POULTRY NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 14963, 24 August 1912, Page 9

POULTRY NOTES.

(By Minorca.] Contributions andquestion.* for ansivering should be addicted to " Minorca," Poultry Editor, 'Star' o>hct, and received" rot later than Tv-'doij of each reek. " Minorca" will only answer communications through t/ii* column. Adi-ertisemevtt jor tJiis column must reach the office by noan on Thursday. Much of the success in rearing chicks depends on the stock bred from, and those who buy eggs for setting should see the birds the eggs are from. Have a look at the yards and the method of treating the birds. Chicks should not be kept long on boa-d floors unless the latter are well covered with earth. Boards cause cramp, and often lameness.- Earth floors aro o«t if they ;-t* quite dry. Thousands of chicks arc killed by Ike ind head lice. For the former use a good insect' powder, but for the latter use weak precipitate ointment to .» few dror>s of paraffin have been added. This should be used when the head lice are very bad, but camphorated oil is very good as a preventive. Young il.-cks will naver do w*>!l on ground that fowls have, been running on. New ground should always be prepared, for chicks. If it has been used as a run before, it should be well dug and limed rr.d grass sown. This will give the young birds a far better chance. At the Christchurcb. Fanciers' Club show last week Mr Eemsworth, of Sydney, judsed most of the classes. I think next year the Dunedin Fanciers' Club should try to secure an Australian judge. Considering the number of birds sent from Dunedin, they did very well. In Silver Wyandottes Mr Carotin won the challenge cup for the best Wyandotte in the show, also cup for best pullet in the show. Mr | J. B. White secured second in Silver cocks, first in hens, and second and third in pullets. In Barred Rocks. Mr Solomon first and second in cocks, first in cockerels, and second 'in pullets. Mr Ainge "got first in bene, second in cockerels, and third in pullets. In Buff Orpingtons. Mr Coxon I got second in cocks, first in cockerels, and j second in pulhts. In White Wyandottes. i Mr J. B. White secured first with his white bird. This bird holds an almost unbeaten record, having won under nearly everv judge about here. Mr Henraworth considered he was one of the best birds of this variety he had ever seen. . . Messrs Oma'nd and Day had a srood win in Baintams at Christrhurch, securing first I lor rosecomb cock, second for black-red j cock, second for duckwing or pile cok, I and third for any otheT variety, cock or cockerel. Eggs took a rise again at the beginning of the week, and were selling from Is 6d to Is 9d per dozen for new laid eggs. CHICKENS. Once more we have the chickens with i us. Owing to the bad weather they have ! not had much chanee. bin this week'should j bring alone? those that are out. Every j breeder should now trv to cet some eggs | down as soon as pcssib'.e. Taking it all ; round. September is (he bvst month to 1 hatch chicks, especially towa-ds the latter j end of it. There is not much troi'ble in i sitting a hen. Firff of nil you want a j good roomv bos, so that the hen can turn | any way she likes in it: place some earth ; in'it, taking care to fill up the corners; . next put in some soft strv or hay, and ; a few dummy ecrca, and then you are j readv for vour sitting hen. Have the nest ■ so that the her. can walk quietly on to the nest. Some people make a mistake and have the nest so that the hen has to jump down on to the eggs; this should not be allowed. Before sitting the hon, dust her well with insect powder. After she has become need to her new nest, and will so hack readily, give the sitting of eggs, j Do not place too many et?gs under a hen, particularlv early in the season. She should be "able to cover the lot easily or eom* will set chilled, and often the whole sitting will be spoiled through one egc after another getting chilled. The dav the eegs are due to hatch the hem should not be"disturbed or she may crush tome- of the chi-ks- At night time gently place Your hand under the hen and remove the empty sheila. If this is not clone, eomftimes a eood egs: will get into the half ihell. and the chick cannot break through bcth shells, and so is lost. After all tho chicks are hatched leave the hen quietly with them for 24 hours. After that, remove to the coop which has been prepared for them. See it is clean and tweet. a.nd has some loose earth on the floor to absorb droppings. You can either feed moist or 3ry food. If you prehr moist food, sank jorne stale bread in milk and thicken with Mtmeal. Feed this every four hours, but onlv give just what the chicks will eat tip quickly ; do not leave any about. During cold 'weather this can be mixed once a dav, but in hot weather it is likely to go sour and do harm. If dry food is fed, it should be mixed with so that the chicks have to scratch for it; feed it every four hours also. TREATMENT OF YOUNG TURKEYS Those who rear young turkevs have a good many thinns "to guard against, for roth in 2 is more disheaitenmg to a farmer's •wife or daughter, who has devoted much labor since the beginning of April to getting their ye-ung" 'urkeys well started i"r, the world, than "to have an outbreak of disease just now. And yet, a? is usual at this period, we hear complaints from many different quarters of loss amongst the turkeys. One form of outbreak appears_ to be §oinething like enteritis, for the birds are ▼ery thirsty, and they are attacked by diarrhoea. " It is impossible to attribute losses oi this kind to one particular cause, but enteric trouble is undoubtedly very common amongst younsr turkeys at the present time, and it seems to arise in this wr : Most farmers who k'.-ep turkeys are tho?e who have a considerable amount of land at their disposal, and rear & good deal of stock. Consequentlv, they have plenty of milk, and this milk is unfortunately given freely to the young birds. Tbk is * great mistake, for until they are three months old they should only have one meal of soft food a day mixed with milk, and not any milk to drink, because tha torn use # w}L_mteiJ±'^^PlJJ2&^.

grow out of proportion to their todies, and] this soon leads to a lack of condition, and j thev begin to die off one by one. The next trouble to which it is necessarv to refer is what will best be recognised under the title of chicken pox—a condition in which the heads of the turkeys become covered with large yellow sores, which discharge a little and" form scabs, giving the bird a most unwholesome appearance. This is a form of scrofula, and it eeems to spread from one bird to another, so that it needs to be dealt with on definite lines. We believe a common cause of this to be over-feeding with Indian corn, which, in spite of advice to the contrary, still remains a favorite food for turkeys with many farmers. Indian corn overheats the system, and being of a starchy nature tends to congest the liver even of young stock. The blood in this way becomes tilled with impurities, lor the pimple reason that the digestive processes cannot be properly carried out, and these eruptions, especially if the birds get inoculated with the complaint from some other source, will appear, and will work untold mischief. The only way to deal with this is to get each bird separately, bathe the places as they appear with a fairly strong solution of permanganate of potash, then paint with jeyes' liquid disinfectant (applied with a pointed feather), dose the bird with Epsom salts, and keep on fairly low diet. Such a course of treatment means naturally that the bird will be put back, and this is where the disheartening part of it comes in : that turkeys which showed every promise of doins; well, and maturing for early market. are put back just at the time when the land is ready for them to range over freely, and to a large extent get their own living, and be no more trouble to their owner. Another trouble very common at the present time is, to be found in the form of roup, which attacks young turkeys, and gives them a swelled head. A swelled head consists in a puffed-up condition of one or hoth sides of the face—the eye or eyes being completely closed up, and a large mass of yellow matter forming underneath the eyelids. This we believe to be due more than anything else to an imperfect system of housing. A place that would hold a score of little turkeys a month old is not a healthy place for the same score of turkeys when four months old. Farmers are very conservative often in their methods of managing young turkeys, a.nd they do not seem to appreciate o.s much as they should do the importance of dividing them up into smaller groups. They must have plenty of space and ventilation in their houses, and a weekly dose of Epsom salts mixed in their soft food is of utmost value, because it cleanses the system and helps to keep the liver in an active and consequently healthy condition.—Exchange.