POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 186, 4 May 1929, Page 30

POULTRY NOTES

(By

“New-Laid.”)

A Novel Method of Duck-Farming. The following extracts, taken from that very readable book, “Here, There, and Everywhere,” one of a series of three books written by Lord Frederick Hamilton, throw an interesting light on a subject that comes within the scope of this column, and will therefore be of interest to the poultry fraternity. He writes: “The marshy banks of the Canton River are lined with interminable paddy-fields, for, as every one knows, rice is a crop that must be grown under water. After the rice harvest, these swamp fields are naturally full of fallen grain, and thrifty John Chinaman feeds immense flocks of ducks on the stubbles of the paddy-fields. The ducks are brought down by thousands in junks, and quack , and gobble to their hearts’ content in the fields all day, waddling back over a plank to their junks at night. At sunset, one of the most comical sights in the world ean be witnessed. A Chinese boy comes ashore from each junk with a horn, which he blows as a signal to the ducks that bedtime has arrived. In his other hand the boy has a rattan cane, with which he administers a tremendous thrashing to the last ten ducks to arrive on board. The ducks know this, and in that singular country their progenitors have probably been thrashed in the same way for a thousand years, so they all have inherited the dangers of corporal punishment threatening them. As soon as the horn sounds, thousands of ducks start the maddest of Marathon races back to their respective junks, which they never mistake, with such a quacking and gobbling and pushing of each other aside, as the ungainly fowls waddle along at the top of their speed, as must be witnessed to be credited. The duck has many advantages: in his wild state his extreme wariness and his powerful flight make him a splendid sporting bird, and when dead he has most estimable qualities after a brief sojourn in the kitchen. Domesticated, though he can scarcely be classed as a delicate feeder, he makes a strong appeal to some people, especially after he has contracted an intimate alliance with sage and onions, but he was never intended by Nature for a sprinter, nor are his webbed feet adapted for rapid locomotion. Sufferers from chronic melancholia would, I am sure, benefit by witnessing the nightly football scrums and speed contests of these Chinese ducks, for I defy anyone to see them without becoming helpless with laughter.” The subject of methods of distinguishing various matings of birds has been dealt with on numerous occasions in this column, but there is still another method, which will be best described by making use of another short extract from the book above quoted: “We had.been on the outskirts of the city that day. and I was much struck with an example of Chinese ingenuity. The suburban inhabitants all seem to keep poultry, and all these fowls were of the same breed —small white bantams. So, to identify his own property, Ching Wan dyed all his chickens’ tails orange, whilst Hung To’s fowls scratched about with mauve tails, and Kyang Foo’s hens gave themselves great airs ou the strength of their crimson tall feathers.” It reads like a cheap and effective way of doing without legbands.

Common Complaints. There is nothing more discouraging to the poultryman than the appearance of disease in his flocks. Certainly the pleasure of raising fowls is soon robbed of its brightness when one bird after another fails a victim to one of the many ills they are heir to (states a writer in an exchange). At this season of the year colds and roup are very prevalent, and while they do not appear to be contagious, they are none the less and should be remedied .before they carry their ravages through the entire flock.

The question naturally arises, “Are the sick birds worth doctoring; if they are, what Is the remedy?” As to whether they are worth treating depends on the birds. There are sick birds that should be killed at once and burned. Again there are others that are worth saving. If they are to be saved, however, they must receive immediate and effective treatment. The following simple remedy will prove entirely sufficient in a large percentage of cases where the trouble is a cold or the initial stages of roup. Prepare a solution of 2 per cent, permanaganate of potash, by dissolving two ounces of the permanganate crystals in three quarts of water. Keep this solution always on hand, and when a bird shows the first sign of nose or throat trouble, take enough of the solution to allow the head of the bird to be submerged and put the sick bird's head under it until it nearly chokes. Remove the bird’s head from the liquid and allow it to sneeze and splutter, forcing the liquid into all the air passages. Repeat this three times before you let the bird go, and repeat i twice a day until the bird no longer shows signs of the disease. The operation is simple and easily done, and in the majority of cases Is entirely sufficient. Potassium permanganate is an excellent disinfectant and can be given to the birds to drink, with the result that many other cases will be warded off. When given in the water, only enough should be placed in the drinking water to give it a claret colour. The birds can be given water thus treated for three or four days at a time. No other water should be placed where the birds' can get it, otherwise they will prefer the untreated water to that containing the drug. This treatment will not remove the first cause of colds and roup. This must be borne in mind. It will not offset the bad effects of draughts, overcrowding and bad ventilation, those factors that cause so much of the poultryman’s troubles. Prevention is always better than cure, and the above treatment is only the supplement to the proper housing of poultry. A sick hen will not lay. even though she is only a little sick. Neither will she lay as soon as she gets well, in fact, she may never prove to be a profitahe bird for breeding purposes. It pays, therefore, to take steps to prevent disease rather than to attempt to treat it. Unusual Incubator. , What is judged to be the world’s largest natural incubator is at Chaudasaigues, France. Although situated up in the mountains where snow covers the ground more than half the year, the spot proves an ideal place for chick rearing, as this natural incubator derives its heat from volcanic springs underneath, and the temperature is kept at the proper degree merely by opening trapdoors In the ground. Enterprising people have been quick to grasp the Immense possibilities and a considerable chicken-hatching business has sprung up, especially as a uniform heat is maintained without further care. After the eggs are placed in “nests.” cushions made of old quilts or blankets are thrown over them. The eggs may then be left until hatched. Hundreds of thousands of chickens are raised by the volcanic-heated incubator every year; indeed, the only difficulty seems to be securing markets quickly enough to prevent over-production. Correst Feeding. Feeding fowls for good results is a comparatively easy matter, and is not the difficult. complicated proceeding some writers would have poultrymen believe. Soft-Shelled Eggs. If you find a soft-shelled egg occasionally, you may know that the hens lack lime, or else they are being overfed, or they are not getting the proper variety. A Dally Income. Poultry farming does not take a great deal of land, but with good management the harvest comes In every day, and though It is small, its multiplication by al! the days of the year makes a sum that compares favourably with the returns from more pretentious ventures. I The Dust Bath. J Be careful to furnish a good dust bath 1 for the fowls, for it is the only natural I means the bird has of ridding itself of J lice and mites. Provide a house free from . vermin, then provide the birds with a good dust bath, and the question of lice and 1 mites will be reduced to a minimum. :