POULTRY NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 14607, 1 July 1911, Page 11

POULTRY NOTES.

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed to ” Minorca,” Poultry Editor, ' Star ' Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each ■week. “ Minorca ” will only answer communications through this column. Advertisements for this column must j reach the office by noon on Thursday. A Wyandotte hen in the Christchurch show, judged by Mr Tindall, took third prize: at Naseby show, judged by Mr P. Carolin, she took first and special; and at 1 Timaru, judged by Mr Rose, she got v.h.c. I As practically the same birds were shewn in tiie three shows, the judges must have very different ideas of a good Wyandotte. I think it is time judges met and discussed the points which should be given, otherwise breeders will have no idea what to breed for. A large shelter shed is what- is wanted when we have such weather as the last : two weeks. If you have a large run where j worms, etc., are likely to be about, let the j birds have a run out for half ;m hour be- | fore you give them their breakfast; then . call them in for a nice warm breakfast, and i keep them in, giving them a run for half j an hour before they have their tea. Sprinkle the wheat among litter, and the exercise looking for it will warm the birds. If you only have a small run which is wet and sloppy the birds ar? better kept in altogether, care being taken to supply green food, grit and fresh water. Have you a cockerel to mate with your birds this season? If not, it is tim© you procured one. Don’t leave it until all the best are gone. Breeding pens , should be put tip next month. Th A CocUehri "should be mated to the hens two or three weeks before eggs are set. Now* is the time to j think of getting eggs during next winter. | To produce winter egge the birds must be j hatched at the proper tint©. They must j be well looked after from the start. Clear I off cockerels as soon as you can pick them | it you have only a small yard. Don't over j crowd; a few birds will pay best, as they | will get a larger variety of food in the | form of house scraps. Put down a trial setting of eggs about the end of July to see if the-fertility 'is good. September is about the best month to hatch most chicks, heavy breeds in the first week and light breeds the last week. Sometimes Loghorns hatched in September will mou’t, . and October birds do better : it depends j on the season. The best plan is to hatch j some in September and some in October. \ November birds as a rule do not grow so ■ well, and will not lay in March and April, | when eggs are wanted. ■ At the Timaru Show there was a fine | entry in Silver Wyandotte* pullets, there being 20 birds in the class. Mr ■!. B. ; White secured first and second prizes. In j Plymouth Rocks barred Mr Solomon had i a good win, securing first in hens ami : first and special in cockerels, and second i and third in pullets. In Buff Orpo. Mr . Coxon secured one first and three seconds. The grocers during th© week were selling - new-laid eggs at Is 8d to la lOd per , dozen. With pullets coming on to lay, ! prices are likely to drop shortly. ' ‘ I THE SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL I FEEDING. | The object of the poultry-keeper is Li ; produce eggs, for without these it is not j possible to make fowls pay. A prolific out- : put during the winter and spring results in j plenty of chickens to handle for different j purposes during the following summer and ! autumn j The questions of food ami quantity to bo given are always arising amongst those who are amateurs. It is a safe rule to give only those foods that are nourishing at the time of year when eggs are wanted and then between seasons, when eggs are not fetching a good price, reduce the quality, and consequently the expenditure necessary to purchase the food. Scientific men tell us that a new-laul ecg which weighs 240z contains as much nutriment as 4oz of mutton without any bone. It will readily be seen that in order to produce eggs the food the fowls have must be good, in order that they may extract sufficient nutriment to produce newlaid eggs in abundance. Hens which axe not laying have not this drain on their resources, so it will be seen at once that they do not require so much food. A fowl re- ■ quires a good deal of food for the first fortnight or three weeks before she comes on to lay, as the eggs begin to mature. The question is asked as to how on© is to know bow to feed, or what quantity of to give them, and how to know "whether the birds are near laying or not. It is a sign that the fowls have too much food given them when they stand in a heap under a hedge, cart shed', or corner of a run three parts of the day. Fowls should only .be fed when they are on the move, looking out to pick up any odd pieces they can find. People overfeed much more than underfeed. Hens as a rule are kept too fat,-especially when they are not laying. When fowls are standing' about in the inactive condition mentioned, it is one of the best proofs that they are overfed. When they are underfed they are almost sure to be on the niove, especially when they see anybody about. jjow, it is a difficult matter to attempt to advise one the exact quantity of food to each fowl. Our system is to give just as much as the birds will clear up, and if there is any left upon the ground or in the trough only give about half th© usual supply at the next meal. Fowls vary very much'in their appetite, similar to animals aa»d human beings, only a great deal more so. Suppose, for instance, there axe hens in full lay. Those which are in full lay will eat half as much more food as those which are not laying, so that the quantity must be regulated by the observation, of the exact conditions of the birds, and here wp find the, explanation of some fowls

