POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 23354, 25 August 1939, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By “UTILITY-FANCY"

[ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “ Home Grown, ” (Balclutha) asks if sunflower seeds are good for fowls. Yes,. they are good if used, in moderation. As with, all leguminous seeds, the fat content of the sunflower seed is very high. The seeds are highly concentrated foods, with great heat-pro-diicing quality. Sunflower seed is used in the raw state for poultry, but in moderation. The food ratio of the oily seeds appears a good one at first sight, but the concentration is too great. As an occasional change the seed may be used, but the meals, oil cakes, etc., must always bo mixed in due proportion with other foods less rich. There have been many disasters caused by the immoderate use of such seeds. “ Ancona ” (Tainui). —You should remove the offending bird from the pen. The fact that she is laying well is less important than the mischief she is causing. They would eat any kind of meat if you minced it in the mash. I am not sure that it is more meat that is required. They may be getting too much already. I suggest removing the offending bird for a week or two, feed a more liberal supply_ of green food, sind put a little salt in the mash. DUNEDIN UTILITY POULTRY CLUB. At the monthly meeting of the Dunedin Utility Poultry Club Mr E. P. Anderson was the speaker, his subject being 1 Brooding, Roaring,_ and Caring of Chicks.’ He explained in detail the frew ideas being tried in connection with the brooding house and the success that was attending such methods. At the September meeting birds of the Ancona and Rhode Island Red breeds will be penned and an amateur judging competition held. Mr F. G. Hanson will address the meeting on the breeds judged. MR O. J. CUSSEN RETIRING. Mr C. J, Cussen, chief poultry inspector, department of Agriculture, who succeeded Mr F. C. Brown as head of the poultry division of the department in 1935, will retire on superannua-, tion at the,end of September. Mr' Gussens has made many friends in the poultry industry during his 40 years' association with it, and very genuine regret will be felt at his retirement. For many years previous to his appointment as head of the division he was poultry instructor in the South Island, and previous to that had been stationed at the Moumahaki poultry station, Burnham poultry station, and for 12 years was in charge of the poultry section at the Ruakura State farm.

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed to 11 Utility-Fancy,” Poultry Editor, • Star ' Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each week. " UtilityFancy 11 will only answer communications through this column. (Advertisements for this column must be handed in to the office before 2 p.m. on Thursday,)

HAWKESBURY COLLEGE (N.S.W.) EGG RATION. As the following ration served to the fowls competing at the Hawkcsbury College egg-laying test shows, only the simplest foods available to every poul-try-keeper were served to the fowls:— Morning meal for 540 hens (lbs): Pollard 50, bran 34, moat meal 0, salt 220 z. Green feed midday. Evening feed (lbs): ’Wheat 66, cracked maize 34. The 540 birds also received 23cwt of shell grit and 511 b of Epsom salts. HENS NOT LAYING. In many cases when hens stop laying and spend their time lying about tho henhouse or run—often showing when moving about that they are lame—the cause is liver trouble, due to over or too rich feeding. What they want is a liver tonic and more work scratching for their grain, and there is nothing better as a tonic than Glauber’s salts. Dissolve half an ounce in a quart of warm water, and use the solution at the rate of eight tablespoonfuls to each gallon of drinking water. Give every third day for a fortnight. BEWARE OF DAMP PATCHES. Damp and shady patches in the fowlyard, which the sun does not reach, are the places where the earth worms gather. At times these worms are tho hosts of the intestinal round worm. The chick eats and digests the earth worm, but the round worm lives and the chick suffers in consequence, REMEDY FOR EYE TROUBLE. Fowls sometimes get swollen eyes and a white substance forms over them, or a jelly-like matter comes out of the eyes. This, it is said, sometimes follows warts on the combs. A remedy recommended for the eye trouble is as follows:—Boracic acid, 1 drachm; yellow oxide of mercury, 16 grains; liquid paraffin, 2oz. Put a few drops of this in each affected eye twice daily, and when the eyes are quite clear again , stop the mixture and wash the eyes for a day or two with a solution of one teaspoonful of boracic acid in a toacupful of water. BROODER CHICKS. Coccidiosis and other troubles may affect some chicks more than others, and those that are affected may be a trifle smaller. Chilling under the brooder causes unevenness of growth up to three months of age. In these cases one should separate the smaller

chicks and grow them by themselves. Backward chicks are brought on best by feeding. Wet mash is preferable, for them. Tho dry mash and chickrearing mash should be fed until they aro three mouths old instead of changing to growers’ mash at two months. Skim milk to drink is most helpful, and sour milk may bo iised to mix the mash. Squeeze the wet mash till it is dry and crumbly, SECOND-YEAR HENS VERSUS PULLETS. There are those who consider that year-old hens are more profitable (the second year) than are pullets in their second year. This is notthe orthodox idea, but there is something to bo said for it. It is argued that a pullet costs at least five shillings to bring to a laying age, while a hen only costs two shillings to bring through tho moult, and she may even lay some eggs whilst moulting. It must be admitted that care is needed to start the hens off at the right moment. There are one or two factors in the treatment of the birds which need to be noted. During the pullet year care must bo taken to avoid giving any over-fattening ration, i Maize should be fed with care, otherwise fat will form around the hen’s internal organs, especially the heart, causing a weakening which will become apparent in her second year. It is this condition which is the chief obstacle to good second-year laying on the part fii our poultry. The moult itself will come naturally at the right time so long as nothing is done to hold it off. VERTIGO. This is a distressing complaint, for in had cases very little can be done. 'Hie bird twists its head about as though quite dizzy, and is sometimes incapable of maintaining its balance. In bad cases, as stated above, very little can be done, and it is sometimes far better to despatch the affected bird than to attempt a cure. Sometimes a bird which is seen to be staggering about can be relieved by having its head held under a running tap of cold water. REGULARITY. Anyone who is irregular in feeding his fowls need not be surprised if his fowls are irregular in the production of eggs. To get the best egg-laying results, heavy breeds should be hatched in August and light breeds in September. Such pullets should commence _ laying about March or early in April, and should produce for many months, including the period when egg prices are at their highest value.