POULTRY RAISING.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 370, 11 June 1903, Page 5

POULTRY RAISING.

MR D. D. HYDE'S LECTURE,

Mr D. D. Hyde, Government poultry expert, delivered a lecture in the Alexandra town hall on the evening of the 30th inst,, when there was a good attendance of the public. Mr L. B Grimstone occupied the chair, and introduced the lecturer.

Mr Hyde began by referring to the importance of the poultry industry, and to the magnitude it had attained in America. There was no reason why the industry could not attain the same magnitude in New Zealand, as there was no class of stock that would pay so well, per acre, as poultry. The speaker then went on to the various points that must be observed to secure the Lest results. Many people thought that fowls do better when roosting in trees, but that is a mistake. Fowls that roosted in trees were infested with vermin, and therefore could not give the best r results. Fowls must have proper housing. The house could be as plain as was liked, so long as it was kept scrupulously clean. That was a first consideration. The house should be thoroughly limewashed twioe a year, and should not be draughty. It should be welllighted and well ventilated—ventilation and plenty of sunlight went a l*>ng way towards preventing disease. Ventilation should be obtained by an aperture in the roof, with a board placed under it so as to ciuse the current to strike upwards. It was not necessary to have a concrete, asphalted, or boarded floor—that was a mistake. All that was wanted was that the floor should be formed of dry earth and raised six inches above the surrounding ground. The matter of perches might seem a trivial matter to some people but it was of the"- utmost importance. Perches should be made ot Sin x 2in timber, with the rough edges taken off, but not made smooth. The timber should be sound, with no notches or cracks for vermin to congregate in. The perches should on no account be nailed down, but the rails should be made so that they will fit into a slot at either end. The perches can be easily taken down, and the house cleaned thoroughly with little loss of time. The refuse can afterwards be used as manure for the garden. The perches should be dipped ink rosene, as this was absolutely the best preventative of vermin. Perches should notbebuiltinstepladder fashion. In this case, fowls always fight for the higher perches, not because they think they are better, but because they have a greater sense of security than is afforded them on the lower perches. The birds on the higher perches breathe the vitiated atmosphere all night, and for this reason the perches should not be more than 12 or 18 inches from the ground. Regarding

the feeding of fowls V ' T yie went on to say that grit whs essential to proper digestion, but they should not be given water-worn pebbles. Ground glass or crockery was the best thing lo give the fowls. (To be continued.)