doing so very much better than others. Their condition can be improved by being fed by a careful poultry-keeper, who knows how to us© discretion, following the results of close observation of the habits of hk fowls. We have seen it stated that the food should be weighed every day and given according to the number of birds. This JvS theoretical teaching, because very few practical men would give such advice. If ive take 500 fowls which are in full lay, itk! the same number which are not in full lay, but shedding their feathers at the end of summer or autumn, the former will eat from 1401b to ISOtb more food in a week, ind consequently to feeding must be regulated according to the condition of the oirds. It must be remembered that when a hen is laying she has to be supported just the ,anio as when she is not laving, besides riving the material or substance to make -he egg. This statement appeals to practical poultry-keepers, because the 500 laying fowls should produce four eggs par .veek each bird, and these eggs put down to average 2oz each, would show an output of 2501b weight per week of good nutritious food, as it must be remembered there is far more nutriment in an egg weighing 3oz than in 2oz of corn which the bird eats. We recommend the utilisation of all house scraps boiled and mixed with good middlings. In many households there are plenty of pieces from the table, and the kitchen to teed several pens of birds, and in others there are very few if any. Then in order that the food may be as nourishing as the fowls require it to be _ they should be fed on a mixture of good biscuit meal ami middlings, the former taking the place of the house scraps, and a careful record will show that this feeding pays when the birds are from reliable laying strains.

The conditions under which the birds are kept influence results, A poultrykeeper may feed upon a certain-food, and get a fair number of eggs during the winter, and he says at onoo 7 ‘‘ This is the right food to use., because I am getting eggs when my neighbors are not. This is a poor argument to us a, because he may be feeding upon something which will make his hens produce eggs. For instance, they may have a farm yard from which there is a great deal of waste stuff, or . it may be the birds can get a largo rang© and pick up worms and slugs. Or, again, one may have onlv a small hack yard for his fowls, and feed on a certain kind of food, but the birds come in for a good supply of scrap? from the house. When a man makes a statement that a oeuain food is very beneficial to his fowls, and hove well they do upon it, he should in justice to oil lei's make it clear as to the circumstances under which the birds are kept, otherwise the result of his experience is misleading to those who do not keep their fowls under such favorable conditions. When a little biscuit meal is mixed with middlings or fine sharps, and some kind of meat with it, and good laying strains of hens are kept, the food must be turned into eggs; it cannot be helped, provided the fowls are healthy and not too many are kept on tho ground. There is one great mistake made by many poultry-keepers—they keep the birds too thick upon the ground. Overcrowding results in unhealthy ground and tainted houses, and consequently unprofitable fowls. -When the soft food is mixed hi the morning it should be put in troughs; then there is no waste. If the fowls do not eat it all it can be taken avvav.

Fowls should always have grain for the last feed. In all coses let it bo good, and of a nutritious quality. Good wheat and short oats should bo the staple grain, with now and then small maize for a change. We invariably advise poultry-keepers to give maize with caution, but do not wish to be misunderstood. When fowls have a good range, and get plenty of worms, etc., besides scraps from the house, and they commence laying, they can have a supply ox ma-izo. and-it will not-hurt if they are fed upon maize liberally during the winter, before they begin to lay, they get too fat hitcnuilly. We do not min'd using rnai/e twice a week in cold weather, us there is a great deal of heat in it, and that is what poultry-keepers should study. CANARY NOTES. Dunedin breeders should form a canary and cage bird society to look after their interests at the show. In Wellington 35 specials were given at the fanciers' show for canaries and cage birds, nearly all of these being given by the Wellington Canary and Cage Bird Society. Wake up, Dunedin. Sand hits* always been recognised as the correct tiling for the bottom of a canary's cage. This provided grit, and also made the cage bird clean and sweet. Red-pine sawdust is now been used by a number of breeders. They claim that it acts as a disinfectant, absorbs the droppings, and dues iii.it make the feet and tail dirty like sand does. If sawdust is used grit must lo supplied in a small tin. A pinch of cuttle fish bone is also good during tao breeding season. I notice a number of people have perches for their canaries the shape and size of the ordinary round load pencil. This is misery to a canary. The perch should Ire nearly twice that diameter, oval in section, and placed with the broad tide uppermost. 'ihe Taieri i’oultry Club hold their show last Saturday, but only two classes were provided for cage birds, one for codes and cue for hens, bringing forward only six entries, and in both sections Mr C. Henry scored first, also special for best canary in tiie show. If the club provided more classes and gave a f© wspecials, I feel sure there would be more entries, as Mosgiel is within easy reach of Dunedin, and exhibitors can visit the show and bring their birds home with them. Canaries take, up very little space, and it requires no trouble or expense to fit up a fow cages. To “Minorca.’’—Sir, —We have no desire to enter into the controversy concerning clear, ticked, and variegated canaries, but in deference to the wishes* of a few intending exhibitors wo may state that a perfect specimen of a clear canary will show no trace of dark markings on feathers, beak, or legs under any examination. Regarding ticked birds, no difficulty will bu experienced, as the Dunedin Fanciers 1 Club have classed ticked and lightly variegated together.—We are, etc., R. Hopkins, J. Kerr, canary judg t* D.F.C., 1911.