lively interest in their proceedings. Thousands of people will view his birds, interest will be awakened to breed similar birds and a general increase in production will result. Each year the bond of sympathy between the fancier and the utility man grows stronger, and in many of our shows we have them working together. Each shows the class of bird to which his attention is given. To rightly understand the standard, and to prepare his birds for exhibition should be the aim of all who possess the fancier spirit, and with that end in view the following advice is given:—
WASHING BIRDS FOR EXHIBITION
Among our poultry we have several varieties that have white plumage which should be washed at least three days
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before the bird is shown. To do this requires great care. He is fortunate who can secure the services of an experienced fancier who will give a practical lesson on how the work is done. Thousands of beginners have been taught in this way. A badly washed bird is a sorry spectacle, and it is better to leave the bird unwashed than to fail in one’s object, and yet unless special attention is given to an exhibit one cannot expect much consideration from the judge. Before a good fire provide a bath or tub, half full of lukewarm rain or soft spring water. The temperature should be about 90 degrees. Cleanse the feet and legs of the bird, and it is better to raise the feathers and fan the dust out before washing proceeds. Stand the bird in the water, then gradually immerse. Use a large sponge and thoroughly soak the feathers. Gently rub the feathers with the web as they lie. Care should be taken not to rub against the feathers or injury will be done. Use plenty of Castile soap and wash the feathers right to the skin. Great patience is needed to wash the feathers perfectly. They should then be rinsed until all the soap is removed. When completed, have another bath of similar water so as to thoroughly wash out all the soap and cleanse the feathers. Another bath should be prepared with water of the same temperature but with a little blue added. The water should then be cooled down so as the bird will not catch a chill. The bird is then ready for drying. It should be placed on a stick or board over the tub, and all the feathers pressed with the hands so as to remove the water. With dry warm towels the drying process begins. Place the bird close to the fire, and continue drying until nearly all the moisture is absorbed. A sponge should then be soaked in Hydrogen of Peroxide and applied to the feathers. This is an excellent bleacher, and will leave the feathers glossy and white. Care should be taken not to allow the peroxide to touch the legs, comb or face or it will bleach them too. The bird should then be kept before the fire till drying is complete. If fanned the feathers will dry more quickly. It will take the longest to dry under the wings, and among the fluff. If the work has been properly done, the feathers will dry out perfectly. If soap has been left on them the feathers will not spread and another bath will have to be given. Place the bird in a nice clean coop. See that it is kept warm and free from draughts.
Condition is always a most desired factor for show birds. Special feeding should be given for several weeks before the Show. One mash a day should be given consisting of boiled rice, maize meal, pollard, ground oats and bran. The addition
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of tallow or fat will be helpful. A condition powder may be made up of one ounce each of feungreek, ginger, and genetian root with four ounces of bicarbonate of soda. A teaspoonful in the mash for six birds is sufficient.
Posing in the show pen is desired. Most birds are scared and crouch at the approach of anyone. They should be placed in a coop and fed bits of food such as meat, where they have to reach for it. They will soon lose their timidity, and assume a good pose when the judge comes around.
Removing paint from plumage is always a troublesome business. Soak the feathers with petrol. Rub carefully with a clean cloth.
Discerning Pullets from Hens.—lt is difficult to give absolute proof of age, but in pullets the plumage is always fresh in appearance, fine hairs are to be seen and pink veins under the wings beneath the skin. The breast bone is more flexible in the young bird, face and eyes have a youthful freshness.
Handling a Show Specimen needs to be done carefully to avoid breaking the feathers. Place the hands on the wings so that it does not struggle. It may then be placed in the left hand which also holds the legs leaving the right hand free to handle the feathers.
Lustre to Plumage in Dark Coloured Fowls may be increased by giving the birds red carbonate of iron. A teaspoonful may be given three times per week. This should not be fed to white birds.
Feather growth may be helped considerably by the addition of linseed meal, oil cake, sunflower seed, meat and bone meal, to the daily mash.
Stimulants should not be used if they can be avoided, but equal parts of sugar syrup and brandy will prevent birds from taking cold when being taken to a Show.
