POULTRY KEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1936, Page 14

POULTRY KEEPING.

WINTER LAYERS. SPECIAL FEEDING. (By ORPINGTON.) Poultry keepers should now be starting their winter egg season, for which the production is almost entirely the task of the pullets. The old layers have kept going so well this autumn thai there will be all the more sudden drop in production from them when the first really cold nights come and they all fall into a moult together. " But even in pullet flocks of any sizo .there are almost always some birds reared which will not produce sufficient eggs to pay for their keep, unless severe culling of the less robust of the chickens lias been carried out. Where some pullets are already laying and another few -of the same hatch are noticeably backward, perhaps not'even reddening up yet, then the latter are likely to be comparatively poor producers. Tliey can be sold for table about June or July, when prices for tliia class of bird is slightly better than now, or, if they ar" in production by then, they may bo kept through- the laying season ana culled out early next summer. But be sure and mark such birds now. if only to prove to your own satisfaction that tlioy stop laying early although they are lata starters. Once into , lay it is not so easy for any hut, the expert utility judge to distinguish the birds.

Then there is also the pullet which makes rather more growth than the others of her hatch, but yet does not prove a good layer. This is because she is »of the coarse type, and if she is handled- it will bo found that her abdomen is hard and fatty instead of soft and pliable. The comb and wattles will be coarse and heavy and the eyebrows prominent rather than the eyes. She may come into lay at seven months or later, but will not lay'frequently.

So that it is not only the old birds, but the pullet flock, too, that need overlooking and culling now. The more strictly the flock is culled, the better profit per bird is likely to be taken. It is not the number of birds, or even the number of pullets, that determines the number of winter eggs that can be sold while prices are good, but the number of egg 3 obtained for the expenditure on food. DuringjCold Weather. Although many birds which are culls may be picked out by the eye, yet to cull the flock thoroughly it is necessary to handle each bird. If this is doni after the majority of the pullets have been in production for some little timi. then any that can bo picked out as not laying may definitely be regarded as culls. It may seem hard to discard a pullet that will surely lay in another month or two's time, but, particularly if the birds will be bred from in future, it pays in the long run.

When a bird lias laid a few eggs the pelvic bones—those below the end of the breast bone and near the vent —widen out, so that there is greater space for the egg to pass. In a cull these bones remain close together and near the breast bone. In good layers they arc elastic and often the width of a goodsized hand from the end of the breast bone: ,r When there has been trouble from disease among the chickens at rearing time, it is much more diflicult to cull wisely, because chicks that have been badly affected will naturally be more backward, but may in time make good enough birds. Watching their behaviour on chilly mornings will give some guide as to their present vigour, apart from the effect of their early misfortunes. A bird which is eating well and scratches very vigorously in and about the pen may remain to have a chance, but those that look thoroughly miserable through cold alone are safer killed off. The healthy layer dislikes wind very much, and, "of course, rain, but is rather more than usually lively in cold and frost. One of the worst diseases for the production of a large proportion of culls is coccidiosis. With the type that takes chicks at about a fortnight old, the worst die, and those that are strong enough to resist the disease have time largely to recover from any check, but with the later developed type which takes birds between three and six pxonths, pullets are often mere wrecks of skin and bone when they should be plumping up to be ready for a long and strenuous laying season. Where a large proportion of the pullets develop this mysterious wasting away without the signs of worms, adult coccidiosis must be suspected and advice sought. Importance of Food. The perennial question of how to get eggs in numbers in winter is one which is easy to answer in theory but, many think. > not always so simple to carry into practice. Winter is not the natural season for egg production, and while some strains have been specially bred for their particular tendency to lay well then, others have not. Tlie latter class, however well fed and housed, will not, unless for the odd bird or two perhaps, lay until the spring comes round. But apart from the breeding of the birds, the first consideration in getting eggs in winter is the food. It is a question of both quality and quantity. The days are short and the nights are both cold and long, so that the bird draws much more heavily on her resources for ithe maintenance of' her bodily heat than in the summer. There is therefore less of the energy from her food available for the production of eggs. ' This underlies all the various methods used to increase winter egg production —warm mashes, feeding by artificial light either at night or very early morning, the soaking of grain (to start it digesting sooner) and the use of spices with the intention of making the food more palatable. .. The actual composition of the food rriven is, of course, important, and it is no doubt helpful to have definite formulas written out for one's guidance when they are composed by a practical individual. But there are many perfectly crood laving mash formulas, and the matter of first importance is to understand sufficiently about the formation of a well-balanced. mash to be able to use any foodstuffs that come most easily and most cheaply to hand. The simple feeding of grain, besides ■ being far too expensive at the present time even for the majority of farmers to use, does not supply all that is needed for laying in winter time. A certain amount of animal food is essential —meat meal, meat scraps or curd4—and egg production is a hopeless proposition from now until July without it. Animal Protein. The proportion used may vary according to the other foods used, but 10 per cent protein in the mash is a good average figure. The foods for supply- ' ing tLis vr.ry in their protein content,

too. For the most part, fish meal is more concentrated protein than meat meal, while meat and bone meals or chick bone grit (each of which are most highly recommended to rearers aa sources of protein for fowls) contain less than meat meals. These carry lime as well as phosphates in easily digestible form, and are therefore most useful, but must be used in rather greater quantity than plain meat meal to supply the same albumen-forming substance. JBlood meal and liver meal are not to be recommended for this particular purpose. None of the animal proteins must be fed to excels as this throws too great a strain 011 the birds' digestive and eggforming organs, which is most likely to show in disease of the kidneys and the laying of misshapen, poorly-shelled or shelless eggs. The supply of digestible lime limits the output of eggs just as much, if not more so, than the supply of protein, and even when bone meal is used it is strictly necessary to include shell grit in the birds' diet for the best results. (Maize is a good food to use in winter, from two points of view. It is very starchy and so provides a considerable amount of heat and energy. It also contains colouring matter or pigments which help to keep a good colour in the yolks of the eggs when green food and grass are scarce, and also, by providing the birds with carotene, which heralds the presence of vitamin A, and helps to ward olf colds and diseases. Maize can be fed in the mash as well as whole, if it is taken into a mill or corn merchant and ground for that purpose. But this is so scarce and expensive this season that we are trying to use less rather than more of it. Kibbled maize is of greater value to the birds than the same amount eaten whole and is likely to help their laying to an even greater extent. To be most economical, when the maize is kibbled but not screened, it is necessary to "sieve out the flour. This can, of course, be used to advantage in the birds' mash. Perfect fitness is required if winter eggs are going to be expected. Poor birds may lay for a short time in the spring, but even a cold will put any bird out of production for a long time in the winter. If colds do develop, even very slightly, there is something wrong with their management, which must be put right before .there will be a 70 per cent egg yield from the pullets, such as should he expected in the winter where everything is well run.