POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 22798, 5 November 1937, Page 2

POULTRY NOTES

CHECKING TOO EARLY MATURITY. I have often suggested in these notes that too early maturity (i.e., birds starting to lay before they were finished growing) meant small eggs and small adult birds, and advised that it was a good plan, in order to check too early production, to move the birds to fresh quarters or to make some change in the food given. There are others who do not believe in checking precocious pullets. One regular contributor to a Home poultry periodical concludes a long article on the subject as follows; —“ On the question of ‘ checking ’ by constant movement, I have heard a sufficiency of both publicly and privately expressed views, resulting from actual practice, not to mention'some smattering of personal experience, to convince me that the policy is suicidal from any angle. The domestic fowl is a very highly sensitive organism, and if we realise the fact we cannot fail to appreciate that perpetual nervous tension and the attendant frustration of natural functions cannot, under any circumstances, lead to any lasting advantage. There are many avenues of exploration towards a finer breeding physique, hut I am afraid that I cannot agree that 1 checking ’ offers even a minor sign of improvement in this direction, and that actually it would lead us in the opposite direction.” Mr W. Powell-Owen, a well-known authority, touches’on this subject of “ checking,” though he says in an article on ‘ Probables for the Laying Tests ’: ‘‘lf preparedness and selection did not count towards a win, can any reader explain why pullets hatched the last week in February (August in New Zealand) are particularly favoured by those constantly in the lead at the tests? These birds are designed to commence production when seven months of age, and it is well enough known that if one did not attempt to control Rhode Island Reds and White Wyandottes of that hatching they would begin to lay much sooner. Such an age is desired for the express purpose also of helping egg', size, slowly grown pullets being more reliable for large eggs at the start than precocious birds.” It will be noticed that Mr Powell-Owen says nothing about the highly sensitive organisms of the fowl whioh suffers by perpetual nervous tension and frustration. No doubt experience has satisfied him, as it has others, that “ cheeking,” as advised, does not entail suffering, but leads to desirable results.

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, “ Utility. Fancy ” will only answer communications through this column. (Advertisements for this column must be handed >n to the office before 2 p.m. on Thursday.)

By “UTILITY-FANCY”

CLEANING EGGS. In the course of a paper recently read at the Harpor-Adams Conference (England) by Mr G. S. Baker, B.Sc., N.D.A., we are shown that whilst Mr Baker is not quite so condemnatory as are most other scientists on the subject of cleaning eggs, he is equally insistent upon clean materials and frequent changes of same. He says that the vital thing to bear in mind is that anything which spreads the filth over the surface and into the pores of the shell is simply spreading infection and giving it a better chance of attacking the contents. The agents of deterioration are heat, bacteria, mould, and moisture. Never use hot water and never let the water or the cloth or brush used far cleaning become dirty. The ideal is a fresh, clean surface for every egg, but in every case very frequent renewal of water, cloths, etc., is ■absolutely essential if trouble is to be avoided. Dry cleaning can give excellent results, blit here again the advantage is lost if the same material is used for any length of time, since the infection is simply transferred from egg to egg. WASHED OR UNWASHED. In Germany the marketing of washed eggs is prohibited by law. Experiments carried out by the German Marketing Board with washed and unwashed eggs kept in cold storage for three months under identical conditions showed that 18 per cent, of the washed eggs had become had and 18 per cent, inferior. Of the unwashed eggs none were bad and only 7 per cent, inferior. PREVENTION OP DISEASE. Disease may be kept at hay (1) by keeping germs, etc., away from the birds; (2) by making the birds immune to certain ailments; (3) by housing in a manner conducive to good health; and (4) by feeding with a view to enabling the birds to remain fit, despite a heavy egg yield. In the first place the aim should he to beep germs and other disease-caus-ing or carrying organisms from reaching the birds. The houses must he thoroughly clean, meaning that there must be no dust-choked hiding places for lice, mites, or fleas; no damp areas for coccidia to multiply, and no filthy places for such bacteria as those of tuberculosis. Let there he no possible chance of rats soiling the food, and let the water founts or pots he of such a pattern that germ-carrying droppings cannot fall in. The run is a frequent source of hidden disease. Give the new pullets a fair start by providing them with a clean run, if of earth, and clean and covered with fresh, short herbage if of grass. If at all possible, let the run bo rested for at least six months. - HANDLE ALL PULLETS. Every pullet should be handled carefully on the first sign of anything being wrong. The slightest sign of drooping wings, tottery walk, abnormally held head, greenish scouring and (or) loss of breast-bone flesh should indicate that the bird requires attention, and first of all that it should be separated from the rest of the flock.

Good housing is necessary in order to keep the bird’s resistance to disease high. Everything should be done to protect from all weather extremes, especially heat, rain, and wind. There should always be a flow of air. especially round the birds at night. Remember that birds can stand cold air, but that draughts to them are deadly. SEPARATE THE SEXES. August and September-hatched chicks have by this time developed sufficiently to enable the poultry keeper to distinguish the cockerels from the pullets. Directly he can do so it is advisable to separate the sexes and get rid of all the cockerels ho does not require, PROM THE LABORATORY. The parasites of cattle, pigs, and poultry are not interchangeable, hut keep to their own particular hosts. In fact, as far as parasites are concerned mixed grazing helps to keep them down, as if poultry pick up the eggs or embryos of cattle or pig worms, they digest the parasites and destroy them; the same applies to cattle picking up pig or poultry worm eggs, and so on. The only real risk attached to such mixed grazing is tuberculosis, should any of the occupants of the pasture be infected by that disease, because birds, cattle, and pigs are all susceptible to it. In herds of milking cows this is a real menace if graded milk is produced. GRAIN AD LIB. GIVES BETTER RESULTS. According td tests reported by Mr J. H. Prentice, B.Sc., from the Northern Ireland Agricultural Research Station at Hillsborough, birds which were fed one ounce of mash per day with grain ad lib. maintained a high level of egg production, and the of food consumed and the cost of feeding were reduced as compared with the usual method of feeding mash ad 1 lib. with 2oz grain per bird per day. The rations fed were based on the findings at this station that good production can be obtained v. addition of animal protein. The grain fed was equal parts by weight of wheat, oats, and kibbled maize. The “ ad! lib.” mash fed was bran, maize meal, and sharps, 89.5 per cent.; soya bean meal (ext.), 10.0 per cent.; salt, 0.5 per cent. The rationed mash (loz per day) fed was bran, maize meal, sharps, 79.0 per cent.; soya beau meal (oxt.), 20.0 per cent.; salt, 1.0 per cent. On the ad lib. grain system the profit over the cost of food was increased. The same authority is responsible for another very interesting experiment. In this bran, maize meal, and coarselyground oats were used in varying quantities. and not always together against a basic ration containing Sussex ground oats. The replacing of Sussex ground oats in a laying ration by coarsely ground oats, by bran, and by maize meal resulted in each case in : (a) A higher rate of egg production. (b) Increased food consumption, (c) Lower feeding costs. (d) Increased profit over the cost of food. The use of maize meal nroduced a

The use of maize meal produced a greater gain in body weight.