Brassiness is an inherent colour characteristic, and is often hastened by exposure to the sun. Before showing them confine them to a dark locality.
Germs of disease often attach themselves to eggs for hatching, and are communicated to the chick through the egg. A solution of alcohol should be used to wipe the shells before setting under the hen. Eggs should not be kept too
POULTRY FOE PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
94
long before setting. They will keep for a month, but the chicks are stronger and better if the eggs are set before they are a week old. Fertility in eggs may be destroyed by dipping the eggs in boiling water for three seconds. The shells may be pricked with a pin. Vigorous shaking will also spoil fertility.
Curling feathers is the result of the bird being kept too near the fire when drying out after washing. The bird should be placed before the fire at a sufficient distance that the feathers show no signs of curling.
Bluing the water for washing the bird may be tested on a piece of white rag. If when it is dry it shows no signs of blue, the water is the desired tint.
Sudden death may sometimes occur when washing a bird. It is caused through the water being too hot or too cold. If the bird faints through the water being too hot immerse quickly in cool water.
Colds may be prevented after washing the bird by giving three drops of spirits of camphor on a tablespoonful of mash food, after the bird has been washed. Camphor placed in the drinking water is a great preventative of cold in winter, but should not be given to laying hens as the eggs will taste of camphor.
Diarrhoea may be prevented by feeding boiled rice. Should the trouble still continue sprinkle the rice with prepared chalk.
Creaminess may be removed by washing the bird in water tinted with blue. Peroxide can then be applied. Ammonia is also an effective agent in removing the trouble.
Leg weakness is a troublesome complaint with many show birds. Pills made of sulphate of iron, quinine, and phosphates of lime, double the quantity of lime to the other ingredients may be used.
Scaly legs may be cured by painting the scales with warm tar. The scales will then moult off, and new ones appear within a few days.
Clean and polish the legs of the birds before sending to the Show. Wash well with warm water, and soap. Clean the
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POULTRY FOB PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
dirt from the crevices of the legs. Dry and rub with a chamois leather. A little alcohol mixed with beeswax, and applied with a soft cloth, will leave the legs finely polished.
Light Coloured legs may be avoided by keeping the birds on bare ground. If allowed to run through grass, or lime is placed on the dropping boards it will help to keep the legs a good colour. Buttering colouring is used to add depth to leg colour. A light application of iodine is also used and then rubbed with a soft cloth.
Red edges on ear lobes may be almost hidden by persist ently rubbing the edge of the lobe back to the under side.
Pimples and eruptions on the lobes give the bird a bad appearance. The lobes should be well rubbed with Amigo ointment which removes all skin troubles.
White spots on red lobes can be dyed with vermilion or Permanganate of Potassium, while defects of red on a white lobe may be removed with Oxide of Zinc ointment. Acid treatments are injurious and cause pain to the bird.
Small defects on the beak may be removed with sandpaper or fine file. If deep-rooted the defect should be left untouched.
Beefy combs are the result of forcing foods, especially overfeeding on meat.
Sprigs removed from a comb may be detected by the scar left on the surface of the comb.
Weak combs may be strengthened by bathing in alum water. A cradle may also be applied to strengthen the base.
Bleeding of combs which have been “dubbed” may be arrested by the application of powdered alum or boracic acid.
Line Breeding, a system of breeding begins with blood of two proven strains from which the birds are “line bred" from the father to the daughter on the one side and the son to the mother on the other. The progeny from these is again mated so that the distinctive qualities in common are transmitted through heredity.
Mendelism, the system originated by Gregor Mendel, whereby knowledge of breeding is systematised, and the definite and fixed characteristics are retained by intelligent mating.
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
96
Faking is a term described as “any self-evident attempt on the part of the exhibitor to deceive the judge and thus obtain an unfair advantage in competition.” Removing sprigs, artificial colouring of plumage, staining legs, etc., are faking but washing, cleansing, massaging to improve quality are permissible.
DONTS TO BE REMEMBERED.
Don’t tell exhibitors what fine birds you have at home, and how you could have beaten all-comers had you shown.
