POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 282, 26 August 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

POULTRY NOTES

Procedure At Hatching Time

SOME PITFALLS TO AVOID

(By

New Laid.

The procedure to be adopted at. hatching time, where incubators are used, is o. the very greatest ‘importance, because wrong methods at this time will seriously jeopardise the chance of rearing the buds to healthy maturity. Some people believe in leaving the incubator alone trom the time it is finally closed till the baU.-h is completed—others are continually opening and closing the machine to see how the hatch is progressing, and possibly to remove chickens which are already dry. Between these two extremes there is a middle and wiser cou.se, which, if adopted, may prevent heavymortality in the brooder house. „ Discussing this question in . Leonard Robinson stresses the point that it should not be forgotten that the cubator is designed for the purpose of hatching eggs, not for brooding chick. , therefore, within reason, the sooner chickens can lie removed the bet ter, but as they are never all ready at precisely the same time, by far the best p an is to wait till the hatch is well on the nay, then to remove all chicks that are diy and fluffy and at the same tune clear ont the empy shells, repenting this in ti c course of eight or ten hours til hatching is completed. Mr. Robinson does not believe in so-called nurseries and drying boxes . . . but if they are used great care should be taken to see that there is no danger of the chicks being chilled, nor their lungs being affected by bad ventilation. In any event, he adds, it is a mistake to allow chicks, sometimes not thoroughly dry, to enter the nurseries in twos or threes—it is simply asking tor If is dangerous to leave birds gasping for breath in the incubator, drying box or nursery. This is a. sure sign of poor ventilation. Gasping is caused by lack of oxygen, and if chicks are kept in this environment for any length of time their lungs will be affected. A further reason for the early removal of the chicks is the possibility of infectious disease. At hatching time resistance against disease is naturally at a comparatively low ebb, and should infection be present it will spread readily among a lot of chicks crowded in the small space of the incubator. where conditions are ideal for tne multiplicaion of pathogenic organisms. Provided incubation has proceeded normally and the eggs were not stale, the hatching process should not be prolonged. Good chickens will hatch out to time; those that have to be waited for are not worth waiting for. All experienced poultrymen know that the late hatched chick is almost invariably a weakling, which proves a greater liability than an asset. It is a constant source of anxiety and often spreads trouble throughout the entire batch. It is a big mistake, says Mr. Robinson, to keen an incubator running in the hope that a few stragglers will hatch. They may do so and raise the hatch supply total, but that ebunts for very little—what is wanted is good rearability, which will not be secured by bothering with late-hatched chicks. Chickens should be culled as they are taken from the incubator. _ This, early culling is most profitable, since it can mean no more than the loss of weakly chicks, whatever their value if any, whereas no one knows what losses may be involved if an attempt is made to rear them. With a Tittle experience, culling does not take very, long, aIKI there will be no fear of chilling the birds. The principal defects to look lor aie imperfectly healed navels, small, eyes, twisted beaks, enlarged hocks, cripples, lopped heads, and the monstrosities that occasionally emerge from the shell, bma 1 chifks far belotf the average standard, and those bearing evidence of having hatched badly, that is to say, chickshaving a “gummy” appearance with possibly pieces of shell sticking to them, should be killed. A good hatch is readily distinguished by its appearance, and tne handling qualities of the chicks. They should be a level lot. as uniform as the proverbial peas in the pod; they should resemble, but not handle like balls of fluff. Good chicks weigh about 1.40 z., or. say, 821 b. per 100.

Time at Which Hens Lay. An American poultry-farmer who wanted to find out the best times to collect his eggs in the hot weather kept an interesting record, which showed that the birds laid at approximately the fo»>wing times: Up to 8 a.m., 37 per cent ; 8 to 11 a.m., 33 per cent.; 11 a.m._to - pm. 25 per cent.; 2 to 5 p.m., 5 per cent. On this showing, he changed his collecting times to 9 a.m., noon, and o p.m. Bv this method he figured in picking up the eggs at the. best times after laying.

