POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 91, 11 January 1919, Page 13

POULTRY NOTES

NATURE'S WAY

When-you-'get foot you don't open your ■mouth, but the fowl does. Why? Jtectiutso by perspirmg' you have a natural •means of regulating tho bodily teaiperar jture.tv As ..the; fowl doesn't .perspire, it .(hits ; r ijo '. means 'of regulating th« bodily. , : .'tdmperatur3,-except >by'' opening its •iiijoutli, act'joii has: the effect of inci;eaising ; -the'"evaporation- of moisture. .•Also, ; on ;fiot;l<iays, ,; -you will notice .that '•the foivls'spread') their wings, and hold tUri)' out..looisely- from' their sides. Ffir •'wilwt 'Be&u«e Nature has told .tii«ni::that, i to':spread'.tha ivinga is. a good '.whyi of; oopling the' body.' But don't leave i'loftll ;,to'Nature. •,.Don't forget tins na;uiial!;;::.pVi(aiitiv'e; fowls liad bushes :<nn •;lA&fL'-.to;iget : Siot : t'.ay > ni;d, e\Ten..so^ Opened their'-mouths and spread ,t'jiiiir'; irihgS:..to'help.themselves througn. &oy]ustr run. up a -shelter from the sun, to maintain'; the-. supply of eggs/-which you will '• ; dCU; tkv.biixto r are comfortable, iid your humanity to .jiumb' suil efing. 'animals. / 1 Does Liko Beget Liika? ! v'i'iijis. a "common statement that "like I-begets ; like," and it is true to a certain j '-BStont inasmuch as a pair of purebred !' birds will produce progeny that is true to the breed in regard to feathering, shape, and general type. But the statol inent is not wholly correct, as, if it | were, the' man with the most money ' would win everything all tho time. ; He could huy the most perfect specimens, mate th&i, and broed the best, and, once in tho lead, would stay tliero, whereupon the bottom of the business would fall out. All poultry men know that the most perfect specimens rarely reproduce themselves when mated together and they know that many a bird not'good enough for the exhibition pen is worth its weight in gold as a breder of winners. The thing that tells most in breeding is the mysterious something called. /■'nick";and any man may stumble ;on a mating that will give him winners which -'is' one <>f; the'cliarms of the fancy. The Bkilful breeder, of course, makes« the Best track, because,of his judgment and experience, but he, too, as often as not,, .stumbles oii.'the mating'that/gives him the. flyers'/ v Phenomenal Birds are Fluked. No one toiows beforehand how a mat-' tag. will -tiirn out, but the experienced breeder., is ,■ iiiore ; likely.-to r get tho best results,'because tie" couples birds together •on a fixed,, defined, plan, which has.'for "its basis"jthe' strengthening of weak'spots in ono parent,,:by mating: it with a. bird that is'strong wherij the other is weak. Further, when bringing tho birds together,; lie has' a fairly; correct idea of what the combination wilr throw, because of his observation" of' .their ancestors.' But he doisn't''positively know what they will throw, ior the very good ■ reason that he can't say how fheSblood .'Mil ,bltod ' or ; "nick." It is ..owing to this, fact that tho noVice is always: likely^'to; stumble'on a combination that will give hiitt champions. But the /novice's is this: He very ofteii' do'es not realise the value of the parent.-,birds'.tWt-throw him the champions. He is hot'experienced sufficiently ; ; to, know. that , when he. is liicky enough'4d blunder \ipon a mating that gives him winners he has done something that may only be done once in a lifetime, and by some people never. He is tempted, by a ; good price to sell the stock birds, and when he does this he is gone, for in tha ordinary average of • happenings it is a thousand to one against him that he will get hold of the •.safrie I '.combination .again. 'Mere than oiie'competition. man fluked a wonderful : mating,: and did. "well' until big'money ~ tempted, him H'o; sell; the.Sstock birds, 'and . ■when' ; ::hb, sold'.>he went down" and out, ' : because 1 wonderful matibga 'aie not ilulcM'jtwiqe Iby sai^e : ;man; ' ..Taken ,:in itssfi'ictli' litbi'alV ; ise'hse,■ ■ tho; .statement that "lift&jbegets like"'is not wholly correct. . Tlw-magnificent show specimens are generally produced by parents that have no pretensions to exhibition; form. You see., it is not what they are or look like themselves, ft is what they can do : jfiJien bro.ught. together,. and. it is quite a .th'B''bfdin'ary''''uVatt''WouTd\hbt'give half-a- ---: crown a.-piece foj-, to. produce winning progeny; .Both parents, although insignificant in 1 appearance, possess the power to breed stock muchj better than them- ' selves, and now and -again -a man is lucky enough to bring them together and stumble on a' "nick"' that makes ;him ■ famous. Most of the famous matings are a pure iluke, and so long as the < birds last,' or. until the breeder is fool--1 ish enough to sell one of them, and 60 ' break ttie wonderful combination, he does ! well. "When a bird dies or ono of the : .'.breeders is sold the man's' success de : parts, . and ho has ito start scratching iagain, like the other fellow, because, as I said,, it'is a :thousand to one. .against. ! 'tiim fluking same combinatioii twice. Stamina Must Tell.

