POULTKY NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 234, 1 September 1938, Page 9

POULTKY NOTES

(By “Brooder.”),

For the person who is greatly annoyed because he so far has got very few eggs from liis poultry, one can have a certain amount of sympathy. However, the fault lies not with the birds so much as with the owner. The complaint is that only now are the pullets beginning to show' a profit. Enquiry elicits the information that the pullets w r ere hatched in November and they certainly have! not had any special inducement in the form of a good protein ration. The greatest handicap though, is the late hatching, and those who have suffered similarly would do well to diary this note, that late hatched pullets rarely pay during the first season. The reason, of course, is plain ; before they reach maturity eggs have cheapened considerably and there is little margin over the cost of foodstuffs. The remedy, therefore, is to hatch earlier so that the birds can mature in time to give forth a supply when eggs are at a comparatively good price. The best that can be done now is to feed well so at least the birds may pay for their keep, with a little over for labour involved. Next season they, or what remains after culling, may do better. Much depends upon treatment and management. With pullets now in full lay (they should be) averages _ can be struck and careful observation can be made for the slackers. Trap nests are very handy, but very few other than the breeding specialists use them; The eye then becomes the great guide. When it is seen that birds are slow and habitually lazy, that is, there is A reluctance to scratch and be for ever busy, be sure these birds are not the profit makers. These should be ringed or otherwise marked for culling when the time comes that the keeping of them is considerably reducing general averages. Because these drones are pullets is no reason why they should bo kept. They can cause just as heavy a loss as the more matured birds, and it is bad managament to retain them longer than can be helped. Now that eggs are cheapening culling can begin. There are evidences of growth in almost every field and garden. The mild conditions obtaining at present have promoted growth everywhere, and it is now' that the owner of largo numbers of pullets should commence producing the green feed which will ensure a plentiful supply right through the summer. In recent years there has been a dearth of green feed, largely through the depredation of the white butterfly and other pests. Cabbage, in particular, has suffered greatly. It is well worth trying, therefore, to get the green feed going strongly before the pests have developed sufficiently to retard growth. A good of silver beet once well-rooted lias little attraction for the butterfly. This leaf is the best friend of the poultryman Silver beet though, like fowls, is not profitable after the second season; new sowings, thereiore, should be made each year to allow for a regular supply of new plants. One never knows what kind of a summer we may experience. It is well, therefore, to prepare now. Sunlight is the best ration of all. That is not to say that it takes the place of a well-balanced food, but it does mean that without it there can be serious trouble in every brooder room. Rickets, indigestion, and stunted growth, are all most in evidence where chickens are deprived of this, the greatest source of all life. But, alter all, there should he little need to labour this point. Where is there a human being who does not realise its value and does not seek its help to ensure comfort, vigour and health? The poultry farm without its sun terrace or verandah is incomplete, and the birds are seldom of the best, if ever.

EGG-LAYING. MASSEY COLLEGE CONTEST. . The following are rile 22nd week's results for the eighth egg-laving contest conducted at Massey Agricultural College: SINGLE PENS. Section B.

Mrs R. Wiliers, B.O 7 135 L. Mason, R.I.R ; 2 7 129 W. A. Larsen, A.O. 5 128 S. Wilkinson, R.I.R 5 127 L. Mason, R.I.R 1 6 118 8. T. Bason, Banff 1 6 112 K. Mullins, R.I.R 6 105 S. T. Bason, Rang 3 5 104 Mrs M. M. Chapman, W.W. 5 103 K II. Berger, B.O 5 96 S. T. Bason, Rang 2 7 86 J. D. Rowlands, R.I.R 5 69 T. Dowthwaitc, B.O 5 65 Section A. F. S. Allen, W.I, 4 6 140 J. A. Annan, W.L 7 129 Anoona Stud P.F., W.L. 6 124 F. S. Allen, W.L 3 5 123 Mrs M. M. Chapman, W.L. . 1 6 120