POULTRY KEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 185, 4 August 1923, Page 20

POULTRY KEEPING.

■ £ (By R. J. TERR'S.) l < £ TO CORRESPONDENTS- b IDEAL (Frankton) had a White Leghorn 1 pullet which was suffering from " n I c Internal complaint, portion ot \ he 1 interior projecting out of the vent. The I part was washed with warm soapy water/and returned, but the bird immediately U forced tbe part out again. The bird baa \ ( to be killed eventually, as an offensive, smell developed. My correspondent also ( asks it it would be advisable to mate 0 first season's pullets with first seasons cockerels twelve months old. Do not mate first season's birds if you can avoid i It. Tou will get better results by uriofflc second fear bens and cockerels or fully 1 1 developed pullets and a second senson itmlc bird. The oviduct was protruding ' from tbe White Leghorn pullet. You t made a mistake in washing the part with j warm soapy water. It would irritate the bird, and set up a certain amount < ot inflammation, hence the straining to I set rid of the irritant. In all Hlmllar cases use " Miracle," a tcaspoonful to a pint of water. At this strength It Is < effective, yet does not burn. DISGUSTED (Whangarei) purchased some ( Black Orpington bens from a Southern , breeder for breeding purposes to improve , his egg production. lie Is very disgusted with their laying qualities.—lt is possible that the loug journey and , change of quarters (possibly different feed and management) may have had something to do with the poor results obtained. But why send so far for the birds? There are a few of tbe best record layers, or rather descendants of record layers, around Auckland nt the , present time. MORE ABOUT FATTENING. A correspondent rsks for some further fattening rations. Other rations than those I gave would be: —2 parts poor grade flour, 2 parts ground barley, 1 part pollard. Equal parts of ground oats, ground barley or ground wheat, 2 parts ground oats, 1 part ground barley, 1 part ground wheat, 1 part ground maize. In all cases the grinding should be as fine as possible. Mix the meal with skimmed milk if possible, to the consistency of porridge. Any or all of these rations should have the addition of mutton fat during the last ten days. It ehould be remembered that when anyone who has seen properly fatted chicken, as produced in England or the Continent of Europe, is speaking of chickens for fattening, they invariably mean well-grown chickens of about ten weeks old when the fattening commences. WEIGHT Or THREE CHICKENS. Before fattening After fattening lb. om. lb. ozs. With fcatbers oflt 8 8 10 4 Heady for cooking; 5 2 11 6 After being cooked and left cool for two days .... 3 S 0 2 Bones 1 2 1 11 Edible portion .26 T 6 STARTING THE INCUBATOR. I am supposing that an incubator has been purchased and delivered. One can hardly go wrong as regards a modern incubator from any maker with a reputation. But the incubator having been delivered the makers' responsibility ceases and the condition under which the incubator is run will go far for success or the reverse not only i.i the percentage of chickens batched, but also in the sturdineea or otherwise of the youngsters. Having chosen the position for the machine and put it together according to instructions it is advisable to give it a trial run some little time before it ie required. Follow the directions that I give carefully. Some may seem trivial, but they mean a great deal in the ultimate result. For instance very few people dust and Wow out any tubes. Now, by neglecting to do this they may not only get a scare owing to the machine smoking and even being apparently on fire, as the tubes may contain fine sawdust or other packing material, through careless packing, etc. When the machine is heated up this material start* to burn and would certainly more or less, frighten the novice. Some machines will give off a smell of

turning paint or oil, but this is due . « m\y to tine effect ot the Wt on the \ I oaint or other preparation with w-hich J _ ;he tubes are sometimes coated. Fill the I -amp ac per directions, using th e best 1 kerosene oil- Do not use a common oil. j ?ee that the wick is carefully trimmed I md quite straight. In subsequently 1 attending fo the laimi it will 'be much 1 better to wipe aft the charred portion I Df the wick when the occasional trim- I \ ming is necessary. Also occasionally \ scrapo away any deposits of carbon on i tho edge of the burner xvhich may ac- I cumulate. Tor tho hot air machine \ place the lamp in position as directed, f and folloxv the instructions given for re- sai gulating it according to tho type that -* is used. In hot water machines great js| care should he taken in filling the water ii tank, so that none is spilled and tuns % down the side of tho filling tube into 3 the machine. If this happens the pack- 3! ing material around the tank, in many 3 cases, sawdust, becomes wet and when the machine is thoroughly warmed, the ~f, vapour rising, swells the wood, and % often cracks it. This may not affect i w the working of the machine, hut is an 3§ eyesore and takes off a certain value of fj| the machine. It can ibe easily avoided r$ by a little care at the commencement, If you use a funnel to fill the water |jj tank do not press the funnel tight into tho tube, otherwise it is bound to splut- M tcr over. Follow the direction of the J maker as to regulating and so forth. In 3 the case of the hot air machines they li should 'be working at least twenty-four % hours before eggs are placed in them, ~% and water tank machine forty-eight 3 hours. Then, if they remain satisfae- 3 tory as regards temperature, the eggs ?jj may lie placed in the machines. % POSITION OF INCUBATOR. | I am convinced that a lot of nonsense % has been written regarding the bad % effects cf noises adjacent to incubators. •$ The jarring of same and so forth. Keep ij. away from the noise and jar ii possible, ! $j but if I had to choose between a suitable ji spot as regards the atmosphere, although 1 it was subject to noises and jars I would -, certainly choose the former. Bu„ very % few persons using an incubator are so ?( placed that with the expense of a little t thought they cannot find a suitable posi- $ tion for their machine. I consider one =< of the worst possible pogitions foi suecessful hatch is to have the incubator jj lin a light brignt dry room with a constant and big circulation of air. It might be ideal for a brooder but not for an incubator. To my mind a good cellar p is an ideal position for a machine to work successfully. But few people havo cellars, and failing this some quiet spot should be found where there is not a direct current of air and, if possible, not too dry, although the latter defect is easily overcome. If the incubator is on legs see that they aro of equal length and that the machine is standing firmly and squarely upon them. The incubator N that does not stand true might affect the working of the delicately adjusted capsule. If tho machine is on a wooden floor or concrete place a small piece of carpet, thick cloth, or even a couple of folds of bagging under the legs, to prevent vibration, not that I think that it has any harmful effects during the actual incubation stage, but a sudden jar might have the effect of startling a i chick which was breaking out of a shell and bring about deformity. One thing I was nearly forgetting, children and incubators do not seem to work well together. A spirit of curiosity is very prominently developed in the average child; therefore in choosing a site this fact should be borne in mind. Naturally the children wish to see how the eggs are getting along or if they are hatched yet, and then in their fright of being caught interfering, possibly the drawer fitted tightly, they leave the drawer partly out of the machine, bringing about a decrease in temperature. Caps, pinafores, scarves, etc., thrown on the regulator will have the opposite effect, and the chickens may be roasted. The maid servant with a dusting brush or duster is also to be guarded against for the same reason.