POULTRY NOTES

Northern Advocate, 10 November 1934, Page 15

POULTRY NOTES

FATTENING OR TOPPING OFF.

TOPICAL TALK

ELIMINATION OF UNFIT.

FOOD AND FEEDING. The food during the period of penning should consist almost exclusively of mash mixed wet. This might consist of pollard, 30 per cent.; wheat meal, 20; pollard, 15; maize meal, 15; bran, 10; and semi-solid butter-milk, 10 per cent., or, in place of the butter-milk, 11b of milk powder to each gallon of water with which the mash is to be mixed. The mash can be mixed to the consistency of batter and fed from troughs placed outside the coops, in which case little or no water is allowed the birds to drink. The mash may, however, be fed mixed to the usual consistency, and liquid, water or milk, given as drink. The liquid mash, if well managed, usually gives the best results. Salt, at the rate of 4oz to each 201 b of mash material (calculated as dry matter), should be dissolved in the liquid with which the mash is to be mixed. Where milk is- used, the salt is best dissolved in a portion of water, then poured into the milk before mixing the mash.

Milk curds are preferable to whole milk. A condition necessary to successful topping-off is that the food be appetising.

Generally, too much reliance is placed on the class of food to be fed and too little on the prevailing conditions; whereas the latter can play quite as big a part as that of special feeding. When, for instance, growing stock are taken off a large run or freerange and placed in very small enclosures in small batches, the gain in flesh is often surprisingly good. That is to say, where the birds can take but little exercise, they cannot “run the flesh off” themselves. The fact is that quite a considerable gain can be made in this way without special feeding, but only for about three weeks, because exercise is essential for the growth of frame and constitutional strength. References are often made to a week or 10 days as a period for fattening. Such a period may suffice where fattening is done by “cramming” carried out by experts at the process, but in ordinary topping-off three weeks are required to get the best results. Here, again, that period is the limit advisable, even with fullygrown birds, because if given longer under forced conditions the birds usually go back in condition. DISEASE INFECTION. So often advice is given to feed the evening grain meal scattered in the floor litter. This advice is well meant, with a view to making the birds scratch in the. litter and so obtain exercise. Yet whilst picking up each grain, the birds are very likely to pick up disease infection, especially the “eggs” of intestinal worms. This is more likely to happen when no dropping boards are used and when the birds are very hungry. It is much wiser to feed the bulk of the grain ration in the troughs, scattering just a little grain in the litter, so that after the birds have had a fair meal they may continue poking around for the odd grain hidden in the litter. Try to keep the surface litter clean by continually adding more straw, say once a week or once a fortnight. Another source of infection is the drinking trough site. So often the tin or tap leaks a little and damp spots exist. Most disease “bugs” require both dampness and warmth to incubate, and such places are particularly dangerous. With the advent of warm spