POULTRY KEEPING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 141, 17 June 1938, Page 14

POULTRY KEEPING.

FEEDING THE PULLETS. TROUBLES OF EGG-LAYING. (By OKI'IXUTOK.) Tlio yminir ])llllt't cimiinjr in to lay is a niibs of liijilily-strun-.' nerves, and thnuph in the primo of lite tlie rate of laying liiiikt's a heavy drain on her rcscmrc-ps. Too often tilt' feeding of this bird is erroneously intended to force oi:t the milxi-

mum number of eggs, and i" many cases health is broken down or ovarian troubles occur. The greatest profit does not come from the number of eggs laid if health is injured, and all the pullet ailments one experiences may be completely prevented if the feeding and management are right. A coJe of prevention is plain and mi forcing mash; feed wet mush where convenient; ensure exercise; do not to:iic regularly; look to supply of minerals; give all the sunlight possible; give green food, and have a supply of fresh water. Jll spite of care, sometimes pullets fall sick. Result of Forced Feeding. Down behind, or prolapsus, as seen by protruding internals, is due to forced feeding, and is especially likely with highly .bred Leghorns. Immediate attention is necessary, or the organs may become inflamed and the bird die of blood poisoning. Washing in a warm disinfectant solution, anointing carefully with vaseline, gently replacing, and feeding very plainly for three or four days will effect a proper cure. If a pullet visits the nest often, but does not lay, she is probably egg-bound, and if she is not relieved there may be a general stoppage in the oviduct, and serious trouble result. Good results have followed the holding of the pullet in front of a hot fire for 10 or 1.1 minutes, then placing her in a basket to watch if she lays. It may be necessary to inject warm olive oil into the vent, and try and ease the egg, taking great care not to break it. Excessively forced feeding will cause a ruptured oviduct or ovary, and the affected pullets will be found dead on the nest. This is an indication of immediate adjustment of mash and methods. One must be able to judge whether a bird is laying a proper-sized A new pullet will lay a Ii or ljoz egg for eight weeks of its beginning to lay.

Eggs Are Too Small. By this time, however, the should be up to the 2oz si/.e. ami if they are not up to this weight it may be due to inherited small e™<j factor, underfeeding, wronjr feeding, of forcing during the growing stajre. All pullets layinjr small ejrgs now should be leir-banded for future observation. Prolonged heavy laying from March, with a lack of vitamin D, may cause outbreaks of layer's cramp. in which the birds lose the use of both leps and yet remain brilliantly red in head gear and healthy elsewhere. It appears in two ways —one in which the bird recovers with simple treatment. «nd too, where the cramp persists nnd is difficult to relieve. If the latter case, it may be found that, though the symtoms indicate layer's cramp, it is generally something , more serious, such as fowl paralysis or internal tumor. In its usual simple form, the removal to a warm room and the jrivinjr of a dessertspoonful of stronjr Epsom salts solution. nijrht and morninjr. for two or three days effects a cure. Blood in or on epps is generally due to forced feeding or a weakly inherited disposition. Kggs which contain no yolk are often laid by heavy layers at the end of a sequence, or a little time after the bird has been frightened.