POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 51, 23 November 1929, Page 32

POULTRY NOTES

(By “Nott Laid.”) Answer to Correspondent. “J.E.” :' Although I. have not come across any. official records as to the effect of thunderstorms on eggs which are in process of being hatched, I have known of two instances in which experienced men have attributed poor hatches to such an occurrence. In these cages the thunderstorms happened during the early stages of the period of incubation, when the embryo would be most susceptible to damage; the liability would be lessened in the later stages. Crooked Breastbone. Crooked breastbone is a trouble, but not a serious one, which is to a great extent preventible. It consists in. the breastbone being deformed to a greater or lesser extent instead of being quite straight. The chief cause is usually considered to be allowing chickens to roost at too early an age, but this statement may be modified by adding that the width of the roosts must also be considered. For instance, if chickens are allowed to spend all the night and possibly part of the day also on a narrow l perch, they are much more likely to develop this trouble than if they are provided with one that is about three inches wide. It is customary to regard a bird with 1 a crooked breastbone as unsuitable for breeding purposes, but if that is the only defect in an otherwise suitable bird—when all other points have been carefully examined —the bird may be given the benefit of the doubt. If there is any question that the trouble is due to inbreeding or lack of vitality in tbe parent stock, or on the other hand, the, bird should on no account be used for breeding purposes. A crooked breastbone in. a dressed fowl certainly detracts from its appearance, and for that reason alone is to be avoided if possible. The remedy is to have an abundance of litter for bedding purposes, followed by broad perches when the birds get to the stage of requiring them. Avoid Overcrowding. If a man’s temperature gets too high from exercise or extra clothing, nature sends out a perspiration or sweat on to the surface, and by evaporation the heat units are'taken up and the body is cooled; ' A' hen’s temperature is not reduced ‘ in'this way, for she has no swept glands in the skin. The moisture from the hen is carried out through the breath, so for this reason if the hen is very warm she will have her mouth open, allowing the air in and out to take the moisture and not to get an extra supply of oxygen into her lungs. If the chickens are crowded at night they become very warm, then when they come out in the cold morning air the breathing organs become so chilled that a cold is the result, which paves the way for roup. Draughts are Dangerous. Prevention is the big word. Don’t let your pullets get a cold and then have the unspeakable task of “curing” it. The draught is the deadly thing. A fowl that is accustomed to roosting in a tree right out in the open can stand a hurricane of wind in the tree; but if you pen that same fowl up in a close room and let her; roost where a shaft of cold air, so big as a lead pencil, can play on her all night, you are practically certain to have a sick hen on your hands. Beware of the draughts. American Poultry Industry'. During recent years the value of the poultry industry in U.S.A, has frequently ( feeen.compared with that of other industries. Recent comparisons to hand show little alteration, of the figures that were previously published. In a message to poultry raisers which appears in “Poultry Tribute” of America, Mr. Arthur M. Hyde, Secretary of Agriculture, asked: “Who can fail to marvel dyer the .hen when we. stop to consider, that the annual value of poultry products is about one thousand million dollars (equal to more than two hundred million pounds sterling)? This is just about equal to the sum of the interest on the national ■ debt and the reserve to the sinking fund. Give her a few more years dnd the American hen would pay off all our bonded indebtedness. The value of poultry products in 1028 was greater than that of all the vegetable crops; double the value of all the fruits; ten times greater than the sugar crops, or of all the horses raised that year; six times the .value of the sheep, and tbe hen was ahead in the race with beef cattle. She'has at last come to be recognised as a business builder and profit-maker when produced on a large scale. Undoubtedly she ( has been a money-maker for many years in more modest establishments. Only, the women of America, I suspect, have any conception of the number of college courses, modernised homes, and improvements in living conditions that have conie out of the “egg money, so commonly a perquisite of the . farm wo. man.” There are over one hundred and twenty million people in tbe United States, and the value of the poultry industry is two hundred million. In Australia there are about six million people, and the industry is worth fifteen millions, so that, relatively the value is greater in Australia. America consumes practically all her poultry products. She exports at some seasons of the year and imports enormous quantities of eggs and egg pulp from China.