POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 22525, 18 December 1936, Page 2

POULTRY NOTES

By “UTILITY-FANCY”

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. “ Careful ” (Waitati). —Yes, salt is a very good thing lor lowls if given in moderation. It is a good tonic, and another effect of its use is to prevent the development of intestinal norms, the proper proportion is-loz of salt to 100 adult birds, used every day in the mash. One ounce for 100. of course, means Jox for 50 and a-quarter of an ounce for 25, and so on. Don’t err on the side of liberality, because too much is poisonous. If there are any table scraps in the mash which have already been salted don’t add any more salt in making up the mash, ff you miss out the salt occasionally no harm is done, but remember that the salt makes the food appetising to the fowls and that consequently they eat more and, as a result may Jay "more eggs. THE BALANCED RATION. Because every poultry keeper has been told that he should know how to balance the rations served to the fowls beginners are sometimes inclined tq place too great importance upon getting an exactly correct albuminoid ratio. It is well to remember that a diet may be perfectly balanced when worked out on paper and still be far from good. Many other factors have to be taken into consideration— namely, digestibility, bulk, palatability, and the like. Sometimes an apparently well-balanced mash, made np of good and suitable meals, will disagree with the birds, and it may be necessary to make aiterations which will somewhat upset the abuminoid ratio in order to get satisfactory results. It is better to upset the albuminoid ratio than to upset the birds. In the first place the figures given in analysis tables are based on average samples of the given food and may sometimes diner considerably from the actual analysis of the sample used in the mash in question. Again, the requirements of different birds - vary, one thriving on a proportion of albuminoids that wou 1 d upset the digestion of another. The albuminoid ratio is a most valuable guide in compounding a diet, but too much reliance can be placed on this one point. Mash is not necessarily good because the albuminoid ratio has been well balanced, but, on the other hand, it certainly will not be a good one if the ratio is much at fault. It requires very little imagination to realise that, balance the food as you may, the ben may do a little balancing on her own account. She may of necessity eat the mash you serve, but after digesting it what she- will assimilate into her blood and what she will pass out is another matter. In fossicking on the range a hen, it may be presumed, seeks most assiduously for what her nature craves for, and no doubt the food she prefers is not altogether the best for egg-making purposes —at least, such will be the case unless it is spring time. Domesticated birds in confinement are required by their owners to consider it “ spring ” all the year round, and the ratio recommended by experience is balanced to that end. It is supposed to be an egg-making diet, but the purpose of •this note is to cpnvey the idea that variety—change of diet—is necessary to keep the fowls healthy and contented. TAINTED MEAT. Tainted meat, even if it has been previously cooked, will play havoc with a flock of growing fowls. In 10 cases out of 20 the fowl, soon after eating such food, will become mopish, sit around for a day or two. and then suddenly expire. When the poultry scribe is asked to account for such a death he will be told how the birds are fed and housed, that they have plenty of fresh water, green food, grit, etc., but there will be no mention of the tainted food served to them. The reason for the omission is, presumably, that the owner or attendant did not know that the meat was tainted, or, though it was unfit for human consumption. thought it was good enough for the birds. The sooner the fact is realised that the food for poultry must be untainted in any way the better it will be for those who feed them. If a bird does not actually die from eating tainted food the eggs certainly cannot be nice for human consumption. Wild fowl, such as live on carrion, may actually thrive on tainted meat, but I have never heard that their flesh or eggs were admired for their flavours. DURING THE HOLIDAYS. Many householders who keep a few fowls depend upon a neighbour or friend to look after their birds while they (the owners) are away during Christmas and New Year weeks. It is important when entrusting the care of poultry to others to explain thoroughly the owner’s method of feeding, the way the mash is mixed, and when served, and also the quantities of mash and grain supplied at each meal. To make sure that the birds will not be overlooked during any single day it is a good plan to make the attendance on the birds worth while by letting him or lier_ have all the eggs laid during the period the owner is absent. It is a good plan also carefully to clean out the droppings before going away for the holidav and to explain to the neighbour or friend that he won’t be required to do any cleaning, and that all he has to do is feed and water the birds and collect the eggs. Careless attendance during an owner’s absence lias often resulted in poultry going off the lay and being unprofitable for a long time.

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed to “ Utility-Fancy,” Poultry Editor, ‘Star’ Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each week. “ UtilityFancy ” will only answer communications through this column. (Advertisements for this column must bo handed in to the office before 2 p.m. on Thursday.)

