POULTRY NOTES

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3286, 4 March 1926, Page 6

POULTRY NOTES

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Below is a list of questions and answers, amongst which will bo found queries that are asked quite a lot by beginners in poultry raising:— , q. —Js it necessary to give fowls grit? A. —Yes. Grit is essential for the proper feeding and health of the birds. Oyster 'shell is the best of shell grit; its chemical constituents are similar to those of the eggshell as regards lime compounds particularly. and thus assists in producing material for forming the shell of the egg. Grit should be sharp and hot too fine; coarse grit without sharp jagged edges is best. Q.—-Will fowls fatten quicker and better if confined in small pens or coops than if allowed to run in a large pen ? A.—Yes. q.—what is the best food for rapid fattening? A. —Maize meal, ground oats, barley meal, pollard, milk, and a little fat, fed in the form of a soft mash. q.—How can oats be fed to fowls so as to eliminate all chance of the sharp points injuring the crop? A. —-Pour scalding water over. This will soften the husks, allow them to cool, and then feed in troughs. Q.- —Can • fowls be successfully reared and kept without animal food? A.-—Yes, hut animal food fed judiciously will give better results. Q. —What is the difference between green bone and raw ground bone? A.—By green bone is meant bone fresh from the butcher's, which contains all ’the natural '-.Juices, and has more or less fresh meat adhering to it. Raw ground bone is made from these small bones after they have become thoroughly dry.' and have lost a large proportion, if not practically all, the ■ valuable properties of fresh cut bone. Q. —How should sunflower seed be fed?, A. —About a pint daily to 15 hens: it is most useful during the moulting, period. . Q. —what is the object of feeding a balanced ration? A.—A Surplus of any foodstuff fed to a fowl over and above the amount which is digestible and convertible to its needs is a waste of food and injury to the fowl. A balanced ration is' best from the standpoint of economy and for the purpose of getting the best results as regards the quantity and quality of. the product of the fowl. q,—j s blood from the butcher’s shop a good food for fowls? If so, how should It bo prepared? A. —Yes, It is good. Place it in a sack and boil it. Dried blood can bo procured from most produce houses. It is a valuable egg food, given in ' conjunction with other meals. Q. —Is stale bread a good food for fowls? A- —Yes,. if It I* not mouldy. It should be soaked in water and then pressed dry and mixed in the mash. Q.—ls, any one grain a better egg producing food, than another? A. —Yes, wheat' alone will give good results in egg production. q —What is the objection to wet or sloppy foods for poultry? A.—The chief one is that it is part of nature’s plan for ’ the gizzard to grind the food, and this activity is good for health. Too much soft" mash will produce sluggishness of these organs, and disease often results, q, —will linseed meal or cotton seed meal lake the place of meat? A. —No, but they ar e both valuable foods, used in conjunction with other meals.