POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 20468, 26 April 1930, Page 26

POULTRY NOTES

[By UTILITY-FANCY.]

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“Lady.”—The trouble you describe is known as white comb. It is a condition due to aiuemia, and arises from confinement in crowded habitation, especially when they are damp and dark. Improper feeding, Jack of grit, and of fresh vegetables are also causes. The treatment recommended is change of habitation, pure air, sunlight, and a good run. If you cannot give those conditions, try giving a little coil liver oil in. the mash and plenty of Iresh green stuff and grit. An iron tonic such as Douglas mixture may be given with advantage. Dress the skin with a little oxide of zinc and vaseline. The disease is not contagions. “ Puzzled ” writes; “ .1 am the proud poj&fessor of a pair of ' Muscovy ducks. L have had them since Christmas in a suitable run with plenty of food and water. So far there lias been no attempt to lay. Will they Jay during the winter or not at all?’! —Your Muscovy ducks will nob mate till August or thereabouts; they may then lay about eighteen eggs. Muscovy “ducks” arc not really of the duck species, and do not lay so well as the domesticated ducks. If you have no drake for them the laying may be delayed a month. You can mate them with a male of any ot the duck tribe, bub the progeny are hybrids, and cannot be bred from. Calcium Carbonate for Chicks.—The American experimental stations find out a lot of very wonderful things in respect to chicken raising. ■ They publish the results: of their experiments, and sometimes facts which can be turned to practical use are broadcasted. Often, however, though tho facts ascertained arc interesting to scientists, they are utterly useless to tiie poultry farmer either because ot their expensivciicss in practice, or because tlic terms used in explaining tliem are quite beyond them—i.e., not understandable by men of only average intelligence. The following is a ease in point;—“ln experiments at the Ohio Experiment Station it was found that 2 per cent, of calcium eilrbonato had to be added to a ration of yellow corn, middlings, casein, salt, and livetenths per cent, of cod liver oil to obtain normal ash content of tho bones of growing chicks. It was also deter--miuded that the calcium in calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, calcium lactate, trioalcium phosphate, diealeium phosphate,- bone meal, and certain rock phosphates, is equally, available for bone formation when judged by the bone ash method. Later experiments at tho Kentucky' station indicated, however, that growing chicks could‘not ultilise the calcium in these materials equally well, as sliowu by growth and mortality in tiie different .groups; Chicks receiving hone meal and limestone, or bone meal alone, had the highest average weights. Rock phosphate led to another lot interfered with the growth of the chicks during the first few weeks, aniL caused higher mortality, but allowed normal growth later. Limestone alone gave less growth than when no calcium material was given, while diealeium phosphate gave approximately the same, growth as wlien no calcium supplement was fed. All groups were fed a basal ration of yellow corn, wheat middlings, skim milk, salt, and cod liver oil.” Vitamins,—Tho . vitamins recognised at present are live in and in want of more accurate information it is usual to speak of them as A, B. U. D, and E.; ot these, two (B and C.) arc soluble in water, and the remaining three (A, D, and E) are soluble in the other great solvent substance of protoplasm—namely, fat. A burdensome egg! The ‘ Yorkshire Post’ announces that “ A hen belonging to MrC. M. 11.'Ifnaggs, of Barbck. Thirsk, has laid an egg with three distinct yolks.” Unnecessary male birds eat up the profits, just as non-laying lions do. Don’t put rough-shelled, misshapen, and small eggs into tho incubator. This is often done merely to Jill up, and it is a great mistake to do so. You want

