POULTRY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 60, 4 December 1926, Page 30

POULTRY NOTES.

(By

“New-Laid.")

Reply to Correspondent. "Otaki" asks (I).—Roughly, what is the amount of food—grain, brand, pollard. meat-meal, etc.—to . How per bird per year in estimating the cost of start mg with, say. one hundred birds?—The total amount of food required may be set down as approximately four ounces nor h'rd per day. m addition to green atuli. It is only possible to give approximate quantities, of course, as some breeds are bigger eaters than others, also some situations are more favour able' than others, if the birds are run mg on free range, thus allowing them to find more of the animal food necessary. Whole grain will account for about half of the ration, and the -aeat-meal will be anything up to ten per cent of the remainder. (2) Which are the best hook or books on poultry fanning under New Zealand conditions?—! have the Ministry of Agriculture’s pamphlet "Utility Poultry Farming. ” but should be glad of a book giving more detailed information. "Util; iiy Poultry Farming for Australasia, published by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs, will probably be of assistance to you. There is somewhat of a paucity of literature dealing solely with local conditions. although there are books by the score relating to it in other parts of the world. You are. of course, always at liberty to address any queries to this paper, which will be promptly answered (3 In your last Saturday’s issue the statement is made that birds do better when small flocks are given a run to themselves rather than giving one large run for a flock. What number of birds per flock is recommended ?—The reason is that in a small flock every bird has a better chance of getting a fair share of the feed supplied, than when a much larger number are run together. in every flock there are some birds much more robust and vigorous than others, which will always get their full share and probably sometimes a good peal more, of all there is going case the weaker ones suffer. inis is certainly minimised a great deal if dry feeding is adopted but ’s very apparent when moist mash is fed. It is perhaps :i matter of opinion as to the number of birds to run in a flock, as the question is bound up in that of the labour involved the lay-out of the plant, etc. but the writer's experience Is that "°cks of fifty can be handled, very well, with good results, when all is taken into account. Another advantage of the small flock is that a closer' supervision over the individual birds can be maintained than when large numbers are run together.

Keep Account with tho Peed. Very few poultry men keep book accounts with the poultry as they should I’here are several reasons why every one aaving any great number of fowls should Keep track of the outgoes and income tor the hens. Where there is anything 'ike a good-sized flock, much more money may be got out of them when an item ised statement is kept, than when thiugs are allowed to run by guesswork. Prob .bly by far the greater number of people' keeping poultry give almost any kind of feed available, and in many instances the cost is not considered at all the products are sold, some consumed at home- further than this, no thought is fiven to this part of the work AU kinds of grain are high, but some are more expensive than others, and unless wine special thought is given to this feed question, we may be getting little ►r no results from a very expensive food ration. The poultryman who is in the business for money makes as much of study of feed as regards prices as he does of the kind of fowls he keeps. The Caro ot Eggs.

Eggs should be gathered regularly and not allowed to remain in the nests three or four days before being taken to the racking room. If soiled they should be .vashed. in order to improve their appearance, as thia gives them enhanced commercial value. Dirty egrgs do not ■cal to the buyer and as a consequence do not bring the price that the clean ones do. Be sure, when storing ‘ggs. that you do not place them alongside of a kerosene tin. or in a damp spot, or in close proximitv to decayed, matter of any kind; particularly is this so of decaying onions, for if you do, the egge will not possess the flavour that they otherwise would if you had avoided doing

Proper Food for Laying Hens. In feeding laying hens there are three classes of nutriment which one must keep in mind, in order that the fowls may be nourished properly: protein, to build up and keep in repair the various organs and muscular system of the fowl and furnish material for the formation particularly of the white of the egg carbohydrates and fat, to furnish heat and energy and to supply a considerable amount of the fat which enters Into the composition of the yolk of the egg; and finally’, ash constituents f r the forma tion of bones, egg shells, and to enter more or less into the structure of all various organs and tissues of the body Nor should one neglect water, as more than one-half the weight of the fowl or an egg consists of this substance. Keep Nests Clean.

Clean neets are very essential in producing clean eggs. Change the nesting materia) occasionally, and as a precau tion against parasites burn the discard ed material that is taken from the nests. Too much care cannot be given to cleanliness iu The poultry yard.

Regular Feeding. Regularity is important. Accustom hens to a fixed hour of feeding, and it is surprising how well they know when that hour has arrived. Delay your feeding for an hour, and it will be equally surprising to see how they worry; how they run along the fence and seem to hurry you np Fretting does hens no good. When they are allowed to worry they become nervous, and when the meal is delayed they are apt to eat too greed dy. Have fixed hours ;nd keep them to the minute.

Returns from Poultry-Keeping. The meat and eggs which a small floch will supply figure into 'he expense of living during the year The pleasure and satisfaction in the care ot a good flock is no small item of compensation to any lover of animals. The financial profit is a positive entity where the flock is properly cared for. and the business is one that grows, however imall the beginning.

Keep Breed Pure. Learn at once what the standard of perfection in the breed raised consists of Learn the markings and don't try to start a new breed by crossing during the first few years. Others have tried and failed. There arc reasons for this

“Private Markings.” A dispute over the awarding o; a prize of Ze. which arose out of a disagreement regarding the ownership cf a hen ex hihited at a poultry show came before the South Island Poultry Association at its meeting (states the “Otago Daily Times"). It was alleged that the one exhibitor had taken a hen from the pen of another exhibitor and placed it in hG own pen. winning the first prize in the section. Tho exhibitor whose bird had been "borrowed" obtained nolice assistance in recovering his property, which had been identified by his own "private markings." These took -he form of the stumps of several cut feathers- feath ers which the ininred nart.v candidly ad mitted should never have been there and which he had taken the precaution to cut nff before showing the bird "Yon seem to be a bold sort of a gentleman to come he.re and admit that you cut n bird about." said the chairman “The other party might hare come here and nut it across von if he hnd known that You can go homo satisfied that yon hnv< proved vour case. TJie association com nliments you on your little scheme hnf cannot endorse it.” It was decided to award tho prize money to the exhibitor whose bird had been remored to another pen.