POULTRY NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 113, 14 May 1937, Page 12

POULTRY NOTES.

LOSS OF CHICKENS.

DEAD IN THE SHELL.

FIFTEEN POSIBLE CAUSES

The quality of hatehability is inherited and we may find one of two sisters mated to the same male, producing eggs which wont hatch. One should identify such a bird and remove it from the breeding pen. Loss of bleeding vigour is a second possibility, and this result in a weakness in the genu which, as a growing embryo, lacks vigour and. as a chick at hatching time, is nimble to break through the shell. The cure is to reject weakly breeder-. Immaturity may be responsible. The use of pullet- forced during the growing stage, which came into lay at too early an age and which are now below the stnttdtml body size and weijjht leads to a high percentage of dead-in-shell. The mir.e trouble results from using too young males, under eleven months old. 111-health among breeders reduces the ability of birds to make proper use of their foods, also lessens the vigour of the germs inside the An outbreak of disease will immediately result in an increase of dead-in-shell. Wrong Feeding. Incorrect or insufficient foods result in n bird being unable to put the proper essentials into the eggs and weakly-fed embryos must be produced. An over-fat or over-thin body condition precludes the laying of soundly filled eggs. Stale eggs is one of the commonest causes of dcod-in-shell because the evaporation which has taken place during storage has made the membranes dry and hard. Thus the chick is starved of fresh air inside: the shell and is simply poisoned. Kggs should never be older than seven days when put in the incubator or under the broodv lien.

Storage which encourages evaporation provides the same bad condition as described in the paragraph above.

To maintain as good internal condition as possible, the eggs should be stored on their sides in trays of peatmoss or bran, the bottom layer of which is slightly damp. Felt should cover the eggs and they should be turned every other day.

Eggs collected or handled on a journey

vithout proper care are damaged, even though slightly, inside. Generally the embryo grows up to the 14th day of incubation.

Before proceeding to the causes of dead-in-shell during actual incubation, it should be stressed that 70 per cent of dead-in-shell is traceable to causes before the eggs are placed in the incubator which is far less frequently the culprit. During Incubation. Losses due to too low or too high a drawer temperature are usually the result of inefficiency on the part of the poultrykeeper. Pay attention to the capability of the capsule, the damper, the heater, the lamp and use common sense in adjustment.

Ivack of air is the commonest incubation trouble both in mammoth and small machines. It may be dne to inefficient fans in the former sizes or to poor design in the small machines.

In an ill-ventilated incubator room where chicks are in a sticky condition they are late to hatch, or die within three or four days, check up the movements of fresh air through the incubator and see that the room removes foul fumes but also permits the entrance of fresh air and pay attention to the proper removal of the felts. Never leave both in until hatching begins.

If the chicks are dry and shrivelled at hatching time and the membranes are hard and dry, the trouble is the removal of the felts at too early a stage. This especially applies when the weathor is cold. Examine the air space at the 7th and 14th day and see whether the interiors are drying down too rapidly.

Too great heat during the last 4 days causes excessive evaporation and fhe chicks are then found to have absorbed the yolk imperfectly. Make the proper adjustments to the regulator and keep the heat down to 103 degrees Fahrenheit, if necessary, provide more moisture either outside or inside the machine, the tormer being the better method.

EGG IMPORT QUOTAS

AGITATION' IX BRITAIN

Organisations representing British poultry producers have petitioned the (iovcrnment to regulate imports of eggs into the I'nited Kingdom by a vigorous syxteni of monthly <|uot-,is. This would have a serious effect on New Zealand's export trade in eggs, which since 1033 has grown to considerable proportions.

During recent years Lancashire has developed into one of the largest eggproducing counties, and has one of the largest branches of the National Fnrmers' Union. The branch has protested against the wholesale dumping of imported eggs on to the English market, and also against imported eggs, some of which can be put on the market as new laid, carrying only the mark of the country of origin, while English eggs which had been in cold storage for only a week must be stamped as cold stored.

It is pointed out that, just as the Home market was beginning to recover from the effects of an over-supply, 80,000.000 cold-stored eggs arrived, without warning, from Denmark. The National Poultry Council is asking for higher ttiriffs to be imposed immediately upon all imported eggs, from whatever source, and has communicated with all members of Parliament, indicating live directions in which action could be taken to mitigate the present circumstances of the poultry keeper.

The first is that immediate notice should be given to the countries concerned to terminate the trade agreements which deal, inter alia, with eggs, in order that reconsideration can be given to the question of additional

tariffs. . Secondly, it is suggested that there should be an immediate increase in the tariff upon eggs not in shell. The next suggestion is that the legislation relating to the marking of both cold-stored eggs and imported eggs should be amended, and, finally, that legislation should be introduced to enforce that eggs purchased for resale should be sold by weight or grade designation.