Don’t lodge a protest for a small matter. Protests do not stand much investigation, and often reflect more on the protest-maker than the value of a prize.
Don’t be glum. Take defeat cheerfully. Congratulate the winner, and promise to beat him at the next year’s show.
Don’t complain of bad judging if you lose. If there is anything you do not understand, ask the judge privately, and he will gladly explain.
Don’t think every judge perfect. Mistakes are often made. It is a graceful act to overlook the error. It will make the judge your friend.
Don’t think the judge impartial because you have lost. It is better not to show your birds than to make complaints of this nature.
Don’t show your arrogance by telling him how you would have placed the awards had you been judge. Your hearers may not say much, but they think almost aloud.
Don’t forget you are wedded to your birds through weeks of close association.
Don’t think your ideas should be immediately conceived by the judge.
Don’t forget that dress plays an important part in everyday life. It is the sine qua non in the show-pen.
Don’t ask your friend to view your exhibits if you have taken no pains to make the birds attractive.
Don’t show birds with scaly legs, unless you wish to advertise your want of cleanliness.
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
Don’t show birds down in condition. They will look sorry objects before the show is over, and scare buyers off your stock.
Don’t think yourself a fancier if you imagine any care of the birds is too much trouble.
Don’t expect to win if you just grab up your bird the day before the show, and place him in his pen. If you win it is the result of good fortune rather than the result of your labours as a fancier.
Don't break rules, and then cast round for sympathy and depend on your friends to support you.
Don't ring up the Secretary on show days to find out how your birds fared. He will say things under his breath you would not care to hear.
Don't expect shows to pay, and then stick at the doormoney or the purchase of a catalogue.
Don't handle other men's exhibits. Even your best friends will think less of you for this offence.
Don't make a fool of yourself by showing the defects of other men's exhibits, unless your are asked for the information.
Don't criticise the show officials for the way they run the show. Any slacker can do this. Buck in and show some hustle and rattle.
Don't be ignorant of the standard. Study the information given in the appendix to this book.
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POINTS OF A FOWL
REFERENCES.
1. Comb
14. Wing-coverts, forming the "bar"
2. Face
3. Wattles
15. Secondaries, the lower ends forming the wing or lower butts. Wing Bay. Diamond
4. Deaf Ear or Ear-lobe
6. Hackle
6. Breast
16. Lower wing butts
1. Back
17. Primaries. Hidden by Secondaries when the wing is closed.
8. Saddle
9. Saddle-hackles
18. Thighs
10. Sickles
19. Hockß
11. Tail-coverts
20. Less or Shanks
12. True Tail Feathers
21. Spur
13. Wing-bow
22. Toes or Claws
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
Standard of Excellence for Judging Eggs
Points
Condition and Freshness . . 45
Weight of Eggs (2oz standard) . 20
Texture of Shell (smooth and thick throughout) .... 10
Colour of Yolk (deep orange) . . 10
Uniformity ..... 5
Shape 5
Clean Shells (washing undesirable) . 6
Total Number of Points . . .100
Disqualifications.—Blood spots and stains, cloudy yolks, developed germs, adhesion of yolks to shell, malformations.
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
Glossary
(Extracts from the Poultry Club’s Standard, England.)
Bands. —See "Pencilling."
Barring.—Alternate strips of light and dark across a feather, somewhat similar to the pencilling of a Gold or Silver Pencilled Hamburg hen, but generally not so fine, and most distinctly seen in the Barred Plymouth Rock.
Bean.—A black spot or mark at the tip of the upper mandible of a waterfowl, seen in Indian Runners.
Beetle Brows.—Heavy, overhanging eyebrows, as for instance in the Malay.
Breast.—The front of a fowl's body above the point of the keel bone to the base of the neck.
Cap.— A comb; also the upper part of the fowl's skull.
Cape.—The feathers under and at the base of the neckhackle, between the shoulders; the word, however, is seldom used.
Carriage.—The bearing, attitude, or style of a bird.
Cloudy.—lndistinct (see "Mossy").
Collar. —A white mark almost encircling the neck of a Rouen drake, known as the "Ring."
