POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 14631, 29 July 1911, Page 11

POULTRY NOTES

Dontrihutions and questions for answering should he addressed io "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 reach the office by noon on Thursday. Eggs should bo kept clean during incubation. If they become dirty through any cause wash at once in tepid water and dry well, then place under the hen again. After mating 10 days ehould elapse before eggs are need for settings and it is liot eaie to use the eggs after the male bird has been removed four or five days, although in some eases the eggs will be fertile even 10 days after the removal of the male. Don’t think your eggs are spoilt because the hen is off the eggs for an hour or two. . Alter a"hem has been sitting about TO days it door not matter if she is off several hours on a warm day. At this time of the year, of course, it is different, and the hen should not be allowed off too long, especially in frosty weather. , The total entries for the Fanciers’ Club Show axe 466 poultry, against 432 last - year, pigeons 341, canaries 157, cats and pets So. FEEDING DUCKLINGS. Ducklings should not be fed for 56 inara after hatching. During the first few . da vs feed equal parts of scalded bran and * pollard mixed with a small quantity of oatmeal, and with -5 per cent, of coarse bran added, this being fed four times a day, all that the ducklings will pick up. ■ Alter the birds are a week old do not 1* mix gut with their food, but keep it within easy reach of them, so that they „ can help themselves. Finely-cut green food should be ted separately after the lust week. Give 5 per cent, of minced meat alter, the first 10 days, and increase this

up to 10 per cent, as tlie ducklings grow older. As they develop feed equal parts trf maize meal, pollard, and bran, given JJ-Tiriree times a -day* and maintain this ra- ■ Oon until they are ready to kill. The - mash can b© mixed with cold water after ' -he birds are two weeks old. Avoid giving green food and meat a few days beEore killing; then the carcass will keep -anger. Ducklings should be fed from Toughs, li the food is thrown on the jround a large part of it will be wasted. Ducklings intended for market should be nade_to gain weight from the shall to natality.; the least check means a set-back jgtd a reduction of profit. When fattening, ducklings do not require water to swim ht- If they do not have water they do not ■jfet for it. Only supply liquid at feeding limh. If water is always at hand they simply pump the food through them, and do not get the good of it. The drinking vessels should be deep, so that the ducklings can give their nos.rils a good blow out; if the nostrils are allowed to dog the eyes become plastered, and disease soon seta in. Ducklings should not be allowed to goige themselves fi-st thing in dhe morning. It is well to give a good feed and drink last thing at night and to feed sparingly i a the morning. Ducks should- he marketed before the second feathers begin to grow, otherwise the greater portion of the food will go to produce feather, and the formation of 3eah will be retarded; besides, when the jocond feathers are formed the birds are difficult to pluck. The first-year duck, yell matured, is the best for early eggs ■and fertility. To obtain eggs early keep the birds in sheds bedded with straw or titter. Owing to ducks dropping their sggs anvwhere, they should be yarded away Horn the pond at night, (joed fertility an be obtained from Indian Runners when they are kept away from water, but for the heavier breeds better results are obtained If water is provided. Ducklings without a supply of animal food in some form, and also vegetable matter, do not make a rapid growth. Cut green bone may bo fed sparingly after they are three weeks old. Ducks, like fowls' should bo their own balancers. When green food is mixed in the mash, and is left in the trough, and the ground grain eaten, reduce the proportion of vegetable; it is a sure sign the birds are getting too much. —Fettling Ducks.— ' - For breeding births, feed three parts of •bran, one of pollard, one of maize meal, and 5 per cent, of boiled meat, with boiled xxeen food added. This ration is suitable lor laying ducks, but the quantity uf meat ■ must be considerably increased when hi«'h 1 egg records are looked for. Either,from : , stocks or fowls the changing suddenly of | any method of feeding will cheek 'egg- j deduction, and force the early pullet or I .luck, into a moult. “ I ■ j MATING. I ■ - It is not to he assumed, even when the i jest egg-producers have been exactly determined, that everything in in order for mating. Something more is required. No matter how good the cock or hen mav be from the laying point of view, they’ are - Useless for breeding purposes uulW possessing the necessary constitution. Constitution dees not imply coarseness and : size, as many people imagine. The ideal ; ■ hen for the breeding pen is that which - eanfoms to the points as given under the. -'.heading “Selection by Form,’’ with the

