POULTRY NOTES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 149, 9 June 1936, Page 11

POULTRY NOTES

Care of Incubators and Brooders Advice to Breeders On well-managed plants the ineubators and brooders will have been left in such a condition at the conclusion of last season’s operations, that they will require very little attention to make them ready for the present season. On other farms this plant will need a very complete overhaul before it is ready’ for use, and this task should not be delayed. Broken or worn parts of incubators, etc., should be replaced at once, as stocks may not be on hand if this work is left to the last moment. Thermometers and capsules should be tested and trays examined to see that they are not sagging too much. Lamps and their wicks should also be examined and tested, and water troughs and feeding hoppers should be checked over. A searching test run of incubators and also of brooders may save a lot of trouble when the eggs are put in the former and the chickens in the latter. COD-LIVER OIL. The supplying of cod-liver oil to a ration has such a rapid and marked effect that many poultry-keepers make a practice of giving cod-liver oil regularly irrespective of the actual needs of the stock, for safety, so to speak. According to two American research workers, H. W. Titus and R. B. Nestlcr, writing in “ Poultry-Science ”, differences iu egg production, egg weight, total weight of eggs produced, and hatchability were observed that could be traced to the source and quality of vitamin D in the diet. WHEN APPETITES FAIL It is a good plan when appetites fail to give the birds a change of diet. This applies even during the unproductive moulting season. Try a change from dry to wet mash, or change the grain from wheat to a mixture of wheat and maize. A meal of sprouted grain, or a mash which includes mixed meat instead of dried meat or blood meal. Withholding food for a short period increases the appetite and a run out or increasing exercise by compelling scratching for the grain has a good effect. Give plenty of grit, clean, fresh water and green stuff. BROKEN YOLKS. Placing cold eggs iu au incubator heated to 103 dog. or 104 deg. will cause a rupture of the yolk. This will be plainly visible, says a Scottish expert, when the eggs are cnudled, by a Hue running through the yolk. It is always best to allow the temperature to rise gradually when the eggs are first placed iu the incubator. FEEDING SURPLUS POTATOES. In many quarters just now there is on bund a liberal supply of small potatoes, or potatoes which cannot be marketed. These can be put to good use by poultry-keepers. For growing stock and birds intended for table purposes, potatoes can form a fair bulk of the ration provided that good grain, animal food, and green feed are also included. Potatoes have no particular value in promoting heavy egg production but they cau be fed in limited quantities to layers. The water in which potatoes have been boiled should never be used for mixing the mash, as this has nu injurious effect on birds of all ages. GENERAL. Toenails, worn with scratching, denote the laying hen. In no animal does age work such a change as regards quality of flesh as in poultry. A capital general purpose ointment that every poultryman should stock is one iu which flowers of sulphur is th" chief active ingredient. This is excellent for all kinds of skin diseases, such as scabies, scaly Jeg, and scurvy comb. It can also be applied with advantage in superficial wounds. A report of a study made by 11. Kuchler, Germany, on the effect of different foods upon the colour of the egg yolk shows the follow results: Cabbage gives a bright orange colour; clover medium orange red; maize, weak orange red; red beet and paprika, dark yellow; beet, light yellow; oats, light yellow. Chlorophyll gives a dark orange red, but it is too expensive lor the commercial producer to use. Keep the birds active by providing ample scratching material iu the bouses. A handful of grain thrown among the litter after the birds have gone to roost will cause much activity iu the morning; this undoubtedly warms the birds up on these cold mornings. Exercise is a big factor in egg production, and it pays to keep the birds busy. Straw is cheap and makes excellent material for scratching, and in addition makes quite good manure for the garden later on. The comb in breeds such as Leghorns should be straight and erect in males, and fall gracefully to either side in females. Some hens’ combs obscure the sight of one of their eyes, because they are too thin or be,efy, and reduce their laying probably by 30 or 40 eggs n year. Breeding stock’s combs should be firm at the base to prevent above defects—and, it should be remembered, and defects in the combs of males are hereditary. Young stock, which have taken to roosting on the roof or iu a true, should be made to roost iu the bouse when the weather gets cool. The outside roosting can be prevented with a wirenetting guard, or clipping the lung feathers ou the outer joint of one wing only. As a rug of a horse or cow during the winter is equal to a teed, so is the shelter and warmth of a shed to a fowl, as far us egg-production is concerned.