Comb. —The fleshy protuberance on the top of a fowl's hea3, varying considerably in type and size, and including the rose of the Hamburg, Wyandotte, etc., the single of the Leghorn and Minorca, etc.
Condition. —The state of a fowl as regards its health, the brightness of its headgear and plumage.
Cushion.—A mass of feathers over the back of a hen covering the root of her tail, and most prominently developed in the Cochin.
Dewlap.—The gullet (so called) seen to the best advantage adult geese.
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
Diamond.—The wing-bay, most generally in use among Game fanciers.
Dubbing.—Cutting off the comb, wattles, and ear-lobes so as to leave a fowl’s head smooth.
Duck-footed.—Having feet like a duck, generally applied to Game fowls when the hind toe, instead of being straight out behind in a line with the middle toe, lies close to the inner side of the foot, allowable though not desirable in the Aseel, but a fault in all other breeds of fowl.
Ear-lobes.—The folds of skin hanging below the ears, and by some people called the “deaf ears.” The lobes vary in size, shape and colour, the last named including purple-black, turquoise blue, cream, red, white, and white sanded with red.
Flights.—The primary feathers of the wings, used in flying, but tucked out of sight when the bird is at rest.
Fluff.—Soft downy feathers around the thighs, chiefly developed in birds of the Cochin type; also the downy part of the feather (the under-colour) not seen as a rule until the bird is handled; also the hair-like growth sometimes found on the shanks and feet of clean-legged fowls, and in this case a defect.
Furnished.-—Feathered and adorned as an adult. A cockerel which has grown his full tail, hackles, comb, etc., is said to be “furnished,” but the term is chiefly used when referring only to soft feathered fowls.
Gipsy Face.—The skin of the face of a dark purple or mulberry colour; a face covered with short black hairs or feathers.
Gullet.—The loose part of the lower mandible; the dewlap of a goose. It appears on fowls, and is seen most distinctly perhaps in old Cochin hens, when it resembles a miniature beard of feathers.
Hackles.—The neck plumage of a fowl and the saddle plumage of a cock, consisting of long, narrow, pointed feathers.
Hangers.—The lesser sickles and tail coverts known as tail-hangers, and the saddle-hackle as saddle-hangers.
Hock.—The joint between the thigh and the shank, sometimes called the knee.
POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
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In-kneed.—See "Knock-kneed."
Keel.—The vertical part of the breast-bone, and in ducks the dependent flesh and skin below it.
Knock-kneed.—The hocks near together instead of well apart.
Laced, Lacing.—A stripe or edging all round a feather, differing in colour from that of the ground, single in such breeds as Wyandottes.
Leader.—The single spike terminating the rose type of comb; also known as the "spike."
Leaf Comb.—A comb resembling in shape a butterfly with its wings nearly wide open, and the body of the insect resting on the front of the fowl's head; it has also been referred to as resembling two escallop shells joined near the base, the join covered with a piece of coral; seen to the best advantage on a Houdan cock.
Leg.—The scaly part or shank.
Leg-feathers.—Feathers projecting from the outer sides of the shanks.
Lobes.—See "ear-lobes."
Marking.—The barring, lacing, pencilling, spangling, and the like, of the plumage.
Mealy.—Stipled with a lighted shade, a defect in buff coloured fowls.
Moons.—Spangles.
Mossy.—Confused or indistinct marking; a defect.
Pencilled Spikes.—The spikes of a single comb that are very long and narrow, almost as broad at the base as at the top; generally a defect.
Pencilling.—Small marking or stripes over a feather, either straight across as in Gold and Silver Pencilled Hamburg hens (and often known as bands), or in crescent-like form, following the outline of the feather, as in Brown leghorns.
Primaries.—See "Flights."
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Rose Comb.—A broad, solid comb, the top of which is nearly level and covered with several small regular points. It varies in length, width, and carriage according to breed.
Rust.—A patch of red-brown colour on the wings of some breeds of females, chiefly those of the Black-red colour; brown or red markings in black fluff or breast feathers; known also as “foxiness” in hens.
Saddle.—The posterior part of the back, reaching to the tail of the cock, and answering to the cushion of the hen; also, the centre of a duck’s upper bill, from the base to twothirds down toward the tip (near the bean), and nearly across to each side of the bill.
