POULTRY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2641, 11 December 1915, Page 15

POULTRY INDUSTRY

{By Chantbclbr,).

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

"Interested" writes—'"Why is it that when my eggs hatched, I had only seven chickons from fifteen eggs? Four of them that failed to liatoh had ohickens in them. The hens set. well all the way through tho' hatch."'

There am.many reasons why chicks foil to hatch. Most people who use hens think they should get a chick from overy egg. If you. average up the results of several hatches "from hens you will often find that' you, have less ch'ioks than lie who hatches .with a,] machine." The reason for dead in r "shell may bo ascribed to 6tale eggs. Possibly. they were several weeks old when set. This Weakens the germ, and though the chick develops it fails to niatnre/and either dies in the process" of'development or lacks strength to extricate itself from the -shell._ Another reason is the want of constitution in tho parent stock. • In our endoavour to increase egg.' production, we necessarily weaken tho paTent birds, and we may look for.: a greater• percantage of dead in ■shell .than previously. It is rarely we get a .complaint from tho farmer, or rather'his wife,, as. it is she who'is largely responsible for the poultry on tho ■ farm . Tho reason is the farm stock are so .much stronger in constitution, and possess more vitality. They also have more . exercise, with tho Tesult chicks are stronger and much easier to . raise. Many a farmer's wife cannot tell you the number of chicks she has for weeks after they are hntohed, as the hffii steals away seoretly to hatch her eggs and feed her chicks on farm waste. The suburban poultry-keeper is in many ways, but he has to adsyjt his fowls to oircumstances. The fancier _ invariably gets bettor resnlts in hatching ■ as his birds are not forced for egg production. Still, he has times of failure. The chief reasons of chicks dead in shell from hen hatching may be assigned to weak parentage. In artificial incu.bation_ there aTe many other reasons which will be dealt with later. . "Beginner" writes—"l have several chickens that have died suddenly: others that fail to - feather quickly. Can you heli> me?". . Tho cause of' chicks dying as von describe is generally due to ptomaine poisoning. Often a piece of contaminated meat is the cause. Impure - water is also a source of danger. Water left in the sun and infrequently changcd, does more harm than is usually suspected. Many chicks fail to feather becausethe strength is going into the body. I.t is an indication' you haye heavy breed chicks. Often the chicks, when feathered,- are tho hardiest., It is not d!ue to feather eating, as many suspect. "Leghorn" asks—"How long should birds be mated before the eggs are fertile? And how soon con I know when an egg has a ohick in it?" Birds should be mated about ten days before the eggs are set. An expert can tell on the third day when eggs are'.fertile, but it is better for the beginner to wait till the sevenh day, then the embryo can be determined without doubt. Rating an egg earlier than this should be done with care as the embryo is very sensitive and a sudden shock will .cause a rupture of the capillaries, and tho germ will die. Generous Poultrymen. | From the "Feathered World," .London, we gather- that the poultrymen in England are doing a noble work. They have given no fewer than 10,552,399 eggs up to Ootober 1 for wounded soldiers, distressed Belgians, and hospitals. They have also subscribed in cash .£3656 14s, id. AH this has been done since the war broke out. It is a splendid work. Something more pronounced should bo done'by poul-try-men in New Zealand. Beyond some individual effort very little has been dono to lot the public know what poultrymen are doing.. It is to bo hoped that tho' next conference, to be held at Easter, will evolve a soheme so that the whole of the poultry enthusiasts will work together, and make a worthy gift to tho funds. The English, fanciers are also presenting 1000 breeding birds to French people, whose homes have been devastated through the war., There is room for an aggressive spirit to do something for the minion poultry column will give the proBelgians and the French, and The Dominion poultry column will give tho project its support. The Brave Belgians, Are we going to forget, what Belgium did-for usf -Too soon their bravo deeds will bo forgotten. The Allies, asked them to keep -the enemy at bay. for two days—. they did it for fifteen—but at what sacrifice? Can we ever adequately discharge the debt duo to them? Is it not up to us to do something and continue doing it for tho next ten years ? That smiling little country, etuddied with its poultry farms, now lies in ruins. A returning Tommy stated that what struck him most was the knack of - making use of every enuaro foot of land in Belgium. Every farmer had his poultry—ln all, five millions of them— to-day they; are practically extinct. Lot's .bear this in mind. A New Zealander at the Front. Last week a letter arrived from Gallipoli from a poultryman who has beon thero since tlio landing. Ha is tho only survivor of a happy band of seven, to whom we bade good-bye in the Main Expeditionary Force. The following is taken from a long, interesting letter:— ."I am sorry to say I do not see many o'f the old faces now. I have been through some terrible scenes during the many months I have, been here. Naturally a fellow does not like to talk of these things, as his'feelings are too full at the time. I had three weeks off at Lemnos, arid it was glorious. Wo got 23 eggs a day, a bottle 'of stout or beer, and fresh met. The ezes- are imported and we get' eight for five paistres (Is.), You can buy them ready boiled. Last Sunday we had a feast. Three of ue bought a turkey for 10s., and, w© got tlie _ cook to fix it up for us. He baked it with some potatoes and pumpkin, and it was real good. We finished off with tinned peaches. You can imagine how. we enjoyed it after weeks of bully beef and hard biscuits." Eggs imported from Australia will.certainly hatch. A poultryman informs me lie got a setting from Adelaide and obtained two fine chicks, while a friend of his hatched seven chicks from, a - setting obtained from Australia. N.Z. UTILITY POULTRY CLUB'S COMPETITIONS. - The official results of the thirty-fifth week of tlio New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's eleventh egg-laying competition for fowls . for the week ended Tuesday, December 7, are as follow:— LIGHT BREEDS* Total Totnl for to ' week.,date. Yerrall Bros., 8.1/ ........ 22 . . 832 H. Legev, S.C.W.L. 27 ' 839 Waitato Egg Farm, S.C.W.L. 31 858 Calder- Bros., - S.C.W.L . BG3 Horctaunga P.C., No. 1, S.C.- . * W.L. : 29 £01 N. Solomon, S.C.W.L. 25 720 J. Wordsworth, S.C.W.L. 23 " 729 Dominion P. Plant, S.C.W.L. 29 699 M. P. Chapman, S.C.W.L. .... 31 793 Mrs. J. Mills, S.C.W.L. 28 " \ 882