Underfed Male Birds. The problem of starved male birds is one that has to be faced every breeding season and is not confined to flockmatings. It is frequently present, but unrecognised, in pens with one male and his complement of hens, and with the same train of consequences—weak hatchings and weakness in the resultant chicks What happens in these cases, says Jas. Hadlington, writing in be “Sydney Morning Herald,*’ is that the male bird fails to take sufficient food when feeding with the hens. Io detect this behaviour requires close observation, especially where dry mash is relied upon, because it is generally assumed that there can be no starvation under that system. That belief is a fallacy ; it can occur under any system of feeding. The remedy, inconvenient though it may be, is to test the weight of the male bird frequently, and if that is shown to be unsatisfactory to feed him separately. The best method of doing this without removing the bird from the pen is to separate him from the hens and give him a feed of whole maize at midday. In practice the bird will very soon accommodate himself to it Only five to ten minutes are required to give 'this extra feed, and the trouble is well repaid in results, not to mention the saving of the bird itself. The alternative to this treatment is to have a dup 11eate set of male birds, so that one can be fed while the other is at service There are however, objections to this plan, not the least of which is that it precludes any proper system of pedigree breeding.

How Chickens Should Eat and Grow. Experienced chick-raisers know approximately how much feed chicks will eat from week to week, but for those who have never kept a careful account, the following table is instructive. The amount the average cluck will eat each week for the first eleven weeks, and the total amount for eleven weeks ot brooding Ims been worked out as follows bv the New Jersey Agricultural Experi-

The next question is, “How much should they gain on the amount of teed that, they 'are eating?” Here, too. are figures from the same source showing about how much chicks should gam from one week to the next : Total gain

Hatching Percentages. “When eggs from the breeding pens are in short supply, do not lower your stan-

dard for quantity. ’ bueli is the . <hi the official journal <>t the heimit.ii e 1 > >I trv Breeders' Association, winch also makes the following points oi ‘nH'l's. now thnl we are engaged in anotlm hatching season : — -Remember that the cam! nig ot eg„s before they are placed m the will save a quite considerable sum in tin course of the season. ••Do not expect 'JO per cent. Imlelmbilitv. If you cun average Go per cent, o'el tlie season there is no cause for complaint. "Generally speaking, it takes about 4j eggs to produce a mature pullet—-L pinlets per 100 eggs—after allowing tor losses in incubator and brooder, during the growing stage and the inevitable culling. Congratulate yourself if you get more than 22 good birds.’

Moisture and Incubation. In order to provide additional moisture during the final stages of incubation poultrymen may be advised to spiay the e"gs with warm water immediately prior "to returning them to the incubator after cooling or airing. Uns is one way of solving the problem, but it is not, in inv opinion, a wise procedure. As a matter of fact in normal circumstances it is doubtful whether anything is gamed by the practice, for we should not experience difficulty in maintaining tne correct or approximately correct degree of relative humidity. Where there is evidence to show that additional moisture is desirable I should prefer to increase the area of evaporation by suspending strips of flannel from the sides of the machine, the ends being in the water troughs. They will thus act as wicks and so ensure a more humid atmos phere. Alternatively, damp sponges may be placed beneath the hatching. tra>. When moisture is applied directly to the eggs its evaporation causes appreciable cooling, so much so that the temperature registered by the thermometer will take much longer to return to normal after the machine is closed than will be the case if moisture is provided by other means. This, I think, is something of a shock to the unhatched chicks, winch is unlikely to have a good effect on them. —L. Robinson in “Eggs.”

Strength-of-Gerni Test. It has become an almost arbitrary law to sav that no eggs should be set alter 10 days old, but according to Charles D. Laurance, of the Laurance Breeding Farm, Reno, Nevada, it is the >n<hvKlualitv of the hen which largely settles this matter. Mr. Laurance says nature provided that by each act of mating there should be enough germs secreted to teitilize hundreds of eggs, and if the germs are strong enough to live, many eggs will be fertilized from such mating. He believes that fertility comes with health, and with a foundation of health in the breeding work, infertile eggs will be rare. He also says that batchability comes from health, proper feeding and management. correct storage of eggs and proper 111 Referring to the strength of the germ test he states: We are told that the old ego-will not not hatch .good ; the germ wul die; the egg will rot in the incubator. All these statements are true when applied I to the non-progeny-tested hens , with the strength of the germ test running through several generations. First there must be health, and careful handling of eggs while saving for the tests. The egg cellar is always at 50 degrees and all the year the e"gs are saved for these tests foi many "days, with the final test of saving for 25 days. Each egg is marked with the dam’s number and the date of lay so that a check will be accurate. ■With several years’ tests the eggs hatch just as soon as the ones that are laid in the seven-day period. Mr. Laurance now ships eggs with from 10 to 18 eggs from the same hen, to customers that will return the batchability date to him In this way he proved that his "Us will hatch after going thousands oTiniles and being over 20 days old when set. lie made two shipments to a customer last year with a month between the shipments and all the eggs were oxer 14 davs old when set and some 22 days old These eggs hatched over <0 per cent, of all eggs shipped and the fertility was 97.1.

