POULTRY KEEPING FOR PROFIT

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21978, 30 December 1936, Page 4

POULTRY KEEPING FOR PROFIT

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT "Orpington," Ashburton.—Give the birds as much mash as they can eat in 20 minutes. After a few feedings you will be able to gauge the amount you require to mix each morning for your birds. VALUE OF CHARCOAL fßy "LEGHORN.") Poultry owners would be well advifedl to give more practical recognition to the very great value of charcoal to their birds. No man who nas given the matter attention and has observed the results of a supply being kept before the birds at all times will ever allow them to be without tlm valuable aid to digestion and health. Experts have shown that it helps to destroy harmful bacteria, it checks ordinary diarrcehoea, and is otherwise beneficial in that it very materially asists in absorbing harmful acids in the intestines of the fowl or chick. There is one point well worthy of particular notice. Chickens do not have to be educated to it. They eat it instinctively, as they do grit or oyster shell. Even baby chicks often pick it up when eating mash containing it. It has been noted, too, that when hens are on a harmful diet they voluntarily eat more charcoal if it is available, their instinct telling them to eat it for relief. There is no other thing, costing so little, that can return as good a profit as charcoal, and there is really no excuse for the poultry farmer neglecting to provide it at all times for the benefit of his flock, and, of course, himself. Draughts are Dangerous Poultry houses need just as much care against draughts in summer as in the cold months. A long period of hot weather will show that shrinkage of timber, especially in cases where green timber was used in erection, is very apparent, and a little timely care is opportune. Where the cover board has split, or shrinkage has been so great as to allow a crevice on one or both sides, the board should be removed and a wider one substituted. It is a good plan always to use your widest boards for covering, or reserve a few of them for renewal or replacement Plasterers' laths are valuable also for covering over cracks in the middle of walls, or using on walls where plain boards have been used, without the tongue and groove. When erecting houses with this type of timber, the boards should not be nailed on, weatherboard fashion, but placed up and down (paling fashion), when the joints can be covered, and a draught-free house made. To use for cover strips, such material as flat iron, or even discarded floor-covering, is useful, provided the edges are well tacked down. Draughts are dangerous at all seasons, and their prevention is a quick and easy matter. • Future Breeders It is several months before the breeding pen will be mated up, but the present is a good time to pick out the hens which, by their general health, type, and laying qualities, are out- ! standing. Any birds which have gone low in condition and have ceased laying should be culled. It is not a difficult matter to pick out the best birds at this time of the year. Birds with a bright red face and comb, and with an alert appearance, are invariably the best producers. A good, healthy head colour denotes constitution, and that is the most important factor in poultry breeding. Frequently the best birds have a certain amount of bareness at the top of the head, and also they become rather ragged in plumage from frequent visits to the nest. While it is advisable to be son.stantly on the lookout for culls in the flock it does not follow that all the remaining birds are fit for breeders. The golden rule in maintaining good stock is to select only the best of the best for the breeding pen. It is by adopting this rule that success will come. It is an excellent idea to place a leg band on those birds which are showing the characteristics mentioned, that is, constitution and vigour. During the next four or five months watch the birds so rung. If any show signs of weakness, broodiness, or any other undesirable quality, remove the leg band. By this means it will be comparatively easy to pick out the birds for the breeding pen when the time comes. Quality ot Wheat There is unfortunately an idea possessed by many poultry keepers that any kind of wheat is suitable for poultry feeding. This definitely is not so. While shrivelled or broken grain can safely be used for feeding, beware of grain that has become mouldy. Mouldy wheat is usually soft and has a distinct mouldy odour. I have seen the effects of feeding wheat of this kind, and now that good quality fowl wheat is becoming scarce, do not be tempted ] to buy wheat affected with mildew or mould just because it appears to be cneap * ——————