Poultry Notes

Evening Star, Issue 21991, 29 March 1935, Page 2

Poultry Notes

[By UTILITYFANCY.]

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

“ Valley.”—l do not advise keeping hens after their second year unless it is for breeding purposes. After file second year you get comparatively few eggg, and it is advisable to send them to market and procure pullets to take their place.

A MAMMOTH ESTABLISHMENT. More than two million chicks—--2 026,784 to be precise—first saw the light of day in 1934 on the mammoth establishment of Messrs Thornbers Bros., at Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, and it is confidently expected that this record will be surpassed m 1935. 100 PER CENT. HATCHES. W. P- Blomet, P.R.C.V.S. (England) Mjs; “What is not usually appreciated is the fact that it is not always best to obtain a 100 per cent, hatch. ' What is wanted is as high a percentage of healthy growing chicks as is compatible with Nature’s laws. It is therefore definitely wrong, at least m the majority of instances, for hatches to approach 100 per cent. ! Whyr Simply because in Nature thin-shelled eggs get broken, whereas in an incu- • bator such eggs often hatch. Similarly weakly chicks. die oft iindet natural circumstances, whereas m an incubator drawer, where the temperature is not subject to violent fluctuations, such chicks often live. There may be other factors about winch we know little, but which operating in Nature kill off a certain proportion of chicks.” DANGER OF WEAKLY SURVIVORS. Mr /Blomet adds to the foregoing: —“lt cannot be too strongly pointed . out that weakly chicks which survive are one of the greatest dangers a ponltryman experiences. These are the chicks which harbour disase. If they become infested with 'a few coccidiif they go down with coccidiosis, whereas sturdy chicks full of internal disease-resis,ting vitality would throw off the coccidia, and such cases would not lead to an outbreak of the disease. ‘ If subjected to slight draughts, or temperature variations, the “ soft ’ chicks die, and the strong ones live. It is always the weakly chicks which help to foster outbreaks of B.W.D. This disease docs not break out every time a chick is born with the germ of B.W .D. in its yolk sacq; quite frequently it requires some lowering factor to operate, and so help to spread the disease. Hus lowering factor obviously will act best in weakly chicks. Therefore it is essential to start culling in the incubator. If possible, hatch, under hens in as • natural surroundings as possible. If an incubator has to be used, never keep • any chicks which have not.. patched within twenty-four hours'after the first ; egg pips. The late arrivals are obviously weaker than the first ones out. Under natural conditions a hen turns (wholly or partly) her eggs_ several times a day, and after leaving the nest (for food) she often returns with the lower part of her body covered by dew or other moisture —it can be as* •timed therefore that a certain amount . of moisture is valuable. Maybe there are other facts which - have been ob- . served by astute poultrymen. and which are of equal importance; if so,_ these should be reported so that their significance can be judged in terms of arti- , ficial hatching and brooding. DURING THE MOULT. When moulting is delayed or does not continue after beginning, a change of quarters is generally a remedy. If the birds are running out they may be v kept confined; or if they have been so kept allow them to run out if possible. ; Judgment must be used in applying these treatments, and the birds should on no account be exposed to conditions ‘ too severe, or they are apt at this time i to contract colds quickly, and these may easily develop into more serious . trouble. KEEPING POULTRY CLEAN. The Common wealth Government ; quarantine regulations were recently amended to safeguard the Australian poultry industry from the importation of diseases. By proclamation the importation of fertilised eggs into Australia has been prohibited, if it is proposed to use the eggs for hatching purposes. Provision is made for the importation of eggs for breeding from Great Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand, provided they are accompanied by certificates of freedom from disease. BREED ONLY FROM HEALTHY STOCK. No matter what the egg record of a hen may be, unless she is in the best of condition when the time comes for

CHINESE EGGS

contributions and questions for answering should be addressed J I it Utility-Fancy,” Poultry Editor, • Star ’ Office, and re* 1 I eeived not later than Tuesday of each week. " Utility-Faney n I j will only answer communications through this column. J

selecting the breeders do not introduce her to the breeding pen. If yon do it will be sufficient explanation for a poor hatch, poor brooding of the chickens that do hatch out, and for subsequent mortality. And all these make the cost of what birds are actually reared to maturity very high, and the flock as a whole unprofitable.

Many millions of Chinese eggs are importedi into Great Britain yearly, and ej-üßPlaints arc frequent respecting the ceSSitions under which fowls are raised in that great country. The eggs arrive in shell and in the liquid state, and sell at a cheap rate, notwithstanding the distance they have to travel, not only by sea, but also in China itself. In 1933 1,396,000 long hundreds of eggs (167 i millions of eggs) were imported from China by Great Britain, and also 591,000 cwt of liquid eggs from the same source. This being the case, a letter written by Mr Stanley Turnbull, in the ‘ Feathered World ’ (Eng.) makes interesting reading. It shows that matters are even worse than we iiad any idea of, and if these statements are true, and we have no reason to doubt them, the authorities in Britain, should take a firm stand and prohibit the importation of these Chinese eggs. Mr Turnbull writes as follows :