If you etudyithe competition lists, you will, lots of times, see 37 or 38 followed, by a drop to 27 or 28. This is common in all the tests, and it usually means that the good feeding acts like a whip 'does on young colts—it mates them jump quite lively—but they have not the stamina to keep it up, and so .a fast lap is followed, by a poor one'. This in-find-out scoring is always a characteristic, of naturally good layers badly reared; they aro built to lay well, and do it far a bit, but cannot keep it up. Where you see a score of 33 or 34 kept up for months, it means that there is good laying ability, -backed by abundant stamina, and this kind of pen usually wins. Where you see 35 or. 36 kept up for months at a stretch, it means'that there, is •exception-; al laying ability/ backed by- unusual; stamina, and this'is the pen'that puts' up a record. Stamina tells in a'long-! fought-out struggle/and as a test lasts for twelve months-lit must be bred' into the stock, or the birds had better. :by far be kept in'- the backyard.' ; Every thinking man who'enters on atestvof, ondurance puts' in weeks of training, and comes to the post in lean and hard condition.- Laying competitions are just the sanie—nowadays-the scoring is too big arid so sustained that it -becomes a test of endurance, ii)'which' only well-trained birds can hopo to have a chance; Chicken Chatter. Sort the chioks into even sizes, so that they may. make uniform growth., Where the birds are" confined in small yards this grading out is most essential, ,as otherwise the small ones get trodden on and robbed of food. Bear in mind that there is no chivalry in the poultry yard; every chick must stand on its own legs or be trodden underfoot. This is an eminently fair proposition if the;birds are all of the same size, as, where the conditions are fair and eqinl tho. bird that goes down and 'out is much,-better oft. dead. 1 But to run big and little chicks together is to-give the little fellows no show. It is bad business to keep cliickens tlmfc aro not thriving and doing all tho /while, and if you run all sizes together the big fellows wolf all the food and the little fellows become starved and checked in their growth. A most important thine is to separate tho cockerels and run them by themselves; if put of sight of tho pullets eo miich tho better. It is a bad thing to liavo tho two sexes running side by side, with only a strip of netting between. One , other thing -is of importance in the rearing of chickens, and that is to hayo a plentiful supply of crushed charcoal in the yards. It is an absorbent and bowel corrective of great,'value. Notes for the Novice. Feed your fowls well in tho mornirg and evening. Watch any animal and you will see it load un at these times. Fowls want plenty of food after several hours on -the roosts, and tlioy also need a lot to carry them through -tho night. In :mnking .the fowlyard it is-a good plan to liavo 1-incli netting for about 2 feet up at tho bottom, and'tho rest 3-inch, in order, to average tho cost. If you do it this way you will liavo yards that will hold grown stock iir small chickens.

Nothing will bring chickens quicker tlinn a grass inn-' If you can, try it and see. Why? Because the saline nnd minoral properties in tho grass are what the growing chick needs. - Thoreforo, _ if you, must confine • your. cliickens, give them plonty* of green stuff' chaffed tip. To keep tho ; birds in--sound health It is noccssary that .they should perch off tlie ground. Tliore will bo no trouble abont the business if you put roo6ting poles in tho chicken sheds when tho chicks aro from six to eight weeks old. They will porch when they are roady,

and oneo tho habit is contracted tlioy won't stay on tho ground. whorover you may move them. . Don , 't forget tho green stuff* In the hot weather it "will not only reduce the food bill, hut its use will keep tho birds in health. Plant, rape, maize, silver beet, kale, lucerne, etc. Mulch , well and water heavily. , Seo that, the water vesesls are well shaded in, the hot weathci. Sun-warmed water is : a prolifio Bource of disease, as noxiouß germs multiply in it. ./ Tho two biff needs of growing chickens a ffo plenty of room (or plentj of exercise)/and plentj- of food. If you want good birds now lfl. time to look out for them. The' big breeders are through with their hatching and are ready to clear out a pen or two to make room for growing stock. The male bird should not now be with the hens; Ho is only needed for breeding .purposes. ' . A little , stewed, linseed will . help chickens'to feather, and of con-siderable-assistance in helping old .birds through the moult, • Mix..with tho morning, inash... - Remember that 1 the' vitality of - the fowl is '.lowest 1 et night. Don't forget that a "draught of air which plays on theni 'while they , on tho roosts is often; fatal and always, 'dangerous., An open-fronted house is all. right, and if a bird perches outside the open it will •jef- through all right. It is the shafts of air ■ through tho cracks that • cause mischief. • . ■■ Give the-birds a. generous meal-late in tho afternoon. . They havo to. get thToiigh- a long, nightj '.'and want .plenty of food to keep up their system. This remark: applied "©specially to > the . cold winter' weather,. • when r.thero if greater demand oil the I food in order to maintain the" bodily:< heat and condition.;.