POULTRY KEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 162, 11 July 1925, Page 24

POULTRY KEEPING.

(By R. J. TERRY.)

TO CORRESPONDENTS. R.F.A. (Whansarei) writes that he would be much obliged for information re the general lay-out for a fowlhouse. As he Is building a new residence he wishes the builder to make a new poultry house. He has some poultry books but tbe illustrations, nnd also the Information lire too hazy for a builder to work on. So if I could draw a little plan and give the informal lon he would be much obliged. 1 am sorry, but I must draw the lino somewhere. To bo asked to draw plans and give specifications, and not even a stamp enclosed for their postage. Is Just asking a little too much. I would advise you writing to tho Department of Agriculture for plan and specifications. If you do not wish to go to that trouble make a house 10ft deep, length to suit your ground nnd the amount you wish to expend; "ft high in front; closely board; tbe bottom 4ft wire netting, the top 3ft. NEW CHUM has bought a dozen Indian Runner ducks. Would I kindly tell the foods to give. quantity,__and also whether hot meal Is better In the morning or night for egg production? Don't get Into the habit of giving your birds a stated quantity of food. Give them for the evening meal as much ns they will clear up. If convenient, feed the warm mash ln the morning, though it does not iunko much difference ln a climate like that of Auckland. In the mash you can utilise tlie household si-raps. Boil up f-abbagp leaves, potato parings, nny waste vegetable matter, as I take it tbat your ducks have not open range What you mix with the house scraps will depend on what tho house scraps are composed of. If It Is chiefly pieces of potato aud peel- , lngs, white bread, pie, scones, etc., then | mix bran with it. They should havo meat in some form, as they will not be getting slugs or worms. Pucks when j laying ran with safety be given quite a | quantity of ment. Night feed; give all the grain thnt they will rlear up. If you are feeding maize, cracked would be best. They will want planty of grit and a box containing sand, shell, stone grit, linn road sweepings will do, with some erushc 1 charcoal, as their space i.s limited. If you have any waste milk at any time, either sweet or sour, give It to them. INCUBATION. Choice of Incubator. It might be said that, as we at the present time understand artificial incubation, there are practically no bad machines on the market. The make, style, materials used, and appearance may vary considerably, but the manufacturers are enabled to ensure that tho machines supply an even temperature and that the circulation of air may bo controlled efficiently. As regards the system of heating, incubators may be divided into two classes, viz., the hot air machine, which has a chamber of hot air or hot pipes over the eggs, and the heat passes to the eggs either by radiation or is brought to them by means of the circulation provided in the machine; the other class supplies the necessary heat from tank or hot water pipes. Both classes of machine can be procured to do their work satisfactorily as regards keeping a correct degree of temperature. There aro advocates for both classes of machines, one claiming that the hot water tank machine is tho safer. They say that you have a volume of water in a tank, stirrounded by non-conducting material, which would have the effect in the event of tho lamp or other heating medium going out through accident or carelessness of retaining the heat in the machine at a temperature sufficiently high to prevent the collapse of the growing embryo. And there is something in this argument. Against this advantage hot air machines are in most cases cheaper, and in the hands of a careful | oporator should work as satisfactory. lln choosing a machine for the novice it is inadvisable to have any complicated regulators that might easily get out of gear; but there are so many simple and long tested appliances for regulating the temperature that there should not be any difficulty about this. When you ! unpack the machine, carefully read the ; book of instructions as to placing it together. Better still, if you have a friend who has manipulated an incubator, get him to give you a hand. Do not alter anything as regards the machine. The manufacturer knows more about it than you do. Position of the Incubator. I am convinced that a lot of nonsense has been written regarding the bad effects of noises adjacent to incubators, the jarring of same, and so forth. Keep away from the noise and jar if possible; but if I had to choose between a suitable spot as regards the atmosphere, although it was subject to noises, and another position in an unsuitable atmosphere and free from noises and jars, I should certainly choose the former. But very few persons using an incubator are so placed that with the expense of a little thought they cannot find a suitable position for their machine. I consider one of the worst positions for a successful hatch is to have the incubator in such a position that there is a big current of air. Choose some quiet spot where there is not a direct current of air, and if possible not too dry, although the latter defect is easy to overcome. Avoid a position where the sun would shine

