POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 250, 18 July 1931, Page 24

POULTRY NOTES

Running the Incubator

(By'

“New Laid.”)

Present-day incubators have, been brought to such a .state of efficiency and are so simple in their manipulation, that, provided the eggs are right,' there-is no reason why the greatest novice should not be successful if he follows the instructions given with the machine he is using. All modern incubators, be they hot air or hot water machines. Will do their work satisfactorily, competition being so keen that manufacturers must turn out a reliable instrument. ' The methods of supplying heat to the egg.chamber are:—(l) Bv radiation from a tank or pipes filled with water heated by a lamp; (2) simply actuated bv a constant flow of hot ■ air. Each method has its supporters, but, all things being equal, the results show that there is very little to choose between them. There is certainly this point in favour of the hot-water system: If by any misfortune the lamp should fail the heat will be retained much longer in the egg chamber. All machines are fitted with an automatic device for regulating the heat, and it is very essential when starting with a hatch to carefully study the maker s directions on this point. Also, before putting in the eggs see that the machine has been running steadily at the correct temperature for a couple of days. In choosing a location for the incubator avoid if possible a shed or outhouse in which the ceilings and walls are not lined, ventilation must also be good, but on no account must there be a draught that is liable to come in contact with the incubator. It the incubator has to be kept in a room ot a dwelling house, see that it is as far away from a window as possible and out of the sunlight, and not subject to the effects of vibration. Having found the situation for your machine, the next thing is to set it up correctly. Great cafe;must. be exercised to see that it is standing absolutely level, this being necessary because hot air always rises, consequently unless the instrument is level some portion of the egg chamber will be hotter than others. Do this with the aid of a spirit level and not “by guess.’ If a spirit level is not available, place a dish of .water on top of the machine and adjust the legs until the water is level; also see that all four legs are firmly on the. platform or ground and free from rock. , ... / , Always begin a hatch with a new lamp wick and never quite fill the reservoir up to the top; the non-observance of this latter point is the cause of most of the cases of fire. Do not trim wick with scissors, but rub with a piece of rag. Take notice of the height of flame before trimming. and always try to keep it the same; remember, the adjustment of heat must be made by operating the apparatus supplied for that purpose, and not by altering the size of the flame. So me machines take as long as a day to heat up to the required temperature, but do not try to hasten matters by turning up the wick; it is much better to be content with a moderately-sized flame and bide your time. t . Once the incubator is running at a regular temperature and carefully selected eggs are in the machine, do not open the door or touch them at all for the first two days—just watch the thermometer and attend to the lamp. At the end of the second day take out the tray, and place it on a firm surface. Turn the eggs carefully, and also turn, the tray round so that when replacing the side of the tray that was nearest to the door will be furthest from it. Put back the tray directly this process has been completed. ■ ... Repeat this performance for the first six days. Nb w , fo f the treatment of the lamp. ’ It is best to attend to the eggs before the lamp is touched, because oil might get on the fingers, and.if this oil was conveyed to the eggs'harm would be done, lhe lamp must be filled and the wick trimmed

every, day without fail, and see that the flame is the same size as it was before the. trimming. ” After the first six days the eggs can be cooled off each day after turning, but it is essental at all times when the tray. is out that the door of the incubator be immediately closed to conserve the heat. After the first week the turning process should take place ■twice a day, night and morning, but the icoollng off should only be done once a day. . The amount of cooling must be left to the common-sense of the operator. If the machine has been running at a low temperature, then the time must .-necessarily, be shorter than if- the thermometer had been registering above 103 degrees, but, roughly, between the seven and 14 days gradually increase from 10 minutes to 15 or 20 minutes and up to half an hour or more during the last week.

'During this last week there will be a' marked tendency for the temperature to rise, due to the animal heat supplied by the fast-developing chicken, and it may be necessary to reduce the size of | the flam? considerably. On the nineteenth day close the machine right up and do not again open under any pretext whatever till the hatch is completed; If the door is opened after chipping of eggs commences the moisture balance is upset in the egg chamber, and the result is generally the death of the chick before it leaves the shell. On the fifth or sixth day the eggs can be tested for fertility. A simple tester can be made with a piece of cardboard, in the centre of which an oral hole has been cut a little smaller than the egg. On placing the egg against this cavity and holding before a strongish light in a darkened room, the infertile egg will be quite clear, while the one with the live embryo will be cloudy down one side. These clear eggs should be removed at once, and are quite good for cooking purposes. The eggs should be again tested on the 12th or 14th day. Those eggs with live chicks in them will by then be quite opaque over the greater portion, and the air cell will be larger. Any eggs that at this period have black spots or rings in them should be removed. Moisture is a very important' factor. Under ordinary conditions closely follow the directions given with the machine by the makers, but it must be borne in mind that as the season advances the atmospheric conditions are generally rather dry. and in these circumstances more moisture is required. When the eggs are commencing to chip, cover the glass door with a cloth to keep out the light. The young chicks always make toward light, and take a lot of valuable energy out of themselves attempting to reach it. Do not bother about any eggs that are not hatched by the 22nd day, also do not worry about the early hatched chickens; they will not die of . starvation, as so many novices seem to think. The yolk that is drawn in just before hatching supplies them with enough nourishment for three days, so let all the chickens dry off properly before removing to brooder. . A short period of complete rest in a darkened incubator after hatching is of the greatest value to the chickens, enabling them to gather up their strength after the very strenuous exertion of breaking their way into this vale of tears.— " The Australasian.’

General Notos. Eliminating the drones —in other words, culling—gives the workers more room and cuts down the feed and labour bills.

An experienced poultryman expresses the opinion that apart from insanitary conditions, crowding is the cause of most losses i.n baby chicks.

You must have a mental or live ideal bird of the breed you are going to stick to. It is not a matter of picking out the best layers, for if you make egg production the only objective your strain will soon be debilitated. The ideal layer should stand with legs wide apart and have a roomy heart-shaped body, medium bone, a good frame, and be symmetrical.

Roup is a very serious and highly contagious complaint, and in bad cases, when the eyes are affected and the birds are obviously very ill, it is.far wiser to destroy them. If treatment of the infected birds is taken in hand early a cure can be effected. Wash the mouth and nostrils out with a 50 per cent, solution of hydrogen peroxide or, with a 5 per cent, solution carbolic acid, a 2 per cent, solution of pot. perraang. (Condy’s crystals) can also be employed. It is important to clean out the passage of the nostrils; this can be done with a syringe or by pressing the roof of the bird’s mouth from inside and squeezing the nostrils from above. If the eye is affected the tumor can be lanced and the cheesy matter carefully removed, the cavity then being washed out with one of the above-mentioned disinfectants.

The quality of bone to be found in the good and poor layers is a point easily recognised. The poor bird generally carries heavier bone, coarser in quality, as indicated in type of shank or pelvic bones. The round, full shank of the poor layer is a sharp contrast to the flat, clear-cut bone in the shank of the heavy layer. The same contrast is found to be true in the pelvic bones — where the poor layer presents coarse, stiff bones covered with hard fat, the good layer presents pliable, thin pelvie bones.

Let the hens go without oyster shell for a little while and you will have a loss in broken eggs and hatchability. The poultryman who runs into trouble with soft-shelled eggs and sour crop should sprinkle a few handfulls of shell or grit on top of the mush in the hoppers, and he will find that the birds eat more, and the troubles will disappear. If they recur, supply more hoppers for shell and grit, and place them in the most accessible positions.

Baby chicks should have grit in the form of gravelly sand that has been sifted through a piece of ordinary fly-screen. Fine sand does not give the same result. The novice will be surprised to note how much the little ones consume. For older birds it is a good idea to fasten the grit hopper on to the end of the mash hopper. There should be two compartments, one for grit and one for oystershell.

EGG-LAYING CONTEST

Massey College Results

The following are the results of the Massey. College Egg-Laying Contest for the fifteenlth.week—■ / ; Light Breeds: F..Ecob, 6i, 59. b.), 68, 80, 80 (30), 423; S. G. Batten, 39, 41, 33, 22, 40, 80 (30), 255; M. L. Boyce, 32, 51, 31, x, 36, 65 (23), 254; L. B. Maunsell, 55. 40, 32, x. 31, 28 (15), 232; Mrs. D. A. Stewart, 26, 42, 31, 63, 36 (24), 231; K. Brazendale, 79, 17, 17, 38, x, -4 (23). 226; A. Norman, 50, 38, x. 25, x, 48 (18). 222; J. N. McLean, 21, 9, 22, 26. 6, 29 (21), 113. Heavy Breeds: Mrs. J. A. B. Uellabj, 55, 62, 13, 75, 61. 32 (21). 298; J. N. McLean, 42, 41, 18, 18, 18. 25 (23), 165; H. Rushton, 34, 6, 23, 36, 27, 19 (26), 145; ’K. Mouldey, 27, 33, 0, 34, J), 2 .(13), 116. . , , “x” signifies bird laying undersized eggs and score struck out.

