POULTRY KEEPING FOR PROFIT

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21623, 6 November 1935, Page 7

POULTRY KEEPING FOR PROFIT

PERCHING PROBLEMS [By "LEGHORN."] The monthly meeting of the Christchurch Canary and Cage Bird Club will be held in the club rooms this evening at 8 o'clock, when judges for the table show, to be held on December 11, will be appointed. The cave and management of young stock is a matter which demands constant attention at this period of the year. Chickens, whether reared with mother hen or by brooder, grow better and eventually develop into better layers if they are taught to perch at five or six weeks old. Chickens which have done well in the early stages will, on occasions, take to the perch without difficulty, but chicks which have had a setback frequently cause a great deal of worry and severely tax the patience of their owner before they learn to roost. From the time brooder chickens are three weeks old until they are safely perched, special care must be taken at dusk to see that they are comfortably settled down for the night. At this period of the year it is safe to perch chickens at. five weeks old, but be careful to choose a warm or mild evening for their first perching.

Most chickens have a natural instinct to roost, but as already stated, some need a certain amount of encouragement. The simplest and probably the most effective method of teaching chicks to perch is to erect two perches the full width of the house. Do not make these too high, about two feet from the ground is quite high enough. Ordinary dressed 3x2 makes an excellent roost, but plane the sharp edges slightly. Tack some two-inch mesh netting on the rear wall of the house level with the perches, stretch the netting over the perches tightly and peg it down about ! three feet in front of the front perch; this will make an easy gradient for the chickens to climb. At roosting i time the chickens can then be driven up on to the frame. The chickens cannot roost comfortably on the wire, but will seek the perches; for the first four or five nights the chickens will have to be driven up on the perch frame, and they will need to be spread out evenly otherwise they may attempt to crowd in one place. Sacking can be suspended from the roof to keep them on the perches. After a week on this frame the wire netting can be removed and the chicks will roost on their own accord. In erecting this perching frame, do not make it too deep, otherwise you will not be able to reach the rear perches to spread out the chicks should they attempt to crowd in one place. Once the chicks are safely on the roost, the poultrykeeper's rearing troubles are largely over. Green Food and Grit Green food, besides being cheap, is one of the best and most necessary foods for poultry. This is the planting season; a little effort now will assure you of a copious supply during the hot, dry months ahead. Laying hens should always be well supplied with grit, but at the present time, when most birds are producing heavily, it is more necessary than ever that the grit box be kept well filled. Improved Marketing: What was probably the most important and representative meeting of commercial poultry keepers held for many years took place last week, when the Canterbury Egg Marketing Committee was formed. The benefits to be derived by a closer degree of co-operation between producer and agent are many, and at its first meeting the marketing committee satisfactorily dealt .with

several matters of considerable interest to producers. Considerable dissatisfaction has existed for some time past in the name of the grades under which eggs are sold. The practice of classifying eggs as "firsts" and "seconds" has been Ihe cause of this dissatisfaction. The consumer is naturally a little sceptical of an egg sold as second grade, but in reality these eggs, so far as quality goes, are probably equal to the firstgrade article, but they happen to be smaller in size. After full consideration, it was decided to classify eggs into three grades, "standard," "medium," and "small." In addition to the classification of grades, the question of grade weights was fully discussed. For many years poultry keepers have been marketing their produce upon a self-imposed 2oz standard for a firstgrade egg. This standard has not meant that eggs must average 24nz to the dozen, but that each individual egg must be at least 2oz in weight; from this it will be seen that, as many of these eggs are more than 2oz, the average weight a dozen might possibly be 26 or 28oz. The marketing committee has decided that in future eggs shall be graded as follows: — Standard grade, not less than ljoz. Medium grade, not less than l£oz. Pullet grade, less than l|oz. Show Entries Information has been received thrrt an excellent entry of poultry has been received for the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral show, to be held at the Addington show grounds next week. Mr W. H. Nicholson, president of the association, has generously given a handsome trophy for competition in the utility White Leghorn female classes, and the winner each year will be presented with a permanent memento of his or her success.