“ Last week I was visited by an old friend whom I had not seen for twentyfour years. During the whole of that time his home and headquarters have been in Hongkong, while his business necessitated many trips being made into the interior of China. Remembering the almost incredible accounts of the conditions under which Chinese eggs are produced, I asked him if these accounts were in any way exaggerated. He said that not only were the descriptions quite true, but that there are other facts about the production and handling of eggs in China which are almost unprintable. _ My friend stated that hens in China (as well as pigs and dogs), feed on the _ accumulated human manure of the Chinese, who suffer in a large percentage of cases from internal parasites, dysentery, sprue, typhoid, and cholera, while venereal diseases, particularly syphilis, are rampant. He also described a typical Chinese village. The drain runs down the centre of the street. It is a very primitive affair, being an open ditch, protected by large stones, with wide cracks between them. The villagers empty their lavatory utensils into tin's ditch through the cracks between the stones, and the stream of filth oozes, along to the end of the village street. There the hens, dogs, and pigs congregate; and can be seen feeding all day long. The ditch is never defined out from one year's end to the next. It is impossible to give a real description of the filthy condition—the millions of flies—and the awful stench._ He said that money is actually paid to the Hongkong Government for the privilege of collecting the manure from the public lavatories, which is then spread oyer the Adds and gardens without being treated in any way whatever. Even the Chinaman knows the danger of drinking water which has not been boiled, and anyone who eats Uncooked greenstuff is almost certain to contract malaria. Can it be wondered at that Northern China is frequently visited by plagues which carry off 200,000 people in a month ? “ Altogether the people of this country consumed in 1933 over 697 millions of those Chinese eggs. Jn some form or other they go to every town and almost every village in this country. The liquid eggs are mainly used by bakers and confectioners, while those in shell are sold to the public (labelled “foreign”), and are also used in clubs, hotels, and restaurants. “If the facts concerning the production of Chinese eggs were known to the general public, would not consumers demand that these importations be prohibited? In this connection it is interesting to recall questions asked and answered in the House of Commons last summer. Sir Hilton Young, Minister for Health, stated that Tie did not know that the United States of America or any other countries prohibited the importation of liquid eggs on grounds of health, and he was “ not aware of any reason for prohibiting their importation on grounds of public health.’ ”

30th ANNUAL PAPANUI EGGLAYING COMPETITION. Leading Pen?, Fiftieth Week, Ended March 22 (349 days). Test I.—J. H. Shaw Memorial Challenge. Light and Heavy Breeds. Week’s Weight. Eggs. oz. drs. 'IT. J. H. Jones ... .... 5 10 4 284 W. Turner 5 10 7 279 J. Campbell (B.O.) 6 14 10 279 J, Ibhotson 4 713 270 W. Stephenson 6 12 3 253 Test 2.—White Leghorns, Single Hens. (Owner enters three birds.)

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Test 3.—Black Orpingtons and Austraiorps. (Owner enters three birds.) Week’s Grand Totals Eggs. to Date. S. Brumby (B.O.) 5 2 5 264 246 253 W. .lepson (A. 0.) 54 4 265 219 204 .1. Campbell ... 05 0 191 241 200

Test 4.—Anv Variety Light or Heavy Breeds other than White Leghorns or Black Orpingtons. Week’s Grand Totals. Totals.

Test s.—Flock Teams (six birds). 1 Week’s Weight. Eggs. oa. drs. TI. Miss H. Keddell ... 8 16 9 1,535 J. Liggins ... ... 24 54 4 1,430 E. P. Anderson ... 26 57 14 1,412 Mrs Andrews 13 28 0 1,379

Test 6.— Single Ducks. (Owner enters three bird*.)

—Experimental Tests. — Test I.—White Leghorns and Black Orpingtons.

Test Lb.—Any Variety, L. or H Breeds. Other than W.L. or 8.0.

Test lc.— Single Duck*

Week’s Grand Totals. Totals. Miss Keddeli 5 0 7 258 286 279 J, Ibbotson 6 5 (i 205 263 272 H. Williams 4 4 4 278 274 -243 .1. T. Hazelwood 5 5 5 273 235 286 M. C. (Jraig 0 5 4 223 267 279 A. J. Maclain 6 6 0 298 251 218

A. D. Fabian (M.) .. 0 2 0 167 247 193 A. IV. Adams (S.W.) 3 6 a 198 230 179 Mrs Crowther (M.) 3 0 4 148 183 237 E. R. Buckley (R.I.R.) .. 5 0 S 321 111 229 S. Atkinson '(L.S.) , ,.006 127 201 220

F. Ashworth K.G.) 7 6 5 300 296 271 W. A. Pollard (LR.) 0 4 0 205 313 169 J. W. Thomson (LR.) ... ... 4 7 7 203 270 222 S. .1. Marshall (K.C.) ... ... 7 0 7 240 165 266 Mr.s'E. K. Pollard a-R-) 0 7 2 197 232 234

Week’s Weight. Eggs. oz. drs. Tl. J. Still ... 6 n as 297 H. Williams ... 5 11 16 27G L. Brumby ... 6 12 9 271 Wi Stephenson ... 4 9 1 269 Miss F. Kerr ... ... 6 12 4 255

s Week’s Weight. Eggs. oz. drs. Tl. 244 A, Dalziel (L .) ... 5 11 7 Patty Griffen 11 8 224 (Barn.) ... 4 A. W. Adams (S.W.) 0 0 0 211

F. Ashworth (K.C.) 1 2 4 224 W. Thomson (W.R.) 1 2 5 203