EGG-LAYING SOCIETY

The following is the official report of the Taranaki Egg-Laying Society's fourth competition for the fifteenth week ended July 15 (in each case the first figure given is the weekly total, while the second is the total to date):— , .. , White Leghorns.—A. J. Cadman, No. I 5— No. 2 7—79, No. 3 5—79; G. L. Gaylard, No. 1 (M) o—B4, NOJ2 O-(K, 4 82, Barkers, Nolantown, No. 1 s—Bo, c<o. - 6- No. 3 (M) 0—51: M. Scanlon, No 1 4—50, No. 2 5—03, No. 3_7—B, non. No. 1 5—82, No. - -77, no3’ W. Crompton. No. 1 4-06, No. 2 (M) 0--3, No. 3 4—30; Gibbons Bros.. No. 1 o—7o, -no. 2 6-75, No. 3 (M) 0-09, No 4 5-71, E. M. Galvin, 6—83; G. 11. Cross, (S) o—6o, G. n. Gent (M) 0—35« r qq* Brown Leghorns. —C. Goodson, 6 00, Black’ Minorcas.—D. Swadling, 6—48; C. ?t ßhmie Island Kell ; —A '’- r E - fi j[ on ? 3 ’5 <O L^ v ? 30 No. 2'5—40, No. 3 5 —60, J. O. LiiWj No.“l V-fll, No- 2 5-33, No. 3 3—47. Black Orpington.—. L. Gane, >o. i n 75 No. 2 5—94, No. 3.3—70; S. Paterson, Yo 1 o—2l, No. 2 0—22, No. 3 4-~08; !•. A. Warren. No. 1 6-79, No. 2 5-76, No. 3 579; D. M. Waddell, No. 1 5—36, No. 2 7107, No. 3 6—86, No. 4 6—66; D. SwadWyandottes. —T. Dowthwaite, No. 1 5—49, No. 2 7—96. Golden, Wyandottes.—Gibbons Bros., o <4 White Rock.—E. M. Galvin, 5—36. Licht Sussex.—H. Kirkwood, No. 1 1—47, No. 2 0—49, No. 3 4—36: A. J. Davey, No. 1 505,’ No. 2 s—-76, No. 3 6—-74. Fawn Runner Ducks—.l. Magill (M), 0— 3S; V. L. Gane (M). 86; F. A. Warren (M), 0—03; T. Dowthwaite (M), o—o. Khaki Campbell.—T. Dowthwaite, <—o7; J. W. Carrick, o—o. THREE-BIRD TEAMS. Light Breeds. Total

B.O.—Black Orpington. R.l.R.—Rhode Island Red. L.S. —Light Sussex. (M) Moulting. “Signifies bird dead.

1 2 Weekly to 3 tl. date. A. J. Cadman, W.L. v 5 17 213 G. L. Gaylard, W.L. . Barkers, Nolantown, 0 6 5 11 231 W.L 5 6 0 11 216 M. Scanlon, W.L. ... i o 7 16 180 K. R. Cannon, W.L. . W. Crompton, W.L. . 5 5 6 16 256 4 0 4 8 126 Gibbons Bros., W.L.. u 0 0 11 212 Heavy Breeds. W. E. Jones. R.LR. . r. K 5 15 132 ,T. 0. Law, R.I.R. ... 0 5 5 15 126 V. L. Gane, B.O. ... 6 5 3 14 241 S. Paterson. B.O. . , 0 0. 4 4 111 F.‘ A. Warren, B.O. . D. M. Waddell, B.O. . 6 ;» 3 16 231 7 <1 18 229 H. Kirkwood, L.S. . 1 0 i .» 133 A. J. Davey, L.S. ... . 5 5 6 16 215 W.L.—White Leghorn.