POULTRY NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 14784, 27 January 1912, Page 9

POULTRY NOTES.

Some breeders do not seem to know the ■best food to give at this time of the year. I will give a'weeks' rations recommended by leading breeders : Siindav.—Breakfast. 7 to 7.50, good

sound oate or peas; dinner, 12 to 1 p.m., any scraps from the table, except potatoes, which must be given sparingly at this time of the year, but such vegetables as boiled cabbage, turnips, cauliflower, and parsnips can be given freely. All meat, scraps, and green food "(such as cabbage or cauliflower leaves) should be supplied whenever possible, for they cannot have too much of this. When ".giving given food it is best to tie it together and bang it up in the run about 2ft from the ground. At 6 p.m. (live a good feed of wheat, or if peas, are given for breakfast, give oats. Monday.—Breakfast, soft food composed of* house scraps, meat meal, or meat and bran scalded well and allowed to stand for 10 minutes, then add sufficient pollard to make the whole nice and crumbly, but not too dry. Give one to one and a-ha!f ounces of this mixture to each bird. At noon scatter a little hemp, millet, or oats among the straw or litter to give the birds exercise. At 6 p.m. give either wheat or oats, but not a large feed, about an ounce and a-half per bird. Tuesday.—The same as Sunday. Wednesday.—Breakfast, soft food, scraps from "the table covered with boilii>g water mixed with peasmeal and pollard (add some bran if the mixture is too sticky); give some meat or crushed bone at noon., as well os a good supply of green feed; at tea time wheat or oats—at present prices wheat is moreeconomical. Thursday.—Same rs Sunday. Friday.—.Same as Wednesday. Saturday.—-Same as Monday. —Moulting.— A number of birds are now starting to moult, and that is the reason they should not be fed too heavily or with fattening food. It is well known that birds moult better when thev are in a sparse, active condition. We" have no better proof cf this than the ben which has b re.fi allowed to hateh_ a brood of chickens and run with them, for during the period of incubation, having only partaken of feed once a day. and not ahvays that, by the end of the three ■weeks she is nearly always run down in condition (I have" seen some birds put ea condition when sitting), her constitution is weakened, and through being confiaed in a small coon she will quickly drop felto a moult. To "induce a quick moult, <!&»n. it is best to feed the birds sparingly a« soon as they begin to drop their feathers, leaviiv; off soft food altogether and snisaituting'oats in place' of it, nr.d •nly feeding lightly on these. In the drinkincr water place a little- Epsom salts every second day, only just enough to make the water taste saline, or about a teaspoon fill to a pint of water. Two or thre.3 times a week give a little soft food. adding to it a little sulphur, and also some salt. This will help to throw the birds into the moult. As soon as the birds have dropped most el their feather? you ran put them on a more substantial diet, giving soft feed, and in place of salt add a little iron or Doc.glas's mixture to the drinking water. If the birdo seem out of sorts add a tonic to the soft food. Birds on open range require the same treatment as penned birds, but. of course. where worms and insect.-; are plentiful they do not require so much meat, and it is not necessary to give green food. See all birds are well supplied with grit. Because birds have an open range it does not always follow that they have a good supply of grit. Eggs are still retailing at Is 2d. while new-laid eggs are bringing Is Ad to Is 6d per dozen. Comb with Thumb .Marks.—This blemish, can be improved bv applying olive oil. and working the comb with the finger and thumh, using gentle pressure from the opposite side. This must be done daily for twenty minutes to half an hour each time. Crooked T^e.—The crooked too of a growing chicken can be .straightened by cutting out a piece of stout leather tha shape of the foot and toes, stitching the leather round the toes like a sandal. This will keep the toe in proper position. It can be worn for several weeks, bu.t care should be taken to notice that the toes or foot do not swell. If so. remove th-; sandal for a time, tlion replace it. To hatch pheasant run the incubator at about lOldeg to 102deg, with the thermometer just clear of the eggs, hut almost ] touching th-;m. They rcqirre longer time than ordinary hen eggs, the period being i 24 to 25 davs. Supply gradual moisture from the first day. but only keep the canvas that covers the moisture tray damp. Do not jrat water in the tray, simply moisten the canvas each night when turning and airing th? eggs. THE PRESERVATION OF EGGS. \ LIME WATER. WAT Eli GLASS. THE j GLYCERINE PROCESS. | By Frank T. Shi;tt. M.A. I (Chemist, Dominion Experimental Farms,! Canada.) I Experiments in egg' preservation were be- i gun at the Experimental I'.irni, Ottawa, in j 1898. and have been continued ev.ry season j since that date. In the course of these experiments, trials have been made with j more than 25 different fluids and preparations that have been proposed or sold as egg preservatives. The work of these seven years has shown conclulively the Eiiperio'rity of lime water over all the preservatives" which we have tested. —The Preparation cf Lime Water.—

