POULTRY NOTES

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 154, 2 July 1938, Page 12

POULTRY NOTES

PREPARING TOR THE HATCHING SEASON (By C. J. C. Cusscn, Department of Agriculture.) A new hatching and rearing season is at hand, and poultry-keepers arc about to enter upon the most import- £ ant season of the year. So much depends 5 upon the successful rearing of sufficient \ good pullets to renew the flock that no I poultry-keeper can afford to leave any- E thing to chance. f> Every care shold be taken to ensure 1 that the plant and equipment are in P good working-order before the bufcy £ season stitrts. If this is done before a chickens stdrt to arrive there will be \ more chance of giving attention to tUfc E hil-important work of hatching andk«] roaring. That little extra attehtion verjr j •oftijn means luoro hud better pullets, y Only poultry-keepers who have been j through a very busy rearing season j. know what a strain it is, and for that j reason everything which will lighten j the strain should bo attended to. All f repitirs to fences, gates, nests, food- ‘ troughs, incubators, and brooders should j be attended to at once, if they have not , already been done. Feeding-space Important It is sound economy to have an extra - food-trough on the plant. Many poultry- 1 keepers fail to realise the great import- 1 ance of allowing plenty of trough or 1 feeding space for both young and old 1 stock. 1 At times many different sizes are J observed among young stock of the , same age, and this is often due to the 1 fact that soino of the birds do not got 1 sufficient good food. Stock should never , be forced to crowd at feeding-time, ’ especially chickens and young growing ] birds. If insufficient feeding-room is provided it often happens that the strongest —and those with plenty of conlldeUco ( —get. plenty of the best food, v* To the ' more-or-loss shy birds do not get enough to ehable them to make the necessary development. An e :tra food-trough ( will help matters considerably where this defect has been noticed. Drinking-fountains should be examined and extra ones provided if necessary. It is well to remember that a leaky water-fountain will cause dampness in the brooder-house or laying-shed, and dampness is often the cause of i spreading that droaded trouble coccidiAttention to Incubators Incubators should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and this should be repeated after every batch. The doors should be examined to see that , they fit correctly, for. often a loosefitting door is the cause of indifferent 1 hatches. At times incubator-doors have a habit of sticking, especially if they are kept in a damp place. It may be found that after the machine has been heated up for a day or two the doors will shrink a little and opfcn without trouble. However, if they still remain tight a little vaseline on the tight edges is often all that is required. Testing Thermometers All incubator thermometers should be tested each season before the machines are set to ensure that they are registering correctly. This is done with accurate clinical thermometers and a basin of warm water (about lOOdeg. F.). Take tho two thermometers in one band with the bulbs together and place them in the basin of warm water, which should be kept stirred. If no clinical thermometer is at hand, no doubt your local chemist will test a thermometer for you, but it is important that all thermometers be tested before the start of each season, as ti degree or so makes a big difference in the size and strength of the ha>'». It is a good policy to have a spare thermometer on hand in case one should get broken during tho season. Check on tho Coanectms-r.od j At times a fluctuating temperature is caused by the rod connecting thermostat and the arm carrying the disk over the lamp becoming bent. This rod should bo carefully examined, for if there is any kink in it the pult will not be direct and the disk will not rise and fall in harmony with the thermostat. The Lamps All lamps and burners' should be ( boiled in water containing a little f baking-soda. Fresh wicks should be provided, and a fresh piece of mica might be required for the lamps. Care should bo taken to see that all machines are Set perfectly level. i If trouble has been experienced in tho past and the cause is not known it is advisable to get into tou *\ with the manufacturer of the machine if possible, for he is the most likely person to bej in a position to advise you correctly. Brooder and Brooder-houses Brooders and brooder-houses should be thooughly cleaned and disinfected, and if it is intended to rear extra pullets care should be taken to see that aruplo brooder accommodation is provided. Several cases have come under notice whore heavy losses have been experienced ecause of inexperienced poultry-keepers trying to rear morO birds than they have brooder accommodation for. It ip well to remember that chickens require to be kept under the brobdef for at least, six weeks, especially during the early part of the season, and if they are overcrowded or are remr ~d from the heat too soon there is grave danger of their receiving a setback, from which they may never recover. It is much wise to rear 300 pullets well than 500 indifferently. Mating-timo Experiments have shown that it is possible for some eggs to be fertile twenty-four hours r.fter stock have been mated, but, generally speaking, it is advisable to allow at least from flve to seven days after stock have been mated before saving eggs for incubation; in fact, most commercial m like to mate Iheir birds a few weeks before eggs are required in otder to give the stock time to settle d6Wn.

August and September are looked upon as the two best months Of the year in which to hatch chickens—-August for the heavy breeds, and September for the light breeds. It should be the endeavour of every poultry-keeper to hatch all he requires of has accommodation for during August and September, for late-

EGG LAYING CONTEST CONDUCTED AT MASSEY COLLEGE ISTH WEEK’S RESULTS Single Pens Section B.

