POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 18051, 19 August 1922, Page 12

POULTRY NOTES

Contributions and questions for should be addressed to “ Utility-Fancy” Poultry Editor, J Star' Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each week. “ Utility-Fancy ” will only answer communications through this column.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Pigmy.”—There is no accounting, for the appearance now and again of a very small egg in a lien’s nest. Sometimes it is the last egg of a batch; in fact, I think this is usually the case; and when in few days the hen begins again in all probability she will lay her normal-sized eggs. “Sprouted! Grain.”—The information intended for you was unfortunately omitted by me last week. You will find it in this week’s notes. Even now anyone who is interested in poultry may hear-people complaining that, though they feed their fowls well, they are getting no eggs, and have not done to during the whole of the winter. Of course, such people declare that there is “nothing” in poultry-keeping. Would i' not be better policy on their part : wonder how it is that other people i get eggs, and have done so right throu; file winter months? Just now all fow ought to be laying, and would be dob so if the management were right. ). these columns advice is given every week, and, not only the advice of the writer from his own practical experience, but the advice of the best-known authorities the civilised! world over; and if readers would only follow that advice they wont’ 1 get eggs all the year round. There i nothing difficult about the matter. Ni thing intricate to understand. ~ Only the most simple, easily obtainable foodstuffs lie necessary These- foodstuffs have' to be supplied regularly, and the nuantity to be served is best ascertainel by watching the fowls eat it. They must each get. a crop full, and) none should be left about to soil or to satisfy pampered appetites.. The birds must always have a plentiful supply of clean water, and,'the tins or vessels should be full or nearly so. I believe the quarter-filled vessels are a good deal to blame for a lot of trouble in poultry yards. Birds should not have to dip. deep down into a vessel to satisfy their thirsts. If the poultry-keeper takes ! notice he, or she, will notice that the birds raise their heads when they have ; filled their beaks, so that the water may , run down their throats—they do not draw ! their supply by suction, as most other creatures do; and, consequently, if the : water is too low down in the vessel it 1 runs back to where it came from instead of i into tie bird''s throat. This pot i

only a short supply, but a contaminated' supply. Then there is the grit, shell, and green food to bo thought of. A lot of people imagine that these aw things which, though beneficial, may be omitted now and again without loss of profit. This is a great mistake. It is those who supply grit, shell, and green stuff regularly "who get eggs when they aro worth while. Meat in some form is also a great help; and, finally, a dry roof and floor, shelter from direct winds andl draughts, and cleanliness are absolutely necessary. Neglect on any of the heads mentioned accounts for the lack of eggs now and the spell a low weeks back may be attributed to the lack of pullets. Old hens in third and fourth year seldom lay during the winter, but some aro worth keeping because their eggs are large, and very often they make the best breeders. A laying competition is being promoted at Lucknow (India). It will start. November 1, 1922, and conclude on October 31, 1923. Special arrangements have been made for intending English competitors, and it has been suggested that owners should include a cock or cockerel with the pullets, so as to give purchasers the chance of securing a breeding pen. There is no reason why some entries from New Zealand should not be sent. ' The address of the secretary is Mrs A. K. Fawkes, United Provinces Poultry Association, Lucknow, India. The total cost of sending five sittings of eggs from London to Paris is 7s 6d. From Hayward’s Heath (London) to Croydon Aerodrome (fifteen miles) the cost of carriage was 3s lOd, It took nearly twelve hours to got the eggs to Croydon, whereas they reached Paris about three hours after their arrival at Croydon. Mr J. C. Mickelburgh, of Cheltenham, Victoria, has recently received an order fo< 100 Black Orpingtons for_ England. When these birds arrive at their destination they will be “ Anstrolopes.” ■ This order illustrates the fact that once a breeder makes a name by breeding birds of high laying power be commands lucrative business from far and wide. That this is the ease is further implied! by the fact that Mr Mickelburgh has had to install a new brooder house to hold 3,500 chickens to enable him to fill orders. Eggs for hatching should ho covered over 5 or kept in a box. Why? Because there is less evaporation of the contents that way. If they are exposed to the air the contents quickly evaporate, and that is why, chickens from stale eggs _aro -not so strong as those from fresh. Evaporation, as you see, takes from the' egg certain elements that aro required for the formation and growth of a strong chicken. There are utility men and _ fanciers. Some of the utility men keep utility stock ! Fact. Some of the fanciers (so called) actually keep birds in no way typical in any respect of the breed they fancy. Wo must gather from these strange facts that let a man designate himself what “ actions speak louder than words.” In buying'eggs or birds a purchaser should be inquisitive. He is unjust to himself if ho is not.

