POULTRY KEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 213, 8 September 1923, Page 20

POULTRY KEEPING.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. 1 TO CORRESPONDENTS. 3 T TO VARIOUS CORRESPONDENTS.—This 1 column In most cases koub to press on 3 Wednesday, wuich accounts lor apparent r delay of some replies. EPSOM writes that he is a beginner in '' poultry keeping, and wishes to start off v with birds which would l>o botli table 3 and egg producing. Would I help lilrn to g procure stock, Is there any book 1 . can recommend on poultry keeping?— The above Is a query which possibly applies to several beginners, so 1 will i answer It somewhat fully. I take It, by the address and style of the letter, that tho poultry will be only a hobby and not run as a source of income. Half-bred (Tame birds would certainly supply the table with an ideal fowl, and the pullets would lay a fair number of cgss In the 5 year, but probably not more than a huns dred, even with good management. So j that the keeping of these birds is a mistake. It would bo bptter to keep, say, a , dozen niack Orpiiiptons and cross them 1 with an Indian pamc rooster, usiup the t propony for table purposes only. They t i would be splendid eatlnc at about four • J months old. At the end of two years the twelve Black Orpingtons could be killed • J —they would make excellent botlins 5 fowls—nnd twelve more pullets could be purchased nnd treated as before. The f " Utility roultry Keeping" should meet all requirements. I am writing you > ! direct re stock. ■i F.C. (Hamilton) had a bird die, the insMe 1 of which wns In a disgusting state. My ! correspondent Bends mc a sketch of the growths attached to the internal orpnne. ' I —Prom the appenrnnce and description ■ I should say the bird was suffering from a Tory had form of tuberculosis, tho In- , I teatines being the organs chiefly affected. : I Tuberculosis seldom affects the lungs of 1 birds, hut very often the Intestines and t j internal organs. In the case of the other 3 i bird which had small, hard lumps un.ler . j the skin and on the flesh, it was undoubtedly a case of tuberculosis. Ini fortunately, the disease Is far too com--3 mon. and will remain so whilst we have r poultry-houses without any light, nnd draughts Instead of ventilation. I would ' advise my correspondent ulirKrntr up the l run at least a spit deep. Do this on a j bright, sunshiny day. 3 GANDER writes again, thanking mc for I information given, and thinks readers i would like a little further information re " geese. One of these weeks I will go into t , the matter more fully. There Is certainly i I room for considerable improvement, both . ' as regards the quality of geese and their l I management. Briefly, geese from now on - ! should have a little grain, a good stout S ; oat is suitable. You will find that if they get a few oats to supplement the I ordinary feed, and you remove the eggs . : as laid the number will considerably mii crease. A goose properly treated should i lay about thirty eggs—the goose betns given a sitting and the balance belns put under large hens, etich as Orpingtons. ; SURPRISED would be glad if I could tell him of any means of stopping bleeding • j from a fowl's comb. My correspondent . i had a Black Minorca hen bleed to death from quite a small wound nn the comb, ' caused by a peck from another bird. 1 The trouble Is. In most cases, that the i fowl will not allow nature to check the [ bleeding In nature's way, hy forming a , , clot. The bird either scratches the place : i or rubs it. If this Ls the case, unci the : , puncture Iβ on one of the serrations, tie i a piece of thin tape or cloth tightly over , ] the wound or Just below it. If on the ; comb itself, and the bird is scratching I fhe place, tie the bird's feet together In • J a piece of rag so that she cannot lift ; I one foot. Then, if you put a small piece [ 1 of cotton wool on the wound, that will assist to form a clot, and time does the rest. A little tannin, in powder form. which may be procured at the chemist's, checks ordinary bleeding to a very great extent. Knllin? thle, strong spirit, even ■WTisky, will do. > DISAPPOINTED writes that last year he > I purchased some settings of eggs which , ! were supposed to be of a good egg-laying J strain, and the - turned out to be only " J fair layers, and looked mongrels. I am ; afraid this sort of thing will always be cropping up, yet I say that It ls "quite . pnsslhle to have birds which are typical 1 of the breed, nnd good layere. I "know ) of White legi'orns, which n-r. (.rf-ty ; white, good shape, and splendid heads. k and yet are second to none as layers, nti'l you need not now go outside New Zeat land to get them. The same remarks . apply to at least one strain of Black , Orpingtons. I MYSELF AGAIN. ' Once before, in this column, I had to 7 discuss myself for the satisfaction of ' correspondents. Now, a correspondent 'writes that he and some friends .are sur- ! prised that I have not got a poultry i farm, as it would bo a great help to 1 beginners, etc. Just at first upon read- ! ing the letter, I was inclined to say that - this is my own business, and a personal i matter. But on second thoughts, and 1 although I am half Irish I sometimes ; Quinteros, the latter being declared - buyer. Pye of Josefina 17th, calved October, ! 