EGG-LAYING CONTEST

Massey College Results The results for the twentieth week of the egg-laving contest being conducted at Massey Agricultural College are:— SINGLE PENS. Section A.—A. J. Sbailer WL. (6), 110: B E Wilkinson, W.L., No. 1 J 6), llu> a' A. Hoare, IV.L. (5), 10S: AV. I'. hl 4’ nt ’ W.L., No. 1 (5), 105; IL S. Saunders AA.L. '5l, 101; Huxtable Bros., AV L. (u), 100, A. Thomson. AV.L. (5). 100; J. A. Annan. WL (4), 99: A. G. Mumby. AV.L., No. 1 (5), 99: AV. F. Stent, AV.L , No. 3 (5), 98, \ r Mnmbv W.L.. No. 4 (u), 96, B. E. Wilt-inson w’l No 2 (5), 93 Capt. Middleton WJ., No. 2 (6), 90; E. O Collier, W.L. (4), 87; Capt. .Middleton, MJ,., No. ", (5) S3' 11. A. Lucas. W.L. (3), la; A. G. Mumb - W.L- No. 3 (5). 75; Capt. Middleton IV. L„ No. 1 (6), 67; A. G. Mumby, W.L., No. 2,(4). 48; AV. I'. I'. l . ent ',.,I V 'lt;’ No 2 (0), 35; I’. Mummery, Min Section B.—Huxtable Bros AO (a). 113- W A. Larsen, A.O. (G), 191. Mrs. k. Willers A.O. (5), 98; Sunny River I J., it T P No “ (5), 94; Sunny River 1 .I'., 1r No 1 (4 ,90; A. A. Hoare, R.I.R. (4) 84- K. Mullins. R.I.R. (6). 80; B. Plnum A. 0., No. 2 (a), 71: S. AAilkinson, R.I.R. (2), 63; B. Pimm, A. 0.. No. 1 (1), Gl; P. Mummery, R.I.R. (5), aO. TEAMS RESULTS. Section C. ,1. Wilson, W.L.. 99, 106, 103. 101, 108, 1( H. <: a’.' Lucas, AV.L., 100, 94, 10G, Gl, 78, 1 %.' : il. i '.vmrHs. W.L., 70, 104. 73, 102, 40, AV.L., 102, 94. 87, 123. 3Sr, 44 ‘“clhswold P.F., AV.L.. Gid, 84, 83, 101, 101, Sunny River P.F., W.L., 79, 96, 33, , C ‘Hazelwood. W.L.. 73, 58, 05, 28r, 78 “11. Mol’d, 3 W.L„ SO. G 7, 52, 57, 40, 44 (29), F. Stent, AV.L.. 63, 54, 10. 46. 55, 96 (24), 324. Section 1). E. W. Stephenson, A. 0.. 101, 101, 94, 105, 7(, W?ALarsen, A. 0., 70, 132, 69 , 60, 95, 10.) I>. Wealloans, A. 0., SO, 78, 43r, 53, ( 7, replace bird; d. bird dead.

input Station : — Wppk. Wed. Total Wed. 1st 0.091b. 0.001b. 2nd 0.221b. 0.311b. 0.351b. O.GOIb. 4th 0.501b. 1.101b. 5 th 0.051b. 1.811b. Gth O.SOlb. 2.011b. 7th 0.981b. 3.591b. 8th 1.101b. 4.091b. 9 th 1.201b. 5.891b. 10th 1.451b. 7.341b. 11th 1,501b. 8.841b.

Week. Gain in lb. in lb let 0.07 0.15 2nd 3rd 4th 0.09 0.15 0.19 0.24 0.5S 5t li 6th 0.21 0.22 0.79 1.0! 7th 0.27 1.28 Sth 0.26 1.54 9th 0.23 1.77 10th 0.23 2.00 11th (I.23