POULTRY HOPES

Evening Star, Issue 16351, 17 February 1917, Page 4

POULTRY HOPES

[By Minorca.]

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed to “ Minorca,'’ j Poultry Editor, ‘Star’ Office, and re- j ceived not later than Tuesday cf each week. “ .Minorca” will -my answer communications through th-s column. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. *■ French."—Your previous letter did not reach mo, but I understand your bird is moultbound. Dissolve a teaspoonful of su!-! pbate of soda in n tablespoonfnl of bet. j water,, and when cold, or nearly so, give it. j lo the bird. Make some linseed tea by boil- j Ing a little linseed in water and mis this ! pith the soft food; also give a few sn.nllowcr seeds every day, anil add a little Douglas mixture to the drinking water. Yv’rite mo again, giving particulars of age, etc. 3lr Charles Grant has been selected to judge the Wyandott-cs at the Christchurch jubilee show, and will also judge the poultry (except game) at the Palmerston North show. The nomination fee of £a 6d per bird must be paid to-day for birds entered for the sweepstake classes in connection with the Christchurch jubilee show. In May an acceptance fee of 5s per bird is payable. An Amc.ric.-in breeder speaks very highly of tar as a euro for scaly legs. If put on a: night it is likely to get on the feathers, but if it is applied .early in the morning it is quickly absorbed, and will bo dry by roosting time. One application is, as a rule, sulli-cic-nt. Eggs went up suddenly last. week, and are now worth Is 9d' per dozen retail. PREPARING PULLETS FOR SHOW. Having brought tho birds ou properly the eirlier birds should now bo well forward; in fact, they arc likely to come on too soon for r.he. show. When a pullet is five to six mouths old she will begin to shoot her comb, md she should thou bo taken in, hand to aiTpare her for tho show. The heads should ao washed first of all iu warm water and soap to reni've any scurf tiiat is generally .nv-eni iu the early stage, ami afterwards in :nld water, using a very mild soap. ’When comb, lobe, and wattles arc. becoming advanced in development, the cold water process should be carried out every day, and iho lobes bo massaged with tha thumb and linger, using a little, cream or skin food to avoid damaging the tender surface of the, lolxi by the act of massaging. Cold water, as opposed to warm water for tho. purpose of washing the head points, is perhaps a littlp slower in action, but it produces the beautiful bloom so desirable, and makes the head points of the proper texture, and less subject to climatic influences. Tho constant use of warm water, combined with close confincdent, wiL make flabby bodies and flabby head; points, and soon make a bird useless for show purposes. ' —Feeding.— There is no best method of feeding a bird which is to be shown. Some breeders get: •xicellent results iu one way, and some in' another. The birds must have the best of food, and bo ted regularly; but groat care must bo taken nob to overfeed or get the. bird too quiet or listless. Birds which should bo tight in feather will look better if fed on good oats instead of wheat. The main tiling is to give plenty of change, and keep tho appetite keen. A few drops of tincture at Nux Vomica iu tho drinking water will . stimulate tho appetite and help digestion. : Don’t keep a bird too long in the, training , coop. The best plan is to put the birds into ! the coops for an hour or two in the evening, 1 and then put them back in their own pens’ i gradually increasing the time, until you have i i horn in a day or two at a. time. Don’t 1 the birtls so tame that they will stand in the : coop as if a.jleep. A bird, to show well, i wants to look alive and snrightlv. If the I birds are pale in face add a little chemical ( food or Douglas mixture to the. drinking , water, and give, a little raw lean meat evert’ i second day. Tho legs will want attention; { they should be well washed, and be rubbed i with vaseline occasionally. Green food, as raided as possible, should also be. given ’and -ion't forget to see the grit box is Avel! 