Teams Results Section D. W. A. Larsen, A.O.— SI 86 79 (50 79 74 (37) 45D G. A. Edge, 1i.1.R, 74 70 73 81 50 79 (28) 433 E. W. Stephenson, A.O.— 79 74 CS 52 70 55 (34) 39S L. G. Hooper, 8.0. 41 53 GO 67 82 60 (32) 363 Miss E. T. Somer, R.l.R.— 54 31 52 54 GS 42 (25) 301 Section C. (AT W.L.). F. S. Allen.— 73 71 73 83 81 66 (34) 4-17 J. Wilson.—rG 9 70 74 71 76 74 (32) 434 H. A. Lucas.— 78 64 73 47r 71 67 (331 400 J. Mole}.— 65 70 65 67 72 55 (29) 394 Cots wold, P.F.— 58 42r 72 64 70 72 (34) 37S F. Ecob.— 78 9r 56 GS 60 61 (27) 332 ,( r M Replace bird.

hatched stock seldom do well or turn out satisfactorily. If more stock have to be reared than can bo hatched during these months it is advisable to • tart a little earlier, for l while naturally-hatched October chickens reared on fresh ground may do quito well, it is very arely that aftifi- , cially-reared October-hatched chickens do as well. Numbers ,of Hens to a Male ‘ Tho number of hens to mate with 1 each male in orde to obtain tho best rc- ' suits will depend upon the I reed, age, and vitality of tho birds, hut us a rule ’ from eight to ten hens of tho heavy 1 breeds and from twelve to fourteen hens of the light breeds to each male will give good results. The most popular practice is to mate 1 hens entering their second season with ' well-developed cockerels from at least ten to eleven months old. It is always " safer to use cockerels during the early ; part of the season, as cock birds entering their second or third season cannot .'be depended upon to give good fertility early in tho season. While it is stated that the mating of L sec.ond-yeaf hens and cockerels is the ; most popular system it must not be overlooked that older, proved hens and I cock birds often give the very finest stock, and such birds should be retained j as long as they will give good fertility and strong healthy chicks. ! i Selecting Breeding Males ! i Some poultry-keepers fail to appreciate the great importance of tho breed- | iug males. They do not give them nearly the samq attention that is given to the growing pullets, and during their , developing stage they are often crowded into small sheds and yards where ’ they cannot make that desired growth ’ or build up that great vigour and conj stitution which are so necessary in a ? good-breeding male. Desirable Points The first requirement of a goodbroeding male is purity of blood, for 1 experience has shown that cross-bred males are not satisfactory. Secondly, and it may bo said of equal importance are vigour and constitution. These points can best be picked out in the 1 yafd or in the paddock by tho proud, ' active, keen, and, hs it were, command--1 ing disposition. They should have a good-sized, strong, well-balanced body, prominent ! breast, good width across the back, beak strong and nicely curved, and neck strong and nicely arched. The legs should be strong and set wide apart. 1 The comb should be of medium size evenly serrated, set Well on the head, and straight. The face, comb and 1 wattles should be bright red in colour. 1 Strong, active, commanding masculine characteristics ihould be the points looked for in the good-breeding male, s and (he more one knows in regard to ; the pedrigeo of tho birds the better. 1 Precocious Cockerels * There is a tendency with, some j poultry-keepers to favour too much the precocious, early-maturin j cockerels—--3 that is, those that crow first and show ' big combs, and are often bo&s of the flock when quite young—but care should be taken not to select too much , on early maturity, as very often such r cockerels are rather too fine in bone and are inclined to be small in body, and frequently their Offspring will bo small, e will mature tOo early, and will produce lj smal l eggs. r Replacing Cockerels :- Poultry-keepers who adopt the flock

mating system of breeding—i.e., Where more than one male is mated to a number of hens—often experience troublo with the males fighting, and at times some good birds may be ~o knocked about that they have to be replaced. Jt is really not safe to place good, fresh cockerels in a breeding-pen with strange birds.

If it is found necessary to aid moro cockerels to a breeding-pen it is a good idea to take all the cockerels from the pen and place them in a dark room or shed with the frdsh birds to be introduced. If they are left together in a dark room for forty-eight hours it will often save a great deal of fighting and will prevent valuable birds being knocked about.

Mrs E. WiJlcrs, B.O. (7) 83 W. A. Larsen, A.O. (0) 80 L. Mason, R.I.R. 2 (6) 77 8. Wilkinson, K.I.R. (3) 77 8. T. Bason, Lang. 3 W 07 L. Mason, K.I.R. 1 (8) GO E. H. Barger, B.O. («) 05 S. T. Bason, Lang. 1 (3) 03 Mrs M. M. Chapman, W.W. (3) 01 K. Mullins, K.I.R. (6) 52 S. T. Bason, Lang. 2 (1) 40 T Dowthwaite, B.O. (1) 48 ,T. D. Rowlands, R.I.R. Section A. (0) 41 F. S. Allen, W.L. 4 (7) 81 F. Ecob, W.L. 2 (0) 79 J. A. Annan, W.L. (7) 70 F. S. Allen, W.L. 3 (0) 75 A. O. Mum by, W.L. 2 (0) 75 Ancona Stud, P.F., W.L. (5) 74 F. S. Allen, W.L. 2 (0) 70 A. G. Mumby, W.L. 3 (*) 70 F. S. Allen, W.L. 1 (C) OS T. E. Kcr, W.L. 2 (8) 00 A. G. Mumby, W.L. 1 (7) 06 Mrs M. M. Chapman, W.L. 1 (3) 05 A. G. Mumby, W.L. 4 (5) 04 W. F. Stent,' W.L. 2 (8) 59 Mrs M. M. Chapman, W.L 2 (3) 5S H. Poison, W.L. (3) 57 P. Mummery, Min. (5) 50 A. A. Hoare, W.L. 2 (0) 53 F. Edob, W.L. I (2) 52 F. Ecob, W.L. 4 (8) 42 A. A. Hoare, W.L. 1 (8) 42 W. F. Stent, W.L. 1 (t) 41 F. Ecob, W.L. 3 (5) 38 W. F. Stent, W.L. 3 (3) 18 T. E. Ker, W.L. 1 (3) 10