POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 22708, 23 July 1937, Page 2

POULTRY NOTES

EFFECTS OF INBREEDING. Th® effects of inbreeding if con.inued over a period of one or two generations are infertile eggs, weak germs, chicks dead in shell at hatching time, chicks susceptible to diseases, poor growth, and .decreased egg production, and general debility of ■tbck. While inbreeding will carry any and «U of the above conditions, the presense of them is not always evidence of inbreeding. They may also result from other causes. In the early days of the poultry fancy a great deal of inbreeding ior fancy points was resorted to, to fix certain characteristics in the birds for exhibition but great care was taken to only mate up birds possessing great vigour. Exhibitors of certain breeds hav® been known to breed continuously with their own stock for over 20 years without Shy ill effects. Fresh blood was In those days only introduced with great caution so that none of the outward characteristics would be affected. Notwithstanding the above statement of facts, the present writer knows that many of the old fanciers who talked of their continuous inbreeding were quite prepared to offer a good price for a cockerel and pullets which, fudging by appearances, would, in their opinion, “ met ” with their own stock. In this way new blood was availed of more frequently than some acknowledged to be the case. CAN PROFITS BE INCREASED? In the course of an article on this question, the ‘ Feathered World,’ after referring to increased duties in imports, eaysThe alternative to raising prices is by'increasing demand. Demand depends mainly on tho spending power of the public, the amount of employment and wages earned. When they increase people buy more eggs. They are increasing now, and the_ demand is increasing, therefore the price of eggs is firm and looks like being better.” This sort of argument applies also to New Zealand conditions with this addition, as many poultry keepers, owing to the cost of feed, have gone out of business, a shortage of eggs produced is inevitable, and a shortage invariably means a ( rise in cost. The article I am quoting proceeds: “We can still further increase demand by using higher consumption of eggs. Organisation and expenditure to encourage egg consumption are sound and practical steps to be taken now, with scope and chance of success. “The other way of .increasing profits is by increasing costs. It is not possible to do this at present, on feeding stuffs or labour. It is possible to do it, and there is plenty of scope by reducing mortality and wastage by disease and unprofitable stodk. ‘ A concerted effort should be made now to tackle these two main problems: (1) Propaganda for increased consumption, especially whilst egg prices are cheap. (2) A determined attack on the senseless wastage by disease and the feeding and management of unprofitable stock. This last means a campaign for severe culling, which would,' not only check disease but to some extent shorten supplies (because even the * duds ’ lay some eggs), and so stiffen ©gg prices.”

DRY MASH FEEDING NOT ECONOMICAL. Mr G. A. Roonie, who is-said by * Poultry ’ (England)' to be an experienced agriculturist gs well as a practical farmer, says:—“l have always felt that dry mash feeding is not economical. The chickens cat more than they can assimilate. This, I consider, causes the excreta to be soft and ipessy. 1 have never been able to cut out waste; no matter what hopper I have used, and this waste seems worse when feeding is left in the hands of neglectful attendants.” ACKNOWLEDGE ORDERS. If you cannot execute orders received for day-old chicks, settings, or stock, ■it down without delay and acknowledge the order and explain how it will be attended to. It helps to build up business. If no notice is taken of orders the prospective buyers _ are uneasy 'about their letters having miscarried or the advertiser’s reliability.

Contributions and questions for answering should be ad> dressed 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 be handed in to the office before 2 p.m. on Thursday.)

By “UTILITY-FANCY’*

A RATION RECOMMENDED. Reporting on a poultry farm in Victoria, “ Poultry ” (Australia) says “The ration fed is economical and has proved very satisfactory. It comprises (kerosene tins): Bran 3}, pollard 2|, meatmeal 10 per cent., charcoal 2 per cent. A little sulphur in addition is given to the pullets, in the spring, and the breeders aro given a small percentage of powdered milk in their mash.” GREASING POULTRY AGAINST LICE.A good method of destroying lice on a fowl is to apply grease. This, gradually spreading, owing to the warmth of the bird’s body, settles on the lice, and choking up their breathing tubes, kills them. For treating young chicks up to three months, use plain lard, placing a piece the size of a grain of maize on the head, neck, and abdomen—the parts most affected. It should be rubbed into the feathers, hut not right down to the skin. _ _ On an adult fowl uso white precipitate ointment, which is deadly to lice. Rub in wherever necessary a piece the size of a pea.

RIDDING BIRDS OF EXTERNAL PARASITES. For lice a few birds from each house should be examined at intervals, rather poor birds being selected, as these will be infested, if any. To prevent red mite the nerches and walls of the houses round tho perch ends should be painted with a mixture of half creosote and half paraffin once a month; with slatted-fioored houses the mixture should contain a bigger proportion of paraffin. If lice are found the perches should be painted with nicotine sulphate, or if the birds are in slattedfloored houses they should be dusted with sodium fluoride. A second dressing should be given from five to seven days after the first to kill any that may have hatched after the first dressing. Unless this is done eggs which remain hatch out and tho treatment is ineffective. Measures which have been sufficient to keep these pests in check in the winter are not enough in the summer. —‘ Poultry World.’

NEED FOR PROPER VENTILA- ■ TION. Interesting information showing the necessity of properly ventilating poultry houses is contained in the following : “ Experiments at the University of Illinois with 100 White Leghorn hens weighing 3731 b showed that they produced the following amounts of water in 24 hours: — Total wt. in lb. Water in excreta, when dropped ... ... ... 20.3 Water retained in air-dry excreta 2.0 Water to be evaporated from excreta* ... ... 18.8 Water spilled in litter by drinking ... 0.9 Total water to be evaporated from litter 19.7 Water given off through respiration 8.6 Total water removed from poultry house 28.3 “With 100 birds on the perches 10 hours and on the floor 14 hours there would bo 7.81 bof water to bo evaporated from the droppings boards and 11.81 b from the litter. “ This water is best rw.ovcd by maintaining a free flow of air through the house, especially at night. To close the house shutters or to fail to adjust ventilators properly will cause condensation resulting in litter dampening and the formation of an entirely unhealthy atmosphere for breathing. “The more rainy and moist the weather the more frequently should the droppings boards be cleaned and the litter renewed.

“ Thus, if the droppings boards are left uncleaned for two weeks, each 100 birds would theoretically produce 109!b of water—i.e., nearly four barrelfuls—and it is not hard to imagine how unhealthy and moist must be the atmosphere.”

FINE and Coarse Chick and Poultry Food and Grits, also Karswood's Spico and Celluloid Leg Rings for Poultry.—Bills Ltd.