'filled md contains a little charcoal. FEEDING FOR PROFIT IN WAR TIMES. By Northern Casual. Food is getting so high in price, here that die following article by an English writer will 03 found interesting to breeders: One of the needs of the moment is bow to :tcp poultry for profit in these war days, xiicu foods lull -is so high priced. It, must (axing the wits of the henkeeper to know wluu to do at such a crisis. Perhaps I may just touch the fringe of the question, and in a toy plain words help those who arc apt ' Link it is hopelessly in.possible to go on :o\vl I; coping for eggs, Tho necessities of Tivse abnormal tidies demand that wo shall •any on .as food producers and use super■cnuoiny in feeding. If the small poultry-keeper feels the heavy :ost in foodstuff, what must the larger . reeders feel? The egg is’ at a high price, | ve know, and yet it is one. of the cheapest | md easiest foods that you can bring to ihe :ablo for a midday meal whilst butcher's aieab is so expensive. Perhaps a few timely suggestions may prevent uneasiness and re-cncourage the henkeeper to go on. In tho first place, I fear •malt poultry-keepers arc giving their lavers -Oo much food, and thus run up an unnecessary cost; whilst, on the other hand, owing ;o prohibitive food prices, some large breeders ire not giving their birds e-nough. There is i wide difference between over and under- ; Feeding, and yet of tho two overfeeding is | the great* r evil—indeed, one of the greatest ■ evils to which a henkeeper can give wav, for j not only does it ruin bis buds, but It in- ! volvcs serious waste. The overfed birds just j lay on flesh in idleness practically all winter, i M lc ] in spring, when in such a fat con- j ilibion, just lay a few eggs and then go { broody; whereas a bird that has been fed m less has not cost such an excessive price, md when the better weather and more natural time comes is not ruined, but can go on laying and increasing iu egg production as the weather improves. The two mistakes (under and over feeding) arc occurring every day, more especially, A am told, underfeeding during November and December, which arc two of the worst months as far as spending goes. Let ns take birds that have been fed judiciously and weigh the pros and cons. Perhaps I may convince that feeding on economic lines can be so worked out even in winter as to leave that desirable margin of profit we all look for in our hobby or business. Suppose we K-ave out for the. present all the most costly foods and try this simple, yet effective menu, which I think you will find will produce an abundance "of eggs. Boil a cabbage or two, put into Ihe soft food, and pour the liquid on to some, broad bran with good thirds and 10 per cent, of fish meal added for the afternoon meal, and a reasonable handful of mixed corn to'each bird thrown into tho scratching litter. House your birds—in winter especially—as well aa you possibly can—roomy, free from draughts, and damp, ami when one.-- your layers are put into their laying quarters do not, disturb them, as there is nothing worse for birds than bo continually removing them, as it. checks theft: laying. if tho weather is wot and boisterous there ;s nothing bet/ or than occasionally giving them a good healthy tonic, and one of the best and cheapest 1 know of for laying stocks is a little, dry mustard mixed with” the thirds lo dry your ninth oil with. Poultry-keepers generally do not know the value of mustard for their egg producers. " Now we. come to th- 1 man who has a large lock of layers, and because of the high cost >t feed steps into the evil of under-feeding. By his false economy ho prolongs the slack lime and suffers for it later, for when Ids birds should bo laying be probably loses quite two months by this unwise treatment. Generally you find he has far too many birds on his land.

I would advise such a man. to immediately reduce his stock; he had better do that than under-feed them, because wo all know a bird requires so much tor its body and so much for ecir production. Now, 4c*.of food

will keep n bird,in healthy laying condition, whilst Bob of food will probably give loss satisfactory result's, for a greater yield of eggs will bo obtained from tho fl-oz-fed bird. It will thus bo seen that correct and judicious feeding amounts to this—by a iitt-le forethought and science you can. even in those trying times, turn your hobby or business from failure to success.

I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that by the economic feeding I have recommended you will got eggs in number equal to that from a more expensive, menu, which at present seems out of reach if prolife is sought. Try it. Keep your birds active and working; adopt method and system; do not be. lackadaisical about the work. He a real fader, and you may succeed, despite uphill pressnt-duy difficulties.