POULTRY NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 May 1925, Page 8

POULTRY NOTES

— WORK FOR MAY.

h (By'

G. H. Ambler.)

1 -— i With the advent of May' the poultry - keeper must expect colder ■ weather. The time has also arrived when a large number of amateur poultry - keepers are faced with the necessity J of doing ail but the regular routine i work at the week-ends. The majority ; of course, are able to give their birds 5 the morning feed, and some can mid i time td do the cleaning out and ouier 5 little jobs before sterner duties 'demand their attention; but as the afternoons get. shorter, it becomes 5 necessary to hand over the feeding t duties to someone else, or to adopt the - dry mash system, which is 'admirably 3 suited to the requirements of those 1 who cannot be with their fowl all day I long. t ' ■ ' Important week-end work just now t is to make the laying quarters snug • for the winter. That has in many r cases been delayed because the sum-mer-like conditions have enabled the birds to stay out of doors all day, - and where the scratching shed is 3 merely an adjunct. The time is at • hand, however, when it may be neces- ’ isary to keep the birds confined during r the greater part of the day,, and m ’ any case it is desirable at this time ’ of the year to give the morning feed ! of grain in the scratching shed and to ‘ keep the birds exercising for an hour • or two under cover. Coddling" must ; be avoided, and where confinement is ! necessary; the shed (Should be kept as airy and light as possible, RECOVERY EROM MOULT. ; With hens that are in that condition and are again feathered, it must not be supposed that egg production will re-commence immediately although the new plumage may be complete, if these birds are handled it will be found that they are soft and lacking in condition. If these birds are. intended for the breeding pen, I prefer to let them regain condition gradually, and a good rest will restore their vigour and fit them for their duties; but if . egg production is the sole aim a more forcing system can be adopted by giving stimulating food, which, if the birds are not too much reduced by the moult, will bring them on ’ to'lay again within a few weeks. SMALL RUN. Wherethese have worn bare of grass th,e probability is that they will .soon become trodden into mud when the heavy rains fall, ■ and as mud K is a bad thing for fowls the best plan is to lay down two or three inches of rubble or coarse ashes. Loose gravel will also .answer the purpose, but where the ground is heavy and badly drained it is necessary to raise the surface of the poultry run above that of the surrounding ground. When a. small run is made it is advisable to build if up in this way at once, as it is impossible for grass to grow, and a mere bed of mud is objectionable both to the fowls and to their attendants. 1 YOUNG DUCKS. The young ducks should now be getting-on'to lay at a rapid rate, for. the wether has bedn very favourable, and no better conditions can be found for ducks in the autumn than iree run on grass and accesfe to a pond or stream. These birds, however, are . generally more affected by frosty weather than hens, because they are deprived of their only means of exercise, and they have no use for scratching sheds. Nevertheless, ducks mjust have a cosy but well ventilated house, and as they sleep on the floor, shutters should be opened in front at •the. top: The floor must be dry and plentifully littered. COLDS AND PREVENTION. Colds will be prevalent at this time ' of the year, and any birds suffering should be taken in hand .at once. Colds lead to roup, and as the latter is very infectious and quickly spreads through a whole flock, the poultry

keeper will see the necessity 'of attending to, colds. “Prevention is better than cure.’’* < It is advisable to add a little permanganate of potash to the drinking water or a little of the well-known Douglas Mixture. This preparation ris made as follows:—Take £lb sulphate of iron, loz. sulphuric acid ; dissolve these in two gallons of water. This should be bottled and used as under: One teaspoonful to each pint of drinking water used for mixing the mash every two or three days. If added to the drinking water do not put in tin or iron vessels. T[ie poultry keeper will now reap the harvest he has sown during the season. If he has been wise and followed the advice given in this paper he should have plenty of eggs. Management will be on the 1 lines given for July. Pains taken m housing, feeding and management, from now onwards, will be well repaid in eggs.. Those who go in for early hatching will be busy mating up their breeding pens. Winter is an unnatural season for egg-production, and to ensure a supply of this commodity at this season, no detail most be neglected, and no trouble spared on the score of dnconvenience, or the 4 egg supply will certainly suffer. The hens must not be too fat. This is one of the chief- causes of hens not laying. , Exercise they must have, and this is where the use of the scratching shed comes in. They cannot lay if they are so fat that to move about is a trouble to them, and it is quite useless expecting eggs from them when in this condition. Handle the birds which are selected for feeding for eggs, and if they feel to heavy and to much like a bladder of lard in the rear parts, put them on one side as unfit for the purpose. They must not be too thin, either, for if they are they will take too long before they are in a ’laying condition. A bird -which feels plump without being fat and with tight, glossy plumage, bright eye, and a rosy headpiece, is the bird to select. Once a bird is in full lay it is impossible to overfeed her.

BIRDS QUILLBOUND. At this season of the year quill bound birds will be found in practically every yard. There may be several reasons for birds being quill bound 1 , but one of the chief reasons is undoubtedly '> constitutional weakness, and when a bird is quill bound in this way it should have a couple of condition pills night and morning, and be well fed on good nourishing food, such as bread and milk for breakfast, and a little animal food at noon and grain at night. A little crushed linseed in the mash will prove serviceable. If quill feathers are only confined to the large feathers such as the tail and wing feathers, these can easily be relieved by simply running the nails of the thumb and . forefinger along each side of the quill, and this will at once liberate the feathers. Another good plan is to wash the bird in warm water, as this will help to sheathe the feathers.