POULTRY COLUMN.

Grey River Argus, 8 May 1926, Page 1 (Supplement)

POULTRY COLUMN.

(By

“Leghorn.")

Current Work. Clean out all the poultry houses thoroughly, and subject them to a thorough spraying with some germicide that can be relied upon to kill all lice and mites. Lay in a good supply of finely pulverised garden soil for use in the dust baths before the rain comes (writes “The Truant’’ in an ex <hangc). The young birds had better be dusted vermin treat them to a’good dipping one warm day. Dip them early in the morning, so that they may be thoroughly dry before night, and they will not be liable to contract cold. The oung birds had Letter be dusted with a good insect powder. While thus handling them it will be a good opportunity to cull out all undesirable' specimens. Few of the poultrykecpcrs,; no matter how large their poultryhouse, or how many small ones wo have, ever have quite, all the room they need for their best birds, so none (f it should be devoted to the use of By all means, therefore, let them cull out undesirables, those that are too ancient for further service or any not up to standard in desirable features. It is alwavs well to remember in this connection that fowls consume a great deal of food, and that one must weed out the unproductive specimens that are not going to pay for th/ir feed, and something also for the labour of caring for them. Later it will be necessary to cul

again, as it will be found that some of the pullets are nut responding to the good treatment accorded them, and it will not pay to retain these. If the roofs of poultry-houses need attention, see that they get it before tile rains set in. Now is a. suitable time to begin to prepare your best birds to compete at the early shows. Watch them closely and coop a few of the choicest until you are able to select the best specimens. If you know your birds half as well as you should you will have no difficulty in picking the best of either sex. If you are not sufficiently well versed in their merits to do this, study the standard until you do. Of course, even then, you may fail to pick the best birds, or, rather, those that the judges consider the best. Do not worry about over-production of poultrq. A few years back this was a common caution. Now it seems that the more poultry and eggs that lire produced the higher ranges the price, of both commodities. All foodstuffs being high, it is but natural for poultry and eggs to increase in proportionate rates. The high price of eggs during the hatching months of the year does not deter farmers from incubating more than formerly, and taking better care of the resultant stock, partly because of the good prices they could have obtained for their eggs had they* sold them, and partly because they arc aware that their young birds will realise good figures as soon as they reach marketable size.