POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 2 (Supplement)

POULTRY NOTES

Culling The Laying Flock

PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS URGED

(By

New Laid.)

To maintain a high flock average, which is essential to success in handling a flock of layers, it is necessary to see that no poor producers are kept on the plant to be fed, housed and cared for at the expense of the consistent producers. In a reference to culling laying flocks the Chief Government Poultry Instructor, Mr. C. J. Cussen, writes as follows in the Journal of Agriculture: “Culling a laying flock means the separating from the flock ami the disposal of non-luyers together with such birds as are not likely to produce sufficient eggs to pay for their keep and that do not return to their owner adequate reward for their care and attention given. All poultry keepers,” says Mr. Cussen, “should learn all they can about the art of culling for unless they so they are not likely to get the best returns for their labour. It is not a very difficult pick out the very poor birds amongst the best birds, but to thoroughly master the art of culling and correctly weigh up the various points means long experience, much practice and keen observation.” In Mr. Cussen’s opinion poultry organisations would be doing an extra service and one that would be much appreciated, especially by beginners, if they could arrange for experienced member's in the various districts to give practical demonstrations at this time of the year o n the subject of culling the laying flock. Where possible instructors of the Government Poultry Division would assist organisations in such work should' their services be required.

.To the successful poultry-keeper culling may be said to be almost a consistant job, for experience has taught them- that tlie most economical way of keeping flocks on a paying basis is to be always on the watch and by close observation detect and, as soon as possible, dispose of those birds which have passed their period of usefulness. It is not uncommon for a keen

poultry-keeper to cull up to one-third of his flock each year and it is this systematic culling that has enabled such people to build up good reputations for keeping high-quality stock. However, in order to practise a regular system of culling successfully throughout the year a peison requires keen observation and much experience. Though many poultry-keepers are not in the position to adopt a regular system of culling throughout the year, it is a good plan to systematically handle and examine all birds at least once a year. The best time to do this work is just before the birds go into the liioult. It is safe to say that most birds two years and a half old or over should be culled as soon as they stop laying. However, if some of the 21-year-olds are of exceptionally good type, vigour, and constitution, they should be retained for the reeding-pen as long as they retain their vigour and produce fertile eggs.

As a rule birds that commence to moult before tlie first week in February can be culled, but it should be remembered that it is not wise to apply this test too strictly to birds that have been mismanaged in any way, or to those that have been moved from other pens recently. Allowance must also be made for the age of the birds, for, generally speaking, eighteen-inonths-old hens will usually moult a little earlier than older birds. The poorer birds, or non-producers, will usually possess most or some of the following characteristics: Comb, small or shrunken, cold and more-or-less hard; eyes small, sunken and listless; peivie bones thick, stiff, with less than two fingers’ width apart: vent dry and small and puckered; abdomen shallow, with less than three fingers’ width between the pelvis and breast or keel bones. At times some birds of the heavy breeds may show depth of abdomen, but the texture, with poor producers, will generally be found, on handling, to be coarse, with a layer of fat beneath the skin. If overfat. Leghorns anil other yellowlegged breeds can usually be picked by their yellow legs’and beaks at this time of the year However, allowance must be made for any birds of the yellowlegged heavy varieties, if they have been broody, for the colour will usually return to the beak and legs when a bird is sitting. Fruit aud Vegetables as Feed.

Acting on the assumption that because fruit is good for human beings it should be equally good for poultry, ninny people who have plenty of waste fruit at this time of the year feed it to poultry in amounts that are harmful to their birds. The result of this practice is that egg-

production is affected and the health of the birds impaired, while the saving m food is negligible. The food value of fruit, says Mr. Jas. Hadlington, is almost nil, aud as regards the feeding of it to iowls the acids are more harmful than otlierwise, and it is not unusual to find’a big drop in production following the feeding of any large amounts of fruit, either raw or cooked. Vegetables fall into a different category, and such, for example, as pumpkin, marrows aud squashes, may be fed liberally without harm and with a certain amount of benefit, provided they are not fed to such an extent as to take the place of a suflieincy of more substantial foods. While vegetables contain certain mineral salts and vitamins which are most beneficial, they mainly consist of water, and their food value otherwise is almost nil. It should therefore be understood that none of these articles will, although bulky, take the place of but a very small proportion of tlie staple foods, such as wheat, maize, pollard, brau or wheatmeal, with the addition of some animal food. The last-named are particularly important in the feeding of ducks, which, generally speaking, will require nearly double the amount usually fed to fowls. The explanation lies iti the fact that poultry are not equipped with a digestive process capable of dealing with bulky material in sufficient quantity to meet their bodily requirements and the necessities of production. Therefore, starved bodies and a low rate of laying can only be expected where vegetable matter is fed in excess to the exclusion of more substantial fare. This dictum also applies to chaffed-up greenstuff, even lucerne.

Flock Registrations. A return has ben prepared by Mr. J. N. McLean. Secretary of the New Zealand Poultry Board, showing the number of flock registrations and the amount in fees received each mouth of the current poultry year (since Juno I). Up to December 31 last the registrations totalled 11,494 and the fees £2I4G. For the corresponding period of 193 G the registrations numbered 12,455. and the fees amounted to £2288. At tlie last meeting of the board it was decided to instruct its solicitors to immediately issue summonses against 12 poultry-keepers for failure to register their runs within the prescribed period. Tlie board also decided to investigate ail cases in which persons who registered last year have not yet registered this year. Douglas Mixture Tonic.

“Ormonds” Douglas mixture tonic for poultry is made as follows: —Take 4oz. sulphate of iron and 4oz. Fpsom salts; dissolve in n gallon of hot water, let it cool, then add half an ounce of dilulted sulphuric acid. Bottle in a stone or glass container and allow two tablespoonfuis of this stock mixture to each gallon of drinking water. Particular care should be taken in handling tlie sulphuric acid th avoid contact with the hands or skin on any part of the body. Hanging Up Green Feed.

Silme poultrykeepers bang up green feed so that the fowls have to jump for it. the idea being to give the birds exercise. As a matter of fa-t. says “Poultry,” such jumping is not good exercise, especially for layihg hens and pullets, and if they get any scratching the jumping is not necessary. The qhief purpose in hanging up green feed is to prevent it becoming fouled and wasted, and it is quite sufficient to hang it on a level with the fowls’ heads so that they can reach it without juniping.

Chick Feeding. The practice adopted In feeding chickens on the Scientific Poultry Breeders’ Association’s experimental farm is to give them dry mash as soon as they have been removed to the hoover and had an opportunity of settling down. Experience has shown that consumption for the first day or two is negligible, but wbat they do eat. is good for them, which is not the case when food is withheld and ehicks begin to peck nt the litter. This early feeding, it is stated, does not arrest tlie absorption of the yolk—on the other hand, it seems to encourage it. According to the S.P.B.A. the old idea that early feeding causes non-assimilation of tlie yolk is a mistaken one. In addition to the mash, a suitable grain mixture is given at night, equal parts of flaked maize and flaked wheat being used, as being more digestible than file usual chick grains. The experimental farm autln>rities’*a<lvi«» avoiding chick mixtures containing split peas, lentils, hemp, millet, etc. Fine oyster shell or limestone grit is provided in separate hoppers. While it will be found that consumption is very low during the early stages, if the food is available the ehieks will consume all they require.

(Egg-laying Contest results on page 10 of this section.)