Saddle-hackle.—See “Hackles.”
Secondaries.—The quill feathers of the wings which are visible when the wings are folded.
Self-colour. —A uniform colour, unmixed with any other,
Shaft.—The stem or quill part of a feather.
Shafty.—Lighter coloured on the stem than on the webbing, a desirable marking in Dark Dorking hens, but generally a defect in other breeds.
Shank.—See “Leg.
Sheen.—Bright and showy; green-black; a rich, soft, transparent green on a black foundation. The word is confined to the beetle-green coloured plumage of black fowls in show condition, and to the colour of the black striping and lacing of other fowls. A bright and showy bird of any other than black is said to be lustrous.
Shell Combs.—See “Leaf Comb.”
Sickles.—The long curved feathers of a cock’s tail, properly applied to the top pair only, but sometimes used for the curved feathers of the tail next to them, the prominent tail-coverts, which are also known as lesser sickles.
Single Comb. —A comb which, when viewed from the front, is narrow, and having its spikes in line behind each other; it consists of a blade surmounted by spikes, the lower (solid) portion being the blade, and the spaces between the spikes the serrations. It differs in size, shape, and number of serrations according to breeds.
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND.
Spangling.—The markings produced by a large spot of colour on each feather dilfering from that of the groundcolour. When applied to a laced breed.
Spur.—A projection or horny substance on the shanks of cocks, and sometimes of hens, near the heel.
Squirrel Tail.—A tail, any part of which projects in front of a perpendicular line over the back; a tail that bends sharply over the back and touches, or almost touches, the head, like that of a squirrel.
Strawberry Comb.—A comb somewhat resembling a half strawberry, with the round part of the fruit uppermost; known also as the half-walnut comb.
Sub-variety.—See "Variety."
Surface-colour.—That portion of the feathers exposed to view.
Symmetry.—Perfection of proportion; harmony of all the parts of a fowl, taken as a whole, and typical of the variety it represents; shape.
Tail-coverts.—The soft, curved feathers at the sides of the lower part of the tail.
Tail-feathers.—The straight and stiff feathers of the tail only. The top pair is sometimes slightly curved, but they are generally straight or nearly so, and, in the male fowl, are contained inside the sickles and coverts.
Thigh.—That part of the leg above the shank, and covered with feathers.
Thumb-marked Comb.—A single comb possessing indentations in the blade: generally a defect.
Tri-coloured.—Of three colours. The term refers chiefly to buff fowls, and is generally applied only to males when their hackles and tails are dark compared with the general plumage, and the wing-bows are darker.
Trio.—A male and two females.
Type.—See "Symmetry."
Under-colour.—The colour of the plumage seen when a bird is handled—that is, when the surface is lifted; the colour of the fluff of the feather.
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POULTRY FOR PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND
Variety.—A definite branch of a breed known by its distinctive colour or marking—for example, the black is a variety of the Leghorn. Sub-variety, a sub-division of an established variety, differing in shape of comb from the original—for example, the rose-combed Black is a sub-variety of the Black Leghorn. Thus the breed includes all the varieties and subvarieties, which should conform to the same standard shape.
Vulture Hocks.—Stiff projecting quill-feathers at the hock joint, growing on the thighs and extending backwards.
Wattles.—The fleshy depending structure at each side of the base of the beak, chiefly developed in male birds.
Web.—A flat and thin structure. Web of feather: the flat or plum portion. Web of feet: the flat skin between the toes. Web of wing: the triangular skin seen when the wing is extended.
Whiskers.—Feathers growing from the sides of the face.
Wing-bar.—Any line of dark colour across the middle of the wing, caused by the colour or markings of the feathers known as the lower wing-coverts.
Wing-bay.—The triangular part of the folded wing between the wing-bar and the point (see "Diamond").
Wing-bow.—The upper or shoulder part of the wing.
Wing-butt or Wing-point.—The end of the primaries; the corners or ends of the wing. The upper ends are more properly called the shoulder-butts, and are thus termed by Game fanciers. The lower, similarly, are often called the 'owerbutts.
