POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 22880, 11 February 1938, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

THE MOST PROFITABLE BREED,. A few; years back an experiment was tried at the New* Jersey agricultural experimental station to ascertain which breed of fowls was the most profitable. to keep. From a flock of 1,000 birds 170 Plymouth Rocks were penned separately, 150 Wyandottes, 80 Rhode Island Reds, and 600 White Leghorns. In the first of the following columns is shown the production per bird for the first or pullet year, the second column shows the production during the second or yearling year, and the third column records the production of daughters of the four breeds recorded it the first two years:— >—Production per Bird.—

PITRE AIR. 1 Poultry houses—that is to say, houses ■which have not got open fronts—must ho so constructed that pure air can pass through them. AH nutriment that can he assimilated into the system is carried by the blood, and if there is a healthy flow of blood then there is no illness amongst the fowls. The blood, to be kept in a healthy condition, must, in addition to proper food, have a continuous supply of pure oxygen, only possible when there is pure air. There j can be pure air and'plenty of it with- i out the risks of draughts. Birds can stand pure air, though it be very cold; but draughts kill. ; - A FEATHER-PULLING CURE. Feather-pulling may be checked by dissolving powdered alum in water and washing the feathers of the birds that have been plucked. This renders the feathers distasteful to the culprits that; do the plucking. Bran moistened with | vinegar is said to cure the habit in hens i that have contracted it as a result of i indigestion. A TOO-NAEROW RATION. Too much protein may poison the fowls. Protein which is not entirely consumed in the body leaves behind it a large proportion of incombustible waste which it is the office of the liver and kidneys to excrete, calling for special exertion on the part of these organs. It is the cause of liver and kidney troubles, and l for many stomach derangements arising from poison by the breaking down of products of protein, several of which are poisons. What applies to poultry in this respect applies apparently to all living creatures, human beings included, for it has been said by the authorities that there is rrfbre sickness and death due to the eating of too much meat, which is rich in protein, than in the drinking of alcohol. HOW TO EFFECT ECONOMIES. “ The profit from poultry depends mot upon the number of stock carried, bat upon the high quality and purpose

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By “UTILITY-FANCY"

of every individual bird. You must breed for health and! stamina before yield.” So says Cyril Grange, in a recent issue of ‘ Poultry ’ (England). Then he talks of labour costs, overcrowding, and the advantage of side lines. Many other methods of economising will suggest themselves to readers, but cheap (and nasty) foods do not result in economy. FLINT AND SHELL GRIT. An ey© should be kept on the gfrit boxes just now, to make sure that the supply available to the birds is never allowed to run out. Just at present layers are eating an astonishing amount of grit, and if care is not taken the grit receptacles will be empty. The primary function of shell grit is to supply shell-making material, and for this purpose the best results are to be obtained from seashell and' clean oyster shell' crushed to a suitable size. The flint grit is required' for grinding purposes, and it is interesting to know that in the grinding of the iood in the gizzard some of the flint itself is ground to an impalpable condition capable ot being absorbed into the blood as silica, which is essential to health, to the strengthening of feathers, and the maintenance of strong beaks and talons. REPLACEMENTS. The commercial producer should plan to replace a large part of his flock annually with pullets. Pullets as a rule produce from 30 to' 40 more eggs per bird in a year than do hens, and these are produced at a time when prices are highest. It is a fact, nevertheless, that hens lay larger eggs which are more attractive when at the grocer’s. HOUSING ON FREE RANGE. If the birds are to be housed and at the same time to enjoy free range they must certainly be supplied with all that modern knowledge prescribes. Even on free range tho owner must provide proper tools, and otherwise be properly equipped in order as far as possible to minimise labour. What is easily done is done, and done regularly. j WYANDOTTES AS LAYERS. Many breeds of fowls which here in New Zealand are usually regarded as 'fanciers’ pets are in England commonly kept for utility purposes. This is especially true of the White Wyandotte, which in Great Britain is most commonly seen on poultry farms and specimens of which are always among the top scorers in the laying trials. It is, in fact, generally accepted in England as one of the most prolific layers in existence. POULTRY LOSSES. A writer in the * Veterinary Journal,’ Eublished in London, states that a loss as been shown of £4,000,000 worth of poultry annually on account of disease, and the loss due to diminished egg production and in the production of birds sold for food cannot be estimated, but is obviously enormous. The death rate amongst fowls is increasing in Great Britain year by year. FOUNDING A LAYING STRAIN. In founding a laying strain three things must be borne in mind: (1) Prolificacy, (2) size of eggs, and (3) vigour. Egg production has been brought to such a pitch of Ihte years that in many cases a small egg and lack of stamina have been the accompani-

