POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 23100, 28 October 1938, Page 15

POULTRY NOTES

DOUBLE-YOKED EGGS. Double-yoked eggs are not uncommon, and are not usually considered undesirable by many smallholders; but too many of them rather point to some defect in the egg-producing organs. There is very little doubt that some birds are more likely to produce doubleyolked eggs than others, and it is probable that such tendency is inherited. Double-yoked eggs, whether the tendl- - to produce them is inherited or not, are undesirable, and should be looked upon as a sign that the feeding is wrong. The birds perhaps are getting too much food. A less stimulating diet and a little cooling medicine is generally all that is needed to put matters right. THE CARE FOR CROSS-BREDS. A writer in the Belfast ‘ Weekly News ’ puts the care for cross-breds in a manner which few will object to. The only omission in his arguments is that he fails to stress the fact that “ crossbreds ” must be “ first crosses.” Breeding from first crosses means the production of mongrels—i.e., deterioration. He says: “Many poultry enthusiasts regard it as rank heresy to have anything to do with even first crosses. Nobody realises more than I do how sadly the old-time farmer fared on account of his mongrel stock, and his lack of appreciation of the importance of breed, but nevertheless 1 am bound to admit there is a strong case for the cross-bred if it is bred with discretion and intelligence, and assuming that a man is out for egg production and little else. I have lately been reading of the experience of a poultrykeeper who tried the experiment of mating up Plymouth Rock hens with a Black Leghorn cock. Both hens and the male were pure-breds of excellent type, vigorous and strong. The cross was a complete success, and the resulting chicks were wonderfully precocious. The pullets of the hatching were in full lay at six months old, and the yield of eggs was greater week by week than this breeder had ever attained with pure-bredl birds. It is important to note that in an experimental way he purposely fed the crosses on a less scientific diet than he would have used for pure-bred fowls, believing that in any case his results were not likely to be very good. “He decided in crossing Rhode Island Red hens with an Ancona cock, just to observe results, and see whether .his crossing theory would stand this further experiment. First crosses, provided, of course, that males and hens are sound in every tray, and free from any suspicion of disease, have the reputation of being hardier than purebreds. Whether or not they deserve that reputation, they certainly seem to stand exposed positions better, and will apparently thrive on a diet that would by no means suit the reputed more delicate pure-bred. After all, the commercial egg farmer wants eggs, and it should not be a matter of great moment to him whether his birds all ‘ match,’ and the eggs from pure-breds will be little different from 'the egg laid by Wyandottes, Buffs, or Leghorn Reds. I have seen some wonderful eggs laid hy crosses, and not only did these birds lay with clock-like regularity, but there was a noticeable reduction in broodiness.”

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By “UTILITY-FANCY’*

Notwithstanding all that can be said for cross-breds, there is no denying that very much more can bo said for the pure-bred. If the progeny of purebreds are from strong and healthy birds, suitably mated, they cannot be beaten at_ the laying tests; and it is worth noting that cross-breds as layers require the keeping of at least two pure-breds to produce them. FOOLISH ECONOMY. If eggs are wanted the quality of the food supplied must be the first consideration, and those who look at every penny they spend on their fowls’ food are not likely to make them pay. Unless the right material is furnished to the birds, and unless it is prepared in the correct way, they will be unable to give the returns they otherwise would do. First they need sufficient food to maintain themselves in health and good condition, and then a margin over and above that from which to make eggs. People who are foolishly economical in their purchases are rather apt to lose sight of this fact, that all the cost of feeding is lost when there are no returns. And no matter whether the birds are just the few kept in the confined runs, or the more favoured fowl kept on the farm, it is absolutely necessary that they should be from good laying strains. Such birds cost more, of course, but it is real economy to buy them, for thev will cost no more than the “ duds,” and they will lay eggs. It is not foolish economy, however, good-quality food at the lowest price possible. The poultrykeeper who is a good buver can run a successful business. This argument holds good in all businesses. MASH FOR LAYERS. The following mash for layers gives very satisfactory results:—Pollard 17 parts, bran 8 parts, maize meal Kparts, ground oats 5 parts, meat meal Sports, dried yeast and cod liver oil half a part each, and a little mineral. Fill hoppers with this and leave before the hens all day. In the evening grain should be fed, good sound wheats, or a mixture of wheat, maize, and oats. —Australasian.’ FOWL PARALYSIS NOT INFECTIOUS. Dr H. P. Bayon (‘ Feathered World’ expert), after seven years studying poultry diseases and conducting thousands of post mortems, declares that fowl paralysis is not infectious and is not hereditary. Answering the question, What is hereditary ? he writes; — “Any farmer noticing fowl paralysis during two successive seasons in the progeny of certain cocks naturally concludes that the ailment is hereditary. In the _ sense he would employ the words, it is; so is Pullorum disease. But the geneticist will not admit that anything can be called “ hereditary ” whose transmission from parent to progeny is so fitful or irregular, such as Pullorum disease or any other condition that does not follow the rules of Mendelism, so evident in relation to comb formation, feathering, and several other peculiarities of breed and race. Moreover, and this is important, in all farms I have been able to observe in

successive seasons, proper culling has reduced the incidence of fowl paralysis, when present, to minimal proportions in the course of two seasons. Even, where such drastic measures were not adopted, 1 have seen the disease die out in the course of two or throe seasons, though this may have been helped by increased attention to incubation, hover conditions, feeding of growing chicks, care of ventilation, and similar details.”

ADVICE TO POULTRY KEEPERS. Dr Bayon concludes his article with advice to farmers as to what to do when fowl paralysis is diagnosed. He has previously explained that it is often confused with several other diseases. He says;— “ No. 1: Make sure that mortality is due to true fowl paralysis, and that no other disease is at fault by obtaining reliable advice.

“ No, 2: Cull all weaklings hy handling your birds once a week or oftener; feel the breasts and breast-bones, look at condition, of their feathers, watch the beaks and faces. You will soon learn how to single out duds; if yon cannot you will not make a success of poultry-keeping. “ No. 3: Keep a special watch on the strain in which the disease is occurring ; separate the birds in a pen you can watch; it may be even advisable to put them into single batteries; what I am aiming at is to eliminate all inefficient passengers. “No. 4; Do not breed except from the very best of the best of the strain, and then from hens after the age of 10 months or a year, and similarly the cocks. In this way you will avoid the danger point of the disease, which is between the ages of three and nine months. After the pullet or cockerel year, fowl paralysis may still develop, but is relatively rare. “No. 5: Farms and stock which remain consistently free from fowl paralysis do exist; but they are rare; therefore it is important to root out the disease in the manner advised, which has been repeatcdlv tried out in practice. “As the result of (nearly 400) personal inoculations, tests, and extended observations on farms over a period of seven years, I cannot admit having noticed the least concrete evidence of the infectious spread of fowl paralysis. On the contrary, all I have been able to observe persuades mo that the ailment is inborn and docs not spread by immediate or mediate contact.” ISOLATE NEW PURCHASES. Commenting on the risk run by placing purchases from outside in with the general flock immediately they arrive on the plant, an English writer remarks;— “ The introduction of new stock cockerels or other birds is always fraught with the risk of introducing disease. . . . Many farms have been wiped out by disease brought into the yards by purchased stock, and no matter how high the prestige of the vendor, or how excellent the general management of the buyer, all birds should be isolated for a period before admission to the general flock. This strict isolation should be applied also to birds returning from shows.