Wing-coverts.—The feathers covering the roots of the secondary quills.
Wry-tail.—A tail carried awry, to the right or left side of the continuation of the backbone, and not straight with the body of the fowl.
Index
A.
Adjunct to Incomes . 11
Analysis of Foods . . 29
Agricultural Department 34
Air Cell of Eggs . 45,46
Abdomenal Weakness . 64
Apoplexy .... 64
B.
Buildings for Poultry . 15
Balanced Dietary . 23,30
Blod Clots . . 29,32,40
Broody Hens ... 38
Breeders 41
Biology of Chicks . . 46
Producing Chickens . 48
Bowel Protrusion . . 64
Bronchitis .... 65
Bumblefoot .... 65
Broilers for Table . . 61
Broody Ducklings . . 76
Brassiness in Feather . 82
Blue Water for Washing 83
Beefy Combs ... 84
Bleeding of Combs . . 84
C.
Chicken Feeding . . 24
Competition Rations . 25 Constitution . . 26,35,42
Carbohydrates of Fats . 30
Concentrates ... 30
Characteristics of Layers 35
Chinese Incubators . 37
Cooling Eggs ... 42
Chicken-Hatching . . 43
Crippled Chickens . . 43
Cool Brooding System 49,50
Competition Dietaries . 31
Chick Foods ... 51
Capons 61
Culling the Birds . . 64
Cancer 65
Cholera 66
Colds, Catarrh . . 67,83
Crop Bound .... 66
Condition of Birds . . 82
Curling Feathers . . 83
Creaminess .... 83
Cradles for Combs . . 84
Custom Hatching . . 37
D.
Denmark's Egg Trade . 7
Dropping Boards . . 18
Dry Mash Hoppers . . 19
Dry and Wet Mashes . 28
Dry Mash 27, 30, 33. 51
Double-Yolked Eggs . 32
Dept. of Agriculture . 34
Draughts . . . 46,62
Determination of Sex . 46
Diseases of Poultry . 62
Diarrhoea ... 66,83 Danger of Epidemics . 70
Ducks for Market . . 71
Ducks in Moult ... 77
Discerning Pullets . . 82
Defects in Beaks . . 84
Dubbing 84
Don’ts to Remember . 85
E.
Egg and its Elements 21, 26
Exercise Essential . . 24
Early Laying ... 25
Egg Yolks .... 31
Egg Craze . . . . 38
Eggs for Hatching . . 40
Eye Indications ... 35
Egyptian Incubators . 37
Eggs, Losses, Care of 53,54
Egg-Eating Habit . . 54
Egg Circle System . 5
Egg-Eating .... 67
Electric Incubators . . 44
Epidemic Dangers . . 70
F.
Farm Poultry 12, 38, 59, 61
Fountains for Water ’ . ’l9
Feed Trough ... 20
Feeding Poultry . . 21
Feeding for the Moult . 25
Fat Hens Cannot Lay 19,25
Foods for Egg-Making 19* 30
Formulse for Dry Mash 3l
Foundation Stock . . 33
Forced Maturity . . 52
Fattening Poultry . . 56
r avus 67
"" U I Feather-Eating ... 67
Feeding Ducks ... 73 T7l •_ T* T *-.
Flavouring Duck Eggs . 73
Fattening Ducks . . 74
Fancy and Utility . . 80
Feather Growth . , 82
Faking 85
G.
S ri * ■ ••-•.• !9-23
Gas Burner for Incubators 44
Governor for Gas . . 44
Green Food .... 51
Green Feeds .... 28
Growing Stock ... 52
Grading Eggs . . . 54
Governing Test ... 57
Going Light .... 67
Green Ducks ... 72
_ __ ■ ■ . a. Geese .... 77
Germ Diseases ... 82
H.
Houses for Poultry . 17,18
Hoppers for Dry Mash . 19
How to Tell Layers . 36
Hatching Operations . 37
Handling Show Specimens 82
I.
Incubation of Chickens 37,39
Infertile Eggs ... 55
Inflammation of Bowels 67
Incubation of Ducklings . 75
J.
