POULTRY NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9065, 10 April 1906, Page 6

POULTRY NOTES.

A New Zealand Leghorn and Minorca Fanciers' Club for the North Island has been formed, with headquarters at Palmereton North. * • A Buff Rock put up to auction at the late Boston (U.S.A.) show realised £150. This is a Tecord for the breed. This price, however, does not equal the £165 for a Partridge Wyandofcte or the £200 for a Majorca. * • • A pullet belonging to a fancier at Amberfey last week laid an egg which weighed s£oz. The egg (says the Press) measured 7| inches long and 64 inches round. * * • Up to last week 70 entries had ' been received for the second laying contest at Lincoln College. • * « Both in England and the colonies the popular breeds are Wyandottes, Orpinetons, and White Leghorns. In America the same breeds are foremost, in public favor, except that Plymouth Rocks are m tn-3 front row instead of Orpingtons. At «™? ¥ ew York show lieJ <* in JanucSU 190 ?»' fow] s of ail descriptions totalled 5003; pigeons, 1850, 1850; canaries and otfier /«ge birds, 171 ; cats, 232; p&t stock, rabbit-, ccuwr'a pigs, etc., 101; tha total ( w jrth other mis-ell aneous exhibits) being 7439. * * * 1 * B J °£ h *f €W Y<xrk ajld B «rf»» held tfe-oord-brwk ng .shows this season, More than fOOO 'ntri^s at each show and upward of 25,00^ u-ople paid admission fees to ?ee thre* displays. A v^M v-h i^V\ntißt> affirms that •eggs <Vfi<-»Ti+ ip suJohur, organic salts,etc, w'JI n/* 1 h.it-h wpJI. To' prove this I ,* he f-<? tw V.V -of twKlv*- h«ns, each naid-T ••"'o-r J-" 'J",«anv conditions, except that o«-» >* --I* f <J a dessertspoonful of" sulpb"r t-v" ™»k. The eggs w«3nr~

incubat-ed. Fifty per cent, failed to hatch from the hens that gob no sulphur, and only tea. per cent, from the others. AnotheT test showed that the embryos of the eggs of the best laying hens died first, and the percentage was larger than from moderate layers, which conclusively prov- ! Ed that because of their prolificacy the I sulphur was exhausted from the food. Put it kx the 60ft food ; it is of no use in the drinking water. * * * A Sydney resident, who has been on a visit to Siam, thus speaks of its climate, j according to the Daily Telegraph : — "It does not strike one as being at all a desirable place to live in. The climate is such that you can hatch duck eggs in the sun. That is no romance, because I have seen the Chinese there engaged in this interesting operation. - Chinese, as you are aware, have a weakness for poultry, and they Tear ducks in Siam for the table. I have seen them put the eggs out in the sun. At night they cover them with a blanket, an<J the next morning they tuim the eggs, so as to expose the other side to the sun's rays. Soon the ducklings burst through the ©hells. No ; Siam is no place for a white man." The fact that fowls 'require grit in order ') to digiest hard grain is frequently overlook.cd by poultrykeepeais. The work of (reducing and grinding up whole grain in the case of fowls is principally perfoTmed by the gizzaid, an organ which is provided with strong muscles fo>r thae purpose. Unless, however, some grit ot small pebbles or gravel are present in the gizzard to aid in rhe grinding \vp of the grain., the process goes on imperfectly, and in a very slow manner, much slower than should normally be the case. Inability to procure a sufficient amount of grit to meet their requirements results in digestive disturbances being set up, and the food — ab any ,rate ? that provided in the shape of whole grain — is not properly assimilated. In some cases lack of grit may prove fatal. It is obvious that food in the lorm of finely ground meal will require but little or no grinding, while hard grain and seeds, such, as wheat, maize, barley, peas, etc., althouguh softened by their passage tlwougn the crop, are still in a whole state until they have been ground up in the gizzaTd. * BREVITIES. Don't "overcrowd ; lit militates against success. Aim to have winter layers ; they are the best payers. Green grass means health and vigor. Economy in feeding is part of success. Soil becomes fowl-sick if not freshened. Fresh dean water is a necessity for fowls. Sharp grit is equal to a good set of teeth. Cleanliness is ths watchword in poultrykeeping. - > Adopt a regular system of feeding and cleaning. Bone-meal gives strength to the limbs of growing birds. For table purposes choose the quickmaturing varieties. Indian Runner ducks have proved their worth as layers. Don't forget to use disinfectante freely .in the poultry-sheds. :. Keep the feed bill down by a constant 1 ;sup|>ly of green food. Kill off all the old hens ; they are only drones in the poultry yard. , If you have separator milk scald it ' mbc it through the morning meal. Green food puts lustre into the^plumage, "and is a necessity for growing birds, i A clean 6a>nd dusting bath is just as essential to fowls as the waiter bath is to individuals.