The solubility of lime ;it ordinary temperatures is cne part in 700 parts of ■water. Such a solution would b- termed saturated lime water. Translated into pounds and gallons, this moaiw lib of lime is sufficient~to saturate :>f water. However, to impurities in commercial lime, it is well to too more than hj called for in this etatement. Tt may not, hcwevt.T, to necesKirv if crooil. freshly-burnt quicklime can be obtained, to employ as much as was at first recommended — namely, 21b to 31b to sgal of water. With such lime? as is hero .eferred to one could reet assured that lib to sml <solhj would be ampl', and that the rrsulti'JE: lime water ■vrould be thoroughly saturated/ The met hod of preparation is simply to i=Lake> the lime •with a small quantity of water, and then etir tho milk of Hrno .*o fonued into sgal of water. After tho mixluro has been kept occasionally stirred for a few hour* it is allowed to" tnjttie. Tho supernatant liquid, which is now ".saturated" lime water, is drawn oh* and poured over tho €>;<,'». previously placed in a ciock or water tight barrel. As *\\posure to the air tends to precipitate the lime (as carbonate), and thus to ■weaken the solution, the vfr.s«'.l containing tho eggs should be k.-pfc covered. The air may be excluded by a covering of sweet oil, or* by sacking upon which a paato of i lime is spread. If after a, time there Is

any noticeable precipitation of tho lime, tho lime water should bo drawn or syphoned off and replaced with a further quantity newly prepared. —General Precautions Necessary to Take.— It is essential that attention be paid to the following points: 1. That perfectly fresh eggs only be. used. 2. That the eggs should throughout the whole period of preservation bo completely immersed. Although not necessary to the preservation of the CL'gs in a sound condition, a temperature of 40deg F. to 45dog F. will no doubt materially assist towards retaining good flavor, or. rather, in arresting that "stale" flavor so often characteristic in packed eggs. Respecting the addition of salt, it must be stated that our experiments—conducted now throughout live seasons—do not show any 'benefit to be. derived 'therefrom: indeed, salt frequently impart* a limy flavor to the egg, probably by inducing an interchange of the fluids within and without the egg. Our advice is: Do not add any salt to the lime-water. —Water-glass as a Preservative.— Water-glass Isodium silicate) has been extensively experimented with, using solutions varying from 2 to 10 per cent. On the whole, solutions 2 to 5 per cent. (21b to s!b sodium silicate in lOgal of water) have given better results than stronger solutions. Although in the main the results have been very fairly satisfactory, we are of the opinion that lime-water' Is superior as a preservative. Further, limewater is cheaper and plcasanter to use than water-glass solution. —The Glycerine Process for the Treatment of Eggs.— This is apparently a misnomer, as glycerine, so far as the writer can learn, is not used in the process, which, consists of momentarily (say about five seconds) dipping the eggs (which have been "pickled"' in lime-water) in dilute muriatic acid, between 1 and 2 per coat. This acid dissolves any incrustation on tiie shell, and gives the eggs a fresh appearance —i.e., as it" they had been treated with glycerine. Immediately on withdrawing the eggs from tho acid they are well washed with water, as by a hese, to prevent further action of the acid, and dried. This immersion !n acid lessens the tendency of shell cracking when the pickled egg is l>oi!ed. Kggs should not he subjected to this treatment till about to be- used, since the keephg quality of the egg is materially affected by the process. The addition of glycerine to various egg preservative ilt;ids lias been tried at the Experimental Farm, but in no ease did it pr■>■::■ satisfactory. The general effect was t:i i::.i".;i.e the growth of mould.