POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 15139, 22 March 1913, Page 9

POULTRY NOTES

[By Mincrca.]

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed te " Minorca," Poultry Editor, 'ibi' £>s»'*>, and received vot later <.;*t, 7•ii'doy of each ■week. " M*w«y fc i>% »»•/ am->vtT conimu.KicoJitv.-s i?ti } u-'J.umn. It would he a great advantage if all judges, before judging at a show, would give a few hints as to their methods, and what they particularly want. Mr G. M Nielsen, who is to judge the bantams at the young bird show next week, kindly consented to give, me a few hints as to his methods and what lie wants in the different breeds. Mr Nicolson savs no bird T ll be , S iven a P r 'ze until it has been thoroughly handled, wings extended, and crooked breast looked for. Silver Sebrights must have pure black lacing: any sign of greyness will be heavily penalised, also greyness m tail, imperfect lacing, leathers being only tipped instead of lacing going right round the feather. Cockerels must be free from hackles and sectiles, perfectly hen-tailed, small birds preferred. Rosecombs : In this breed serious faults mentioned in the standard will be heavily penalised". The birds should be strong in comb and lobe. As these are hard points to get good, the harder a point is to get the greater the points should be given for it. Buff CochinIhese must be short on leg, have good wing carriage and leg feather, and be of even color, buff to the skin. ' Bad faults are irregular in color, bad shape and tail carriage, vulture hocks, and curved toes. Game: The chief faults in this variety are twisted hackle, duck-footed, streaked hackle, crooked breastbone, too big in tail bad in eye color. I„ all varieties points will be given lor condition. If a bird is wild and does rot show itself well it will be penalised. Mr Xicolson has agreed to put a note on most of the birds points in winch they fail. Thfs will be greatly appreciated by beginners, who often tail tosee where their birds fail. -Mr .Vxoirs birds have now kid 1550 tota -, of 1.-589 eggs. This record was seS ? fc the Roseworthy competition I understand air Dixon's birds are looking m fine nick, and show no signs' o mto an early moult, therefore there sTemf r4oS ° f their broakin S the world's the l '' Yew A 7n?i° rC \ on^ St hl ' S ca « a ™t a-in,t tL i md FmQS -' Thc case matory statements concern ng Mr Gordon's A arge number, of birds have now )A M "J olt - casi - v - but ol <tei' birds o.ten have a- trying time. To lielr the mrds a little trouble .honk! he tak'n foeai.. W is essential. If fathers are rft about lice arc sure to increase, and Uiese prevent the birds feathering properlv the cracks and rests for the roosts should also be examined, for red mite?, as the« fro keep the birds back. Just as the birds go into the molt it is a <r o «d plan to give a dose of opening medicijie. Epson' salts will 00, but I prefer the Glaubers wilts. An iron tonic should also be "iven either m the water or in the soft food. the Douglas mixture,--which can be bought at..ls per bottle, is a verv handv form of tome. Oning to ill-health Mr J. B. Wliite has decided to sell off the- majority of his buds, retaining only a. pen for" himself. Anyone wishing to secure some of this fine strain should make early application. Sec advertisement above. Mr J. Thomson, of Siumycrest. has decided to give up the Brown' Leghorns, and devote all his time to the 'White Leghorns and Silver Wyandottes. Mr A. YV. Irvine, who is moving to hie new premises in Canterbury, has one laving house. I,oooft long and'l7ft deep, and it will accommodate 4,000 pullets. That is the proper way to go in for poultrykeeping. The experiment of running such a number of birds together will be watched with interest by other poultry-breeders. Eggs are now getting scarce. Grocers are adting Is 6<l to Is Sd per dozen for guaranteed • eggs, but private poultrykeepers are getting Is 9d per dozen. A number of pullets are laying, but most of their eggs are very small. Now is the time that eggs should be sold by weight. It is not fair to charge the- same price for pullet eggs as for good-sized hen eggs. Mr Verney Carter, of the British Poultry Federation, points out (says the ' Daily Mirror') that although eggs are not retailed for sale by weight they have for some time been sold in that way by the dairy farmers both in Ireland and in Denmark. Under the co-operative dairy produce system in Ireland eggs are graded by the farmers and sold by weight, with advantage to themeslves and'to the'trado. Mr Carter urged that it would be fairer, too, if the Irish methods were adopted more largely in England. "A man who sells 120 eggs weighing 151b at the same price as another sells 120 eggs weighing only 141b, is practically giving away a pound of meat. In the retail trade there are difficulties, however, which make the weigh system slower of adoption. Qualities vary, for instance, according to nationalities, the Danish being better than Russian. Then, the bulk of tho British egg trade is retailed in very small quantities. Poor people buy one or two at a time, or at the most three for 2d. And the millions of eggs mainly go in what is known as the penny trade, and even the three-farthing trade, which is very big and still increasing.'' For some years eggs have sold at Zurich by weight instead of by the dozen. This innovation was introduced gradually and without opposition. The public have received the idea favorably and declaTc it to be an advantage. Commenting on the annual output of the American ponltry industry, a writer recently stated :-—" According to the United States Department of Agriculture the hen cron has reached some 500.000,000 dollars (£100.000,000) a year, enough to build two Panama Canals, or. to put it another way, the income from the faithful hen is sufficient to buy two pairs of shoes for every, man, woman, and child of the nation. It would buy out the Pennsylvania railroad system,'with its 10,000 miles of track ; it would add 100 battleships to their navy; it would give 2,000,000 boys and girls a college education, paying all their expenses." Many eggs are broken every year through the habit most hens have of scratching away all the nest material and laying on the bare boards. To check this, get the straw casing from a few wine bottles and cut up ono side so that it will open out flat. Tack this to the bottom of the nest to form a mat bottom, and lay a little loose straw round the edges to form it nest-shape. Hens cannot move this, and it can be easily renewed from time to time. Cod-liver oil and other liquids are easy to give to bantams and chickens if a quill is passed through the cork of the bottle and allowed to stand out about an inch. The quill can be put into the chicken's mouth, and any quantity given, cleaner and with half the troubled caused by using a spoon.