To Destroy Red Mite.—l have heard of and -written about many -ways of destroying red mites, but I think the following, recommended by an English breeder, ■ sounds peculiarly effective. Ho says: Procure an ordinary painter’s burning-off lamp, and after setting it going at full power go over all the harboring places. Pay particular attention to the perch sockets and joints of the boards. Direct the flame all over the perch, dropping-boards, nest hoses, etc. This 1 is. a. most effective method, as the heat kills anything in the way of insects. Of course, catfo should be'taken not to play the flame too long in any one spot. “ It is sheer nonsense to claim special value for any poultry food simply because it happens to nave a fairly good analysis. Again w© repeat that the result of the use of a food is the vital test, not its analysis.” The foregoing is a method, of defence adopted by a firm manufacturing a special) brand of poultry food. in the Old Country. What is said is right enough in its way; but breeders will bo misled if they imagine that good results can ha obtained from a fpod'—however fresh it may be—if its analysis shows a deficiency of egg-forming elements. We get sound common-sense from America sometimes. A Mr GloecH (superintendent of a big poultry plant) says: “ Vitality is a mighty important thing. No one can get. size,. feather, eggs, growth, or satisfaction without it. And a man humbugs himself when he thinks that vitality can be acquired and need not be inherited. If I, held such a delusion, and let a halfway good-looking chick pass out of the incubator cellar or get through the brooder-house, I might lose track of the fact that it w?s weak at some period in its life, and breed it. The result would be a taint of weakness running through the slock. I would then have to cuff a hundred birds instead of one.” In another note the same breeder (Mr Gloeckl), who evidently uses electric light in his laving pens, says: “Positively no electric lights on my breeding hens in winter. I'll make this exception : on a very cold night I will light the breeding pens eariy in the morning. If the males are going to freeze their combs or wattles, they will do it between 4 a.m. and daybreak. Their crops are empty then, and that’s when the frosty bile hits. In extremely" cold weather I get them'down from the" roost to an early breakfast., But to turn my good breeding hens into slot machines, shelling out eggs in November and December (May and June in New Zealand) just because the egg market is upwell, I haven’t lost my understanding of the absolute importance' of handling outstock so as to secure maximum fertility and vitality. This isn’t a game of feathers on the one hand and eggs on the other. The mainspring of a breeding establishment is vigor. I keep, that mainspring from getting run down.” Gapes in chicks is usually due to chicks running on contaminated ■ soil, and the usual recommendation for a permanent cute is to get the chicks on new soil and keep them "off the old contaminated quarters for a period of two or three years. The West Virginia Station makes the following additional recommendations:—(l) Burn or bury deeply all chicks which die of gapes; (2) if possible, keep the chicks shut in until the dew has dried off fully in tho ! morning; (3) If the disease is very prevalent add not more than three drops of crcolin to each pint of drinking water, and prevent the chicks from drinking elsewhere; (4) if a few chicks become' infected remove the worms with a gapeworm extractor, and bum them. so as to prevent their eggs from becoming scattered about. The Young Stock.—At the earliest possible moment the poultry raiser should thin out his flock, with a view to discarding all useless birds, and thereby giving greater accommodation to those fowls which are to carry on the profitable side of the establishment. It is very often a great temptation, especially if fertility is good and chickens are hatching strong, to set more eggs than are necessary and to attempt the rearing of more chickens than there is available accommodation. Ruthlessly kill all indifferent specimens, since the remainder will benefit by their room. A change of ground, too, will generally give a fresh stimulus to growth. Thus in a dry season it is wonderful what development there will be if the most promising chickens are taken 'to rich pastures and orchards, and in a wet one to dry and sunny banks, with dusting places well protected. ‘‘ 8.W.8.,” writing, to the ‘Poultry World,’ says:—“lt is'surprising how few intensive houses have a small window at the back or front, near the floor, considering what an improvement they are. Many poultry-keepers will find that their houses are not fitted up with these, and as any handy man can do these jobs I will describe how I have done mine. Procure a piece of glass (any size or thickness will do), place it in the desired position, and draw a line round it. ' The piece can be easily cut out with a keyhole saw. Then make a fame about an inch wide, with the inside ledge a little less than the size of the glass. This can bo cut out with a fretwork saw, or even with a knife. Fasten this outside over the hole, and then the glass can be put in from the inside and held in place by a few nails. Given a dab of paint the same color as the house, this makes a real sound job.” Though Leghorns and . Minorcas are nominally non-sitters, ■ it is not unusual for a hen to become broody. Sometimes she will go about clucking for weeks and continue laying all the time. Such birds

