POULTRY WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 28 April 1934, Page 7

POULTRY WORLD

REARING OF PHEASANTS AUTUMN POULTRY HINTS (By “Tight Feather.”) ' Pheasants arc becoming more popular and -numerous to-day. They are a profitable bird to .rear, and always meet with a ready sale at good prices. The. best way to hatch pheasants is with a bantam' or halfbred bantam, as they are always good sitters and firstclass mothers. Being light, they arc not so apt to hurt the younsg pheasants if they happen- to walk on them’. Sec that the place you are going to keep the brood in is perfectly covered right down to the ground with small wire netting so that th-e-re is- no chance of them getting out, as being wild game and not domesticated, like chickens, they generally want* to hide or get away. If they get out they will most likely wander away and get lost. Provide shelter in the house fur them with some scrub, such as manuka, or broom, which will give them an opportunity to hide behind l and rest. Otherwise they will be. on the alert all the time. There are foods on the market that can be bought for rearing the young ones, but the cheapest method and the most effective is to provide insects for them to feed on. This is their natural food and, as long as this is done, no difficulty will be found in rearing them. They are very partial to woodlice and maggots. A good method of providing maggots is to hang up a ■tin., drum, box or barrel, so that the maggots will drop into it and can then be fed to thorn. See that the mother is free from lice, as vermin, on the mother will get on the chicks and they will not thrive. VARIETIES OF GRIT Grit is important for fowls at all .stages, but at no time is it more essential than during the moult. It probably entails -more strain on. a. bird’s constitution to- .produce a new coat of feather® than to lay eggs, and grit supplies the variety of mineral matter which serves- the combined purpose of keeping the birds healthy and! enabling them to digest all their food.

It is often recommended that grit must be hard and sharp, the idea apparently being that grit takes the place of teeth. It would l be- difficult, however, to. prove this, and there is considerable evidence to suggest that the whole theory is a myth. A .prom-, incut North Island 1 poultry breeder gives no credence to -the theory, having kept poultry under each of the tjiroe common methods- —free range, yarded, continuous- housing—without ever bothering about, the shape -or the hardness of the grit. The result h-as been an average of less than one sick bird per annum, and certainly less than one .soft egg per annum. This seem® to anticipate an experiment recently conducted in England, where they fed half of a certain flock with no whole -grit at all, giving it all in a powdered state. The bird® sotreated laid just as- well and kept just as healthy as those that were- fed) on. the orthodox hard grit. But if it is not essential that grit should be hard and- sharp, all the evidence suggests that it should be fed. in full variety, for otherwise the birds will not eat * enough of it. Crushed oyster shells arc often advised, but fowls will usually eat more readily of the ordinary mixed l shells that are found on the beach. There is no need to sift it, for they will eat the lot, including the sand and gravel. DUCKS IN AUTUMN It often happens, particularly in a wet autumn., that ducks fill the gap in the supply of eggs between the stopping of old hen-s in order to moult and the young pullets beginning to lay, but this year this, has not taken' place. It is very evident, from the experience in the various egg-laying competition®, that ducks can be .induced.- to lay regularly during the autumn, for a good proportion of them do not mis® a day for several weeks, although they have no help from the unlimited range at the disposal of the ducks kept on an ordinary farm. The natural conditions that are conducive to steadv and constant laying are supplied almost artificially, and they prove successful, suggesting that oil a farm it ought to be even easier to obtaina regular supply.

PLENTY OF FOOD AND EXERCISE

The first essential, without which it would be useless' to expect steady laying', is a flock of ducks produced from the right strain of one of the specially good breeds of layers, for instance, Indian Runners or Ivhaki Campbells. These must be reared in the natural way that allows them to take plenty of exercise and get such a variety of food as will build- up a sound constitution. With this' as a basis,, the rest depends on feeding and 'general attention. , Unlike hops, which . thrive and lay well on a. diet which includes' a largo, proportion of grain, ducks do nitich better if their food consists largely of wet mash, with very little grain. As with fowls, opinions differ, as to whether they da best with grain in the morning and mash in the evening, or’vice versa, for no- trials have established the superiority of either way. For ducks on free range it will probably be found! preferable to give them the mash in the- morning,* and a little grain when they are being penned up for the night. At whatever time they are fed with* grain, it is better to, put it ,in their drinking vessels, filled at the time with sufficient clean water for them to immerse their heads completely, for that is the surest way to, keep thein nostrils open and clean, and also to avoid the possibility of picking up dust or soiled earth. Ducks are not so dainty as fowls in picking up grain, and if it is thrown on the ground in their yard they are sure to shovel up all Sorts of impurities while scooping up the grain in; tHeir clumsy way. The mash' may contain far more green stuff than it is advisable to force upon, fowls, and those who keep a large enough number of bird's will bo well advised to procure a small chaffcutter to cut up all kinds of edible greens.