strong constitution combined. As with all othsr stock, breeding from fixed types of pwedwed animals is the only keynote to maintaining and advancing thtf standard. , Few high-typo layers will be found in the mongrel flock. A cross-bred bird may have proved a prolific egg-producer, but, not possessing the necessary fixity of type, cannot transmit her laying nudities, 'and will be an exception to the rule that “ like begets liko.” Even when two noted laying strains of the earn© breed are crossed, it will frequently happen that one strain will i sot nick well with the other, and the laying tower of the progeny will in consequence e affected. It has to be remembered in : breeding that undesirable qualities are as - often transmitted as good ones, and this ■ applies more to the cross-bred 1 than to the pure-bred. The direct introduction of i foreign blood is invariably a mistake, for ' it destroys fixity of type, and opens the door to reversion and the appearance of t latent undesirable If it j»

d«nped to bring in another strain, this should be dene through the half-blood, awl then only after careful consideration. If the breeder has a flock of undoubted layers which it is thought are sufficiently inbred, and that fresh blood is required to maintain the necessary vigor, the best policy to pursue is to set aside a small number of the best bens, and put thorn to a male of the strain to be introduced. Several strains may bo mated this way, and the progeny of each should be carefully marked, The mating that produces pullets nearest to the desired type should be trapnested for one season, and if the birds are found to be heavy layers the males of the cross should be used with the hens of the flock, or vice versa.

PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE HEN. Professor Jordan, of the New York Experimental Station, says the modern hen is the most productive of all domestic animals. The station compared a Leghorn hen that weighed Sjlb and laid 200 eggs, weighing 231b with a I,ooolb Jersey cow that gave in a year 7,0001b of milk containing l 4 per cent, of solids. If the dry matter of the hen is compared with the dry matter in the eggs she lays in a year, there will be 5J times as much in the eggs as in her whole body. The weight of the dry matter in the cow’s body to the weight of the dry matter in the milk will be as 1 to 29. In other words, based upon the dry matter, the hen does twice as well as the cow. The hen is tho most efficient transformer of raw material into a finished product that there is on live farm. CANARY NOTES. —Washing Canaries.— Washing canaries is an art, at which practice brings perfection. Tire beginner generally takes a long time to do that which an oid hand will do in a very short time, and tho principal reason is that the experienced hand knows exactly what lie requires for the operation and gets everything ready beforehand, whilst the beginner probablv discovers when in the midst of tho job that some essential is required, and assistance is necessary to procure it; or perhaps the bird loste consciousness. and the operator thinks it is | dying, and feverishly inquires if anyone in ] the neighborhood knows how to restore the I apparently drowned. The first essentials 1 are a drying cage and a number of cages; equivalent to the number of birds to tie ' washed, and these must bo scrupulously j clean both inside and out. Then procure j three basins, two shaving brushes, some ! barilla soap>, a little washing soda, and a number of clean soft cloths or old silk I handkerchiefs. Have a good, clear tire on in the room, and with a kettle of hot water and a jug of told water you are ready to begin. Make a good stiff lather in a saucer or plate with the soap and one of the shaving brushes, and fill the three basins with water at about 85deg F.. dissolving in one basin only a little washing i soda. Dip the bird into the water with the soda in it, and with tho shaving brush lather him all over, moving the brush with a zig-zag motion, bnt always in the same direction as the feathers'. It is immaterial which part of the hotly is washed first, provided every part is thoroughly cleaned, particularly the head. Beginners are apt I to be afraid of thoroughly washing the head lest the soap and brush might hurt the eyes; but there is no need to fear, and a bird is better left alone than be shown washed in a half-hearted manner. When the bird has been thoroughly lathered and cleaned all over in the first basin, use the second brush and the water in the second basin, to rinse the soap out. When all the soap has apparently been washed out, use the third basin for a final rinsing, as it is most important that all the soap should be washed out of the feathers. With the clean cloths get tho surplus moisture out of the feathers, and then place tho bird in tho drying cage near the fire—not so close as to dry the feathers, but merely to prevent the bird getting a chill. When almost dry the bird should be lightly sprayed with clear water, to encourage it to preeu itself; and this spraying should bo repeated each day with the same object. Wash , at least four days before showing, as that time is required to regain the natural sheen of the I feathers. Between the time of washing i and benching the birds must be kept in cages scrupulously clean and liberally | sprinkled with sawdust, in a room free | from dust, and tho bath withheld and i substituted by the light spraying. ! — The Queen’s Birthday Canary. — j The fanciers of Norwich, famous for its I canaries, conceived the iiappy idea of pro- I senting Queen Mary with a canary for a I birthday and Coronation present. Her | Majesty having graciously consented to j accept the gift, the leading breeders were I asked to submit birds for selection; This i was no easy task, for tho bird had not | only to be typical of the breed as regards , type and color, but it also had to be a | fine songster. After long examination and ! consultation the choice fell upon a 1910 ; bird, bred by a veteran brooder of 40 years, j named George Campling, who is a bumble i shoemaker by trade. i