A. 1?-. Browne, S.C.W.L 21 803 Heretaunga P.C., ivo. 2, S.C.W.L 24 700 T. 11*11 wraith,- S.C.W.L 20 071 C. Warburton, S.C.W.L. ....... 633 A. G. Brniloy, S.C.W.L 26 860 Wainoui Poultry Farm, .S.C.W.L ! 29 767 G. L. Hayne, S.C.W.L 26 BD6 A. W. Irvine, S.C.W.L 20 737 Asliburton Poultry Farm, S.C.W.L 27 004 G. Catteral, S.C.W.L 29 728 L. T. Wright, S.C.W.L 28 8.57 L. Macdonald, S.C.W.L 20 675 Atkinson Bros., S.C.W.L 1!) 737 A. E. Phillips, S.C.W.L. 24 733 Dalmuir Poultry Y«irds, S.C.W.L 33 890 B. P, L. Clayson, S.C.W.L. (i birds) 20 738 Green Bros., S.C.W.L 31. 827 Jack Green, S.C.W.L 30 007 A. E. Wilson, S.C.W.L IH 807 W. A. Nixon, S.C.W.L 27 746 H. S. Woodnorth, S.C.W.L. ... 30 875 H. Roxburgh, S.C.W.L 29 722 B. A. Lazarus, S.C.W.L 22 726 X. W. Adams, S.C.W.L 27 791 T. Fazackerley and Sons, S.C.- ■ W.L 28 721 W. Davey. S.C.W.L 26 810 W. A. Nnon, S.C.W.L 28 788 K. R. Dames, S.C.W.L 21 777 R. Bills, S.S.W.L 27 865 S. L. Leggctt, S.C.W.L 25 687 R. Willis and Son, S.C.W.L. ,27 811 George Gee, S.C.W.L 2!) 765 Green Bros„ S.C.W.L 28 685 R-angiuru Egg Hanch, S.C.W.L. 15 575 T. Kennedy, S.C.W.L. 28 745 Calder Bros., No. 1, S.C.W.L. 27 856 fl.. W. Hawke, S.C.W.L 23 709 Mrs. MlCuinon. S.C.W.L 28 729 Ween Bros., B.C.W.L 26 833 Totals • 1,292 38,023 HEAVY BREEDS. Total Total for to ' ■ . week. date. A. W. Adams, S.W 20 605 Green Bros., S.W; 25 659 E. Oakea, B-.1.8, 25 698 Cooper and Wainseofct, R.I.K. 22 809 W. A. Nixon, 8.1.R 9 281 A. E. Wilson. W.AV 25 565 T, ' Kennedy, W.W. 30 767 W A. Nixon, 8.0 29 794 T\ h. Walker, 8.0 24 818 E. Willis, '8.0 19 925 W.' Bloomfield, 8.0 29 777 Totals • 257 7,698 . FOR' DUCKS. Tfie New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's sixth egg-laj-ing test for ducks. Returns for, the thirty-fifth week aje ae follow:— Total Total for to _ _ week. date. J. B. Merrett, I.R 11 755 T. R. Hall, I.R 19 830 G. L. Hayne, I.R 30 802 W. Davidson I.R 2-1 803 Thomas -Dow-thwaite. I.R. 24 671 w . Knight, I.E 29 959 """. Knight, I.E 22 714 Wainoni Poultry Farm, I.R. .9 254 Totals 168 5,894 The letters after each entry denotes the -breed, as under:—B.L., Brown Leghorn: Single Comb White Leghorn; R.CRose Comb White Leghorn; S.W.,' Silver Wyandotte; E.1.R., . Rhode Island Bed; W.W., White Wyandotte; 8.0., Black Orpington; 1.R., Indian Runner.