ment. The capacity for egg-production is to a great extent hereditary, like every other characteristic, and by using trap-nests, keeping a close record of the produce of each hen—tho number of eggs laid in the year, the age at which she commences laying, the months in which she lays, etc.—and then keeping for a further season only the progeny of those individuals with the best records, an improvement in a strain is quickly made, provided only that, never mind how good the egg record may be, the birds selected to breed from have come through unimpaired in constitution.

CARE OF YOUNG TURKEYS. Shooting the Red.—When the poults are about six weeks old they should get their red heads, aftlr which time exposure to rain does little harm, and they may roost in the open, on trees, or on roosts put up for the purpose. They should be allowed to roost high enough from the ground to protect them from beasts of prey. Before the poults get their red heads they should be sheltered from cold rain storms, as young birds with undeveloped feathers take cold very easily when wet over the back. Dew on the grass will do no harm provided the weather is warm. Turkeys to be fattened need not be confined in pens. When properly fed they take no more exercise than is necessary for good digestion, and in confining in pens there is great danger of the birds going off their feed and developing digestive troubles, with accompanying loss of flesh; also quite frequently the loss of a number of buds will follow. Turkeys raised in the open during the summer cannot stand close confinement during the fattening period. While turkeys do not seem to be troubled with very many ailments, they are far from being immune to disease. The large proportion of turkey mortality is caused by three diseases. These are, first, pneumonia; second, roup; third, blackhead.

FEEDING YELLOW CARROTS. Yellow carrots, according to experiments carried out in America, have proved to be equivalent to fresh greens for the purpose of supplying the vitamin A requirements of birds. The carrots are not popular as a poultry feed because there is a common belief that birds do not relish them. Like any new feed, birds have to Oecome used to them, but they do so quickly. Yellow carrots can sometimes be produced more cheaply than fresh gre-tus, anti they have the advantage that they can be stored for a time. DIGESTIBILITY TRIALS. Tests of the new huskless oat have been completed by Moon and Thomas at Armstrong College. The table shows that the huskless oat is appreciably more digestible except for oil. The calculated values of the two samples show a 20 per cent, difference in general feeding value, when properly usea, in favour of the huskless oat. Percentage digestibility Digestible of total contents. contents.

i ! Pullet Yearling Pullet Breed. Year. Year. Year. Plymouth Rocks 155 119 160 Wyandottes ... 144 115 158 Rhode Island Reds 151 117 164 Leghorns 170 138 188 Now about the feeding question—a yery important one. —Pounds of Feed Consumed per ■ Bird.— Pullet Yearling Pullet Breed. Year. Year. Year. Plymouth Rocks 89.8 88.6 80.7 Wyandottes ... 80.3 80.4 82.0 Rhode Island Reds ... ...... 86.6 86.5 91.3 Leghorns >..• 76. JJ 79.9 80.3

' Ji o M o 3 M o j-j £ M.2 £ Protein ... 10.7 13.7 77.4 82.2 Oil 7.2 14.0 83.5 62.4 Fibre 1.3 — 8.8 — Carbohydrate 80.8 82.3 76.8 90.8