1920, by the imported Lothian Marks- ! man out of SanquliaHs Pye, by Sanqul bar's Conqueror, with a bull calf at foot > by Camp Hero, a month old, fetched i, 10,000 dollars, Messrs. Pedro Espain , • and Sons being tho purchasers, Mr. ; j Rogue Quinteroe being runner-up, i j Messrs. Pedro Espain and Sons also ! paid 4000 apiece for Lavende Augusta I i 7th, by Camp Hero, and her three- , j months-old heifer calf by the imported ' I Pellipar Jehu. Mr. Frederico Seeger ; secured Augusta of Joseuna 13th, by r J Ascott Rupert, and her heifer calf by j Pellipar Jehu, at 2900 dollars each. Mr. ; I l\oque Quinteros got the 20-months-old ' I Secret of Joseuna 2nd, by the imported ' I Scottish Warrior out of surmise Duchess ' j 22nd, by the imported Bapton Sunray, 5 I for 3500 dollars. Other good prices for ' ! heifers were 2300 dollars (three times), f 2200 dollars (twice), 2000, ISSO and • 1800 dollars. ■ SOIL AND MANURES. . The action of farm manures is threeI fold. It is chemical, mechanical, nnd " j fertilising. These manures act ehemicI ally on the soil in their decay. The ' i effect of it is to liberate inert fer- | tility in the soil, that is, it so transforms fertility in a condition which plant roots cannot reach that in the , changed form they can readily take it ! up. In this way they furnish or make . : accessible more plant food than they j J contain. i I PREPARING LAND FOR OATS. ' In the preparation of land for oats, it should be borne in mind that this cereal has not the root-spreading habit of wheat. Wheat, though a deep rooter, thrives on a well-conaolirtatcd seed-bed, J' oats, on the other hand, scorn to thrive best where the seed-bed is somewhat j. loose; therefore, when practicable, tho j .ploughing should be deep, and thn land 3 j.thoroughly ■worked to a good tilth I without getting the soil too eonsoli- ; I dated. For this reason rolling before \ Die drill is seldom practised, whereas in j the case of wheat, some of our inofit sue- , cessful wheatgrowers roll in front of tno f drill whenever the land is dry enough to v use the roller. The usual quantity ol 3 oats sown to the acre ie from '2 to i'A ~ bushels according to the variety sown, c the nature of the land, and time it is . sown. The later the crop is sown the ■. heavier should be the seeding. fcjome

have second thoughts, I recognised that if a man ie leading others, and comes out more or less into the public, it is only reasonable to expect that he should be "discussed, and he should be prepared to put his cards on tho table. It is true that I have not got a poultry farm, and I think my readers will not ask any more when I say that the chief reason is that during the war period I took on rather more obligations than I could carry for a while. Admitted that I might start in a Email way, as I advice others to do, but again, it may be the little bit of Irish in mc that I would ho content only if I led in an undertaking of which I know so much. 1 hope the timo will not be far I distant when a poultry farm run on 'strictly commercial lines will be both Imy pastime and profit, and if not solely mine, then, in conjunction with others. Two things I can promise you—it will not be a greedy farm, but a source of help to many a beginner, and yet, it will be profitable, owing, in a large measure, to utilising certain more or less waste products which I have in mind. If I have satisfied that which ia justifi'ablo curiosity, then have patience. THE SITTING HEN. I had a wonderful old gentleman in to see mc this week, who, at tho age of eighty, is making a hobby of poultry. He admits that ho knows nothing on the ! subject, and his chief trouble seems to ■bo the sitting of a hen. This at first may seem a very simple matter, yet I knew of several persons in the past who seldom sit hens successfully, t<l make a practice of it. Others seldom fail. Well, to help my readers, here are a few simple rules that 1 have learned by practice. Do not iittempt to sit the nan-sitting varieties, such as Leghorns, and the novice, had better (iisciird the hen which, although broody, rushes oil