strong, healthy chicks. Those are not forthcoming Irom eggs enclosed in abnormal ’ shells. Sec that there arc plenty ot nests in the laving house, and that they are all placed* so that tho ben has privacy and quiet when laying. A shortage ot nests loads to broken eggs and ogg-eatmg by tho hens. Seek What. Is Wrong.—Remember feed is not everything, and when I owls arc not laying as well as you think thev should, do not conclude it is the fault of the.ration unless you have definite proof that such is the case. Seek, look around the house mud run, inspect the pedigree, consider the water supply and other things. Particularly see how they perch at night. In some eases though there is plenty of perch accommodation fowls crowd together, and sweat at nights. Trouble always arises in such cases. Salt for Fowls. —It is not sufficiently realised that salt given in moderation to fowls assists them in the digestion ol their food. Wo are told that salt is absorbed into the blood, changing it into tissue and eliminating waste matter from the system. 11 it acts this way wita human beings and animals, why not with fowls? In order to lay eggs all the organs of the hen's body must work harmoniously, and ns salt is lound to aid digestion, stimulate the secretion and promote the general good health of fowls, it should undoubtedly be supplied to them, just as wo supply it to cattle, horses, sheep, or to • ourselves. , It is best given in tho mash. Necessary as it is,*salt must always be employed in strict moderation. Too'much salt in one dose is poisonous. A Good Whitewash.—Tho foundation of ‘all whitewashes is . lime, but the quality and purifying effects of the wash will depend to a considerable extent on the oilier materials that are added to it. Its purpose should not only bo one of cleanliness; it must also have disinfecting qualities in it, and it is better to be of an adhesive nature, so that it does not rub off. To make the foundation of the wash take a quantity of quicklime—say, a pailhil—and add water to it till it is of the consistency of putty The following day add more water till the mixture is of a thick creamy consistency. Then add a solution of lib of alum dissolved in a pint of hot water; this makes it adhesive; and a teaspoonfnl of carbolic acid to every gallon of the mixture will supply the disinfecting element. Wingless Chickens. —The'following is from an American source, consequently should be taken with a grain or two of salt:—The process of evolution tends to improve the useful and discard the useless features of the living thing being evolved. But when the process is artificially speeded up some strange results occur. As witness the wingless hen, a product of five 'years of breeding by an Omaha- poultry fancier. Normal hens are annoyed each year with the moulting'of their wing feathers—a survival of the ago when - chickens were like other birds and used their wings for long-distance flights. During this period production of eggs falls off. The new Jieu, however, has no wings, and keeps right on laying eggs all the year round .—producing an average of. 300 eggs a year. The new creature is also without toenails, so it cannot flutter into a neighbour’s' garden, and once ft gets there it cannot scratch up. tho plants or otherwise do much damage.

Origin of Turkeys.—Reuter’s Agency states that 'there liar been discovered in the French national archives an old record dated November dU, 1-19(1,111 which reference is made of “ caiges des ponies d’ynde ” belonging to Charles Will., and which are assumed'as referring to the turkey .the French name for which, is “dindon,” a corruption of “ poule d’Jnde,” or Indian fowl,, which is the designation in Turkey and Russia. Jn Spain it is calledpaves do las Judes,” and thus identical, in my studies (says Air Edward Brown, ,F.R.S.) for ‘ Races of Domestic Poultry,’ publishedvin 190 G, 1 could not find any references showing

Contribution* and questions for answering should be addressed to “ Utility-Fancy,” Poultry Editor, ‘Star’ Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each week. " Utility-Fancy ” will only answer communications through this column. Advertisements for this column moat be handed in to tho office Wore 2 p.m. on Friday.

that the turkey was known ‘in Europe earlier than 1515 or 151(3. The Count lie ras Navas, librarian to tho King of Spain, whom I had met at Madrid, kindly made research for mo in the Royal Library, as a result of which, as qubted in the appendix G to tho work .named, he found that P.odro Nino discovered the turkey on tho coast of Cumana. north of Venezuela, in 1499. He bought some from the Indians at the rate of four glass beads for one bird. It is certain that in 1500 turkeys were seen for the first time on European soil that is, on the return of the adventurer named. If tho statement from French sources given above be authentic, the turkey must have been introduced ten years earlier at least. Doubtless these strange, huge specimens would Ire brought back by the first explorers who saw them as proof that a new continent had been discovered. Facts About Feeding.—Poultry foods can be divided into six heads—(l) Albumen, (2) carbohydrates, (3) fats, (4) water, to) fibre, ((i) ash. To feed correctly the foods should be so balanced that'the feeder gets his daily menu to work out at one part albumen to tour and a-half or live parts carbohydrates and fat. Albumen is also known as proteids, protein, nitrogen, albuminoids, and llesli formers. Carbohydrates also go under the names of heat producers, starch, sugar, and amylaceous elements. Fats go under the names of oils, hydrocarbonate. Ash may be referred to as mineral matter. In making but a ratio fats are multiplied by 2.25 (or 2-i), as being that number of tunes more valuable than carbohydrates as fuel.