Judgment in Feeding 21,24
K.
Knowledge of Feeding . 24
L.
Leghorn Performances . 33
London Market ... 7
Lucerne Hay for Nests . 19
Lamps of Incubators . 44
Liver Complaints . . 67
Lung Trouble ... 67
Lustre in Plumage . . 82
Leg Weakness ... 83
Light Colour in Legs . 84
Line Breeding ... 84
M.
Moulting 24
Modern Incubators . . 37
Moisture in Incubators . 45
Mash Foods .... 59
Moulting Ducks
Mendelism .... 84
N.
New Zealand Climate . 15
Nest Boxes .... 19
Nesting Material . . 19
Nutrition Ratio ... 30
Nature’s Methods . 46,47
O.
Oyster Shell . . 19,23,54
Oviduct 31
Ovarian Trouble . . 67
Over-feeding ... 68 n
P.
Poultry-keeping . . 13
Pelvic Bone Guide . . 36
Perches 18
Pioneers of Incubation . 3S
Protein Elements in . 26,29
Preparing for Market . 57
Priming Poultry . . 59 Poultry Diseases . . 62
Prevention of Disease . 64
Pale Combs .... 68
Poisoning .... 68
Posing for Show . . 82
Pimples on Combs, &c. . 84
n.
Red Mite on Perches . 18, 68
Retarding Laying Pullets 52
Rattling in Throat . 68
Rheumatism ... 68
Roup 68
Removing Paint . . 82
Red in Ear-lobes ... 84
S.
Suburban Poultry-keepers 16
Scratching Material . 20
Stimulants to Avoid 24, 27, 28
Selection of Breeders . 33
Sex-Linked Inheritance . 35
Sex Testers Condemned . 44
Size of Crop Important . 24
Strain Values ... 33
Single Pen Tests . . 33
Standard Characteristics 35
Stale Eggs for Hatching 41
Sex Theories .... 46
Setting the Hen . 48
Stamping Eggs ... 54
Soft-shelled Eggs . . 54
Sweating .... 62
Sick Soil 63
Scaly Legs . . . 69,83
Sudden Deaths ... 69
Swollen Eyes ... 69
Spraying Houses . . 70
Selection of Duck Breeds 72
Selection & Mating Ducks 74
Setting the Hen . . 76
Stimulants .... 82
Sudden Deaths; Cause . 83
Sprigs on Combs . . 84
T.
Testing Eggs ... 43
Temp, in Incubators . 42,43
Thermometers ... 43
Table Poultry on Farms 55
Tobac o Powder Uses . 69
Toe-picking .... 69
Tuberculosis ... 69
Table Ducks ... 72
Turkeys 78
V.
Vermin, Their Breathing 19
Ventilation in Incubators 46
Vitality of Birds . . 62
Vent Discharges . . 69
Vermin in Ducks
W.
Water Fountains . . 19
Wet Mash System . 25,33
Woman’s Work . . 48
Worms 69
Washing Birds ... 80
White Spots in Lobes . 84
Weak Combs ... 84
World's Records ... 33
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/books/ALMA1926-9917504503502836-Poultry-for-profit-in-New-Zealan
Bibliographic details
APA: Merrett, J. B. (John Bouverie). (1926). Poultry for profit in New Zealand : a practical guide to poultry keeping in New Zealand and Australia for use and profit. Simpson & Williams Ltd., Printers.
Chicago: Merrett, J. B. (John Bouverie). Poultry for profit in New Zealand : a practical guide to poultry keeping in New Zealand and Australia for use and profit. Christchurch, N.Z.: Simpson & Williams Ltd., Printers, 1926.
MLA: Merrett, J. B. (John Bouverie). Poultry for profit in New Zealand : a practical guide to poultry keeping in New Zealand and Australia for use and profit. Simpson & Williams Ltd., Printers, 1926.
Word Count
34,704
Poultry for profit in New Zealand : a practical guide to poultry keeping in New Zealand and Australia for use and profit Merrett, J. B. (John Bouverie), Simpson & Williams Ltd., Printers, Christchurch, N.Z., 1926
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