1 directly on the incubator room for any length of time, as this makes it somewhat difficult to control the temperature at the time of a big hatch. It is easier to turn your lamp up a little than to bring your temperature down. If the incubator is on legs, see that they are of equal length, and that the machine is standing fairly and squarely upon them. Good makers in most cases number the legs, and there is a corresponding number on that portion of the machine. The incubator that does not stand true might affect the working of a delicately adjusted capsule, and would also tend to make a certain . type of lamp smoke. If the machine is on a wooden floor place a small piece of carpet, thick cloth, or even a couple of folds of bagging, tinder the legs, so as to prevent vibration—not that I think it has any harmful effects during the actual incubation stage, but a sudden jar might have the effect of startling a chick which was breaking out of the 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. I have/come across instances of children operating the egg drawer, "to see if any eggs were hatched yet," and in their fright at being discovered (possibly the drawer fitted tightly) leaving- the' drawer partly out of the machine, which has brought ahout a decrease in temperature and a drying of the eggs at a critical period. Caps, pinafores, scarves, and so forth, thrown on tbo regulator, 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. Starting the Incubator. Having chosen a position for the machine and put it together, you can now give it a trial run. Dust and blow ; out any tubes, as they may contain fine particles of sawdust or other packing material (through careless packing), which, wheu heated, would start to smoulder, and might somewhat frighten the novice. Some machines will give off a smell of burning paint or oil, but this is due only to tho effect of the heat on tho paint or other preparation with which tho tubes aro sometimes coated. Fill the lamp as per directions with a good kerosene. Do not use stale oil, that is, oil which has been in a lamp or open vcs.-el since last season, otherwise any good brand is suitable. See that the wick i_s carefully trimmed and I straight. In subsequently attending to the lamp it will be much better to only wipe off the charred portion of the wick when filling the lamp, but see that you also remove the burnt carbon from the metal piece surrounding the wick. For the hct air machine, place tho lamp iv position as directed, and follow tho instructions given for regulating it. In hot water machines care should be taken in filling the water tanks or pipes, so that no water is spilled and runs down the side of the filling tube into tho machine. If this happens, the packing material round tho tank in some cases, sawdust, becomes wet, and when the machine is thoroughly warmed the vapour rising swells the wood and often cracks it. This may not affect the working of the machine, but it is an eyesore, and takes off a certain value of the machine. It can bo easily avoided by a little care at the commencement. Follow the directions of the maker as to regulating and so forth. In the case of hot air machines they should be working for at least twenty-four hours before eggs aro placed in them, and water tank machines forty-eight hours. Then, if they remain satisfactory as regards temperature, the eggs may be placed in tlie machine. The temperature of the machine will naturally at once fall, and may not regain the point at which it was set for some hours. It depends on how cold the eggs were, and the temperature of the atmosphere, but don't worry or rush heat. It will probably be about twenty-four hours before the machine reaches its normal temperature, but do not interfere with the regulator. Do not open the door of the machine or turn the eggs for the first two and a-half or three days, according to which is most convenient for you, at the end of which period the eggs should be turned, or at least their position slightly changed. It is not necessary to turn all the eggs to the same degree. If the egg drawer is slightly concave, as many are, and about eight or a dozen eggs are taken from the centre, the others may be rolled to the centre with the hands, and those removed can be placed round the edges. This is all that is necessary. If you I should miss one or two turnings during i the period of incubation thuro is no I harm yuinc. In tho early stages the I incuuator should be run at 102 degrees. Without the regulator being altered it will r_pe as the hatch goes on, and towards the end of the hatch, especially :if it is going to be a good one, it may Ibe necessary to slightly alter the regulator to keep the temperature down.