the nes' with ;i great clatter if she is interfered with. Let tho brooder remain on her own nest for a couple of days, till she is quite settled down. Quietly slip your hand underneath the bird, and gently move fhe tips of your 1 fingers on the bare breast of the bird. If you move the hand quietly, and the hen is really broody, she will, after a little while, make a movement as if she were rustling, as it might be, eggs under her—closely. If the hen will let you do this once or twice, you have every prospect of removing her to another nest where you wish her to sit. Leave the hen where fhe ia and go and make your nest. It may be on the earth lloor, and if co. make it slightly concave. "Now, don': overdo it." Just make it about the depth—in the centre —as a saucer is in proportion to its edge. Xcra- line the nest with a small quantity of hay or fairly short lengths of straw. Do not use new straw in long lengths, otherwise the feet of the hen may catch in the straw, and the egga be dragged out, or broken, when the bird is leaving the nest. Or, the nest may be made in a box. If in a box, place a shovelful of dry earth in the bottom, fine earth free from lumps. Now place a little wad of straw, or hay, in each corner, so that tho eggs will not roll to the corner. Then make the nest with straw or hay as round as possible, and slope in "to the centre. Place the eggs in the nest and wait till evening. Then get someone to hold a candle or lantern, go and pick the broody quietly off the nest, and hold your h;md over her head so that she does not. see as she is carried along. Do not hold so tightly as to hurt tho bird and upset her. Just keep her eves covered, and uncover only tho head, when the light is shining directly on the neat of eggs. That is the first thing sho should see, and if she is put down immediately in front of them, she will in most cases walk on to them. If she sits down take tho lijht and go away. Have the nest in a place where other birds or animals cannot disturb her. If you cannot pet a really broodr hen to sit after following o "ut these instructions, you have mistaken your calling. This amount of care, of course, applies only to the beginner. The man who really knows his work can put. sar, "kerosene eases" on their ends all around the shed, and each one will have a "sitting hen" and there will practically be no trouble. varieties of oate have a straight-up habit of growth, while others, even among the spring varieties, are inclined to liiier more freely. The former should be sown a littlo thicker than the latter. GROWING OATS AND MUSTARD. This mixture grows very quickly and soou comes into use, therefore" any farmer who considers he will be short of feed of a succulent nature for his ewes and lambs should endeavour to net a plot sown. The mustard, besides furnishing a large bulk of feed, which is greedily eaten by stock, also serves as a corrective condiment. When sown together the mustard will be ready to feed before the oats are very far advanced. This, however, is no groat disadvantage, as the sheep or lambs can be turned on as soon as the mustard is ready. At this stage, the stock usually show a preference for the mustard, with the result that most of it will I>e eaten out before the oats are fed at all close. At this stage, if deemed the stock can be taken off and the crop allowed to grow again, when the whole crop will be ready at the same time. If this crop is fed at. all hard the mustard will disappear, leaving the oats almost, if not wholly, pure. In fact, when tlie nliove mixture is sown in' autiiu.il for winter and spring feed, the! crop is fed down hard in tho spring, ; (hen allowed <o go for a crop for charting or t'iresliing, a- the case may be. Some argue that it is not necessary, nor advisable, at this season, or by the time the feed is ready for use there will bo iin abundance of feed in the pastures. Tiiis argument may hold K ood on the bettor class of hind, or when the faim is considerably under-stocked, but on tlie lighter class of land carrying a full load uf stock, especially when a large proportion of tlie stock kept comprises ewes and lambs, it is good practice to put in a plot of the above mixture. Tho oats and mustard crop is usually ready whim the lambs are-potting a fair size, and consume a lot t>l feed, and if the fnrin is at all heavily stocked, and rihould a dry spell set in, the feed in tho ordinary pastures may not prove equal to tho demand. Feed of this description can bit sown much earlier than rape, or kale, etc, (tho usual crops sown for lamb fattening), and matures fcevernl weeks before (.he hitter, therefore it fills a gup for the time being, or until other feed of a siuvuk-nt nature U ready.