POULTRY NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 147, 23 June 1928, Page 22

POULTRY NOTES.

(By R. J. TERRY.)

TO CORRESPONDENTS

IXQI'IRER. —The feeding would depend on the quantity and quality of the bouse scraps you save. If the house scraps are potato and apple peelings, crusts of white bread, stale cake, etc., then a more concentrated food should be added, and plenty of bran. Birds must have either meat or meat substitute for continued heavy egg production, and remember that an egg is developed from the surplus of food over and above the requirements of the bird. Birds in cold weather require rather more fattening food so that they may have an excess of fat for the formation of egg yolks in addition to their own requirements. The laying mash mentioned for ducks, with the addition you mention would be quite O.K. for the ducklings. NEW LYNN.—An ideal dry mash for egg production should be regulated as regards its constituents by the condition of the fowl, also to a certain extend on the quality of the mill offal. If the pollard is tine extra bran may be added. If it is coarse, in other words, approaching finely ground bran, then naturally you would add less bran. Two parts pollard, one part bran, one part maize meal finely ground, with ten per cent of the dry weight albumen meal, would be about correct if the birds are in average condition. If the birds are not fat feed maize as a grain ; medium condition you may feed wheat and maize. If they are fat, but do not show much lean meat, feed part oats or peas if you can procure them. ENTERPRISE (Bay of Islands) .—Yes. I saw in the Press that there was a likelihood of swordfish, etc., being marketed for human consumption. Naturally I did not know of this when I warned you against risking good money before you were certain that you could obtain a continued regular supply of swordtish and shark for your poultry, but I did think it was probable that when you created the demand yon would have to pay for it. Pleased that I have saved you money. Personally I do not think waste fruit, even if it were dried, would .be a commercial proposition re poultry keeping.

ANAEMIA. Anaemia can really be classed as a disease. It denotes a deficiency or poverty of the blood. There are certain strains or families in most breeds, certainly in some of the purely fancy breeds, which are very prone to this trouble. The birds have a very pallid appearance, the comb and wattles are pale t sometimes with a very slight yellow tinge, the legs and feet are exceptionally cold, and the birds are very listless. The causes are frequently insanitary conditions, overcrowding, badly ventilated houses, innut.ritious food, want of green food, and so forth. Fowls of this sort should be got rid of; they are not profitable. The treatment to build them up would be expensive, and they are not fit to breed from. It is another matter when the symptoms are comparatively recent. >. If th? parent stock is robust, then tha trouble baa been brought about by mismanagement, and can be rectified by improving the conditions if the symptoms are of not too long standing.

DROPSY. The disease is most frequent in old, apparently fat, hens. The abdomen becomes very large and pendulous, sometimes touching the ground. This is known as abdominal dropsy. The enlargement is frequently minus feathers, looks shiny, feels soft, and is easily movable. The swelling contains an' accumulation of a thin watery nature, and is sometimes colourless, or it might be strawcoloured. There is a certain amount of contention amongst experts as to the cause, but the generally accepted theory of those who have studied the disease is that it arises from an escape of water from the blood system into the tissues or into some cavity such as the abdomen. This form of dropsy can be relieved by a puncture with a surgeon's hollow needle or similar instrument, when most of the water will run out, but it must be remembered that this is only a temporary relief, there being a tendency to a further accumulation of the fluid; in fact, an almost certainty, and the bird should be treated only if it has some sentimental value. It should never be retained in the breeding pen. Small watery cysts on the breast bone, which are sometimes found on growing cockerels, may be opened and washed out with a weak disinfectant, when they will invariably heal.

CROOKED BREASTBONE. Crooked breastbones cannot be classed as a disease, and yet in many cases they are the result of ill-health. I have more than once warned my readers against allowing birds to perch when too young, or to perch on round or too narrow supports. The perches should be at least an inch and a-half wide, with the sharp edge planed off. But, after all precautions have been taken, a fair number of birds of all breeds will be found to have crooked breastbones, from a slight indention to a decided twist in the form of a badly shaped letter "S." Although not visible when the bird is in feather, the disfigurement is a great eyesore when the bird appears on the table in the .form of dressed poultry, and also interferes with the correct carving of the choice portions of the meat. There are many theories as to the - cause of crooked breasts. If the flat perch were advocated instead of the round, you would be told that in nature there are no flat perches. Granted that there are no flat perches, yet it has to be remembered that there are seldom round perches; further, the average bark covering the natural perch was a far better foothold to the bird. Last, but far from least, the natural wild bird uses its wings to a far greater extent than does its domesticated descendant, with the result that the breastbone of the wild bird is strengthened by a great depth of muscle in the form of breast meat. The trouble is probably due to a combination of factors, hereditary weakness, forcing the growth in the chick stage, perching too young and badly shaped perches. While on the subject, I mnst warn readers against unduly delaying the perching of the birds, or you may get trouble through over-crowding, sweating, etc., and lung troubles develop.

A BALANCED RATION. Some beginners in poultry keeping are apt to think that there is something very mysterious in a balanced ration. The semi-scientific poultry keeper is apt to often use the phrase instead of explaining .it to the novice. A balanced ration is simply one that contains protein, carbohydrates, and fat, the elements of nutrition in the proper proportions required for the maintenance and activities of the birds to which it is fed. Protein is the nitrogenous part of the food, and is largely used for growth, the repairing of waste tissue, and for reproduction. The production of eggs and Similar products depends largely on the protein in the feed. Carbohydrates are largely starched and sugar (sugar is not necessarily sweet), and are used for the supplying of bodily heat and energy. Fats are frequently classed as carbohydrates. They serve the same purpose, but are more highly concentrated. An overplus of protein in 'a ration may be used to replace a shortage of carbohydrates and fat, but, as protein is the most expensive element to supply, it is not economical to use it for that :pur-

pose. Carbohydrates and fat, on the other hand, cannot take the place of protein, so that a ration deficient in protein, no matter how rich in carbohydrates and fat, cannot bring good results. Besides the three above men* tioiied elements, ash, which is the term used to designate the mineral compounds, is also of importance, as it enters largely into the formation of bones and egg shells, but, as it is present in all ordinary feeds, or is readily supplied by additions to the feed and in the form of grit, shell, etc., there need be no lack, although there often is, by the poultryman who does not understand its real value.