should, of course, not bo put upon oggSv Occasionally, however, a Leghorn or Minorca may be a very determined sitter, and may bo used with safety, for she will make a good brooder as well. Tar is a splendid preservative for poultry-houses, and it cannot bo beaten for coops, cockerel boxes, cool brooders, and all manner of woodwork. Provided the tar is put on hot and thinly it is very rare that, when once dry, it will be alfected by the heat of the sun, and so stick to anything that touches it. The benefits of tar aro not half appreciated by poultrykeepers. SPROUTED GRAIN. Inquiries are made as to the methods to adopt for obtaining properly _ sprouted grain, especially oats. This food deserves to bo better known. It is an ideal egg-producer and a most economical food. Sprouted oats —especially when good, plump, full-bodied oats aro purchased, with small proportion of husk, such as 401 bto the bushel—if allowed to soak for eight to ten days,_ will increase enormously in bulk and nutrition; in fact, one bushel will be converted into four by the process of sprouting. With tho approach of spring and increasing sunshine, such foodstuff will bo much appreciated, especially by suburban poultry-keepers, and those who possess a greenhouse will do well to keep up a continual supply for their birds, and watch the results. Only a sufficiency for a week’s supply should bo prepared, at a time, so that the grain—after the starchy matter has been converted into dextrine and sugar—may bo used fresh and to the utmost advantage. It is excellent feed for laying hens or growing chickens, and cannot fail to benefit. Tho necessary process is a simple one. In a watertight, shallow vessel a few pounds of oats may bo placed, and soaked in luke-warra water for a day. Tho water is then drained off, but night and morning the grain should bo sprinkled with slightly warm water (by means of an ordinary garden watering-pot), care being taken to drain off all surplus moisture. Sprouting will commence in about six days, according to the season of tho year. When tho young .shoots appear the oats must bo spread out in large, shallow boxes or trays to the thickness of a couple of inches. Daily sprinkling will cause a growth of 2iu to. 3m, when tho oats must bo drained well and allowed to dry thoroughly. When all the moisture has been absorbed the sprouted oats are ready for feeding purposes, and may be given as a midday meal in moderate quantities. As the feeding value, of the_ oat is increased, both tho morning and evening feeds of soft food and grain should bo proportionately decreased. EGG-LAYING COMPETITION. Soutldand egg-laying competition (leading pens, seventeenth week ended August 10): —Single pens: A. Love, W.L., ICO; Wm. Thomson. W.L., 98; S. A. Faircloth, W.R., 96; Alex. Provan, W.L., 95; Tracey King, W.L., 92; Chas. Thomson, W.L., 92. Ducks: J. C. Wilson, T.R., 99; Alex. Peat, 1.R., 87; Alex. Peat, 8.0., 77.