POULTRY KEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 16, 20 January 1933, Page 12

POULTRY KEEPING.

HEALTH OF FLOCK. FOUL GROUND MENACE. HOW TO DEAL WITH XT. The rapid development of the poultry industry, which has taken place within recent years, has resulted in the concentration of large flocks on comparatively small areas of land, which has in turn, brought about an increase in the natural enemies of the fowl, as it was bound to do. Nature may be abused up to a point, but only up to a point, and unless we are able to protect our flocks by one means or another, then mortality will inevitably become greater. Vigour and natural resistance are built up by careful breeding and by improved methods of management, by that we mean everything which affects the health and wellbeing of the birds, for it is only by keeping them in excellent health that protection , against disease can be attained.

No one will deny that disease is becoming increasingly prevalent, or that the rate of mortality on some farms is far too high. To what cause are we to attribute these losses ? That is, of course, a difficult question to answer, for there are several factors involved, but that the real cause of much of the trouble to-day is foul ground may be truthfully asserted since many farms have now been established long enough for the land to have become contaminated. There is an abundance of evidence to support this view. Clean Land Essential. I

The general farmer knows only too well that he cannot grow the same crop year after year on the same land, that he cannot continually overstock his pastures with the same kind of animal, and that he must pay very close attention to the condition of the land if his business is to remain profitable. Yet, many poultry farmers continue to keep a large number of birds on the same land without taking any step to prevent its becoming foul except, perhaps, by giving it an occasional light dressing of lime.

Under these circumstances the healtli of the birds must suffer, and if they are used for breeding purposes, the vigour of the progeny will also be affected. It is quite clear, therefore, that the quality of the-birds depends upon the quality of the land. Whether the chicks are reared intensively or not, vigorous stock cannot be obtained from birds whose vitality is lowered owing to the presence of worms, coccidia, or other diseases associated with foul ground.

The importance of keeping the land clean has been stressed for years, such phrases as "the menace of foul ground," "the dangers of overcrowding," and so forth are common in poultry literature, yet, in spite of repeated warnings, serious overcrowding occurs, and unless this danger is fully realised many more poultry keepers will have to go out of business.

Whatever discoveries have been made in the poultry industry the fact remains that for the production of healthy chicks it is essential to treat poultry breeding (we arc not referring to egg produqtion or table birds) as a branch of agriculture, and it is necessary that the birds should be given an abundance of fresh, clean land, and the benefit of direct sunlight, fresh air and exercise. On many poultry farms breeding operations are carried on under conditions which do not take into account these necessities, and the breeder would be studying his own interests as well as those of his customers if breeding were discontinued at least for a time.

The position of anyone having only a small area of land which has become contaminated is indeed very difficult. Drastic measures must bo introduced to deal with the situation;, it is useless to continue operations in the usual way, and hope that there will be an improvement.' Either the farm must be given up or some steps taken to improve the condition of the land. Treatment of Foul Ground. Merely treating the land with a dressing of lime is not adequate if the ground has become foul. To be really effective the land should be given a heavy dressing of quick lime, and poultry should be kept off it for at least two years. It should be remembered that there is no really effective method of dealing with contaminated ground other than allowing it to lie fallow. Of course, sheep, cattle or horses may be grazed upon it, but not poultry.

Treatment with sulphuric acid has been recommended for worm-infested land, andj although it is helpful for this specific purpose, it is not so effective as they removal of the birds for a protracted period.

Where other land is not available, the intensive system appears to offer the only solution to what is admittedly a very difficult situation, for by keeping the birds in confinement it is possible to allow the ground time to recover.

There is a common, but quite erroneous, impression that after the birds have been removed from the land and the grass is growing strongly, it is quite in order to re-stock it, yet a glance at the vegetation will show at once that the condition is not by any means normal. The rank growth and the unnatural colour of the herbage is a definite indication that the land is over-manured, and that plant life is being forced. As every farmer knows, plants growing on such land are, in spite of their apparently strong growth, actually weak, and are liable to contract disease.

Where the ground has become very foul and cannot be left unoccupied by poultry for a prolonged period, then it would be advisable to make use of the plough, or, in the case of very small areas, the spade, so that the top soil is buried.

Perhaps the best plan consists of ploughing the land after dressing with lime and then growing a crop of early potatoes. This is an excellent preparation for grass, for the .cultivation of this crop necessitates a thorough clearing and working of the land, so that the fine tilth which is eo essential for the small seeds, is, as a rule, easily obtained. It is not intended to describe the cultural preparations necessary for the sowing of grass seed, but merely to point out that the work should not be I looked upon as of 110 account. It is unfortunately true that many poultry farmers do not pay sufficient, attention to their grass land, and on far too many farms, instead of being beneficial to the birds, it is a grave menace to their health. Grass plays an important part In the economy of the farm, and if the pastures received proper treatment, we should have healthier and more profitable flocks.—By "Essex," in "Eggs.'!