KHAKI CAMPBELL DUCKS. By request I give the general characteristics of the Khaki Campbell duck. —Drake.— . Head.—Neck, stern, and wing bar: Bronze, brown shade preferred to green bronze; rest of body an even shade of warm khaki. Legs and feet: Dark orange. Bill: Green, the darker the better. —Duck.— Khaki colour all over, ground as even as possible. Back and wings; Laced with an even shade of khaki, lighter feathers in wing bar allowable. Bill : Greenish black. Legs and feet: As near body colour as possible. Head: Plain khaki, streak from eye considered a fault. Serious defects: Yellow bill; white bib; any deformity. DRY MASH. Mr H. P. Hamilton, who is accepted as an outstanding authority on poultry matters, expresses the view that dry mash—or, more accurately, uncontrolled feeding—was one of the contributory causes of fowl paralysis. Mr Hamilton compares it to a man going round the world- with a plato of sausages always at his elbow. MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS. There is a tendency, says a contributor to the ‘ Feathered World,’ to glorify the success of the individual hens in their advertisements and catalogues when such a hen does not represent more than 0.1 per cent, of the flock. What she does blinds breeders to pass their own obtuseness to their cuswhat the other birds do not, and they toniers. Can, he says, we hope for the time when advertisements will announce the flock averages and ignore the abnormal figures? Nature strives for the mean. In animal and plant life the number which exceed the average are generally compensated by those which are below. INCREASE OF GAPES FORESHADOWED. Speaking to the British Association lost Monday, Mr E. L. Taylor, of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Laboratory, warned poultry breeders to expect an increase in gapeworm outbreaks if extensive rearing became general. The gapeworm is capable of remaining alive in the bodies of slugs, snails, and earthworms for four and a-half years. Infestations on a small scale with csccum worm, roundworm, threadworm, and the minute tapeworm are not so harmful as sometimes considered, but nevertheless strict sanitary measures should be instituted. SEX-LINKING MINORCAS AND LEGHORNS. When hens of a breed are mated with a cock with willow or slate-coloured shanks, the cockerels

amongst the progeny have, we are told, light shanks and the pullets dark ones. This seemingly would happen if a Black Minorca cock were mated with Leghorn hens, and probably also if the same male wore mated with Rhode Island Red hens. However, the difference between the sexes, it is acknowledged, is not always very clearly distinguishable in newlyhatched chicks. Consequently, it is preferable to depend upon plumage characters, such as gold with silver and black with barren. TURKEYS. The domestic turkey is, perhaps, not so far removed from the wild turkey as the domestic fowl is from its wild ancestors, so that he demands other conditions. Give a fowl a few cubic feet of space and a few inches of litter, and she will be happy and prolific. But the turkey needs range and freedom for perfect development. Moreover, his purpose in life—as dictated by his owner—is not to provide eggs, but flesh, so that he requires different treatment. Therefore turkeys are essentially birds for the country, not for the suburbs. As a side line for farmers, ih suitable districts, and within reasonable distance of the market, they are a good proposition, offering good profit if properly {handled and pride and pleasure in breeding and rearing. Perhaps because of their greater care of the chicks—which require very gentle handling in the first weeks—women achieve greatest success with turkeys. The American Bronze turkeys are by far the most populaf and satisfactory. Best results will be obtained by paying special attention to the following halfdozen suggestions from a breeder of experience;— 1. Plenty of free range, with trees if possible for the birds to roost in at night, as the use of their wings develops the birds and makes breast. Turkeys roosting in the open air breed strong, healthy chicks. The roosting of young turkeys on paling fences or thin perches is most injurious to them, as it may mean the ruination of their breasts. Perches should be at least three inches broad. 2. Sound, Healthy Stock.—The gobbler should be a bird of robust constitution, with good wide shoulders, long in the breast, and of good shape. The weight should be from 241 b to 321 b, as they are more satisfactory than the heavier birds from 361 b to 451 b. He should be mated to half a dozen hens from 141 bto 181 bin weight. All birds with crooked breasts should be discarded. 3. Proper Food.—No food should be given the chicks for the first 24 hours, but the mother should be fed liberally on any whole grain. Some charcoal and coarse sand or grit should be placed where the young ones can pick at it. The chicks should be very carefully handled. The first feed for the young should consist of chick feed mixed with a little milk. The drier the feed is mixed the better, and only a little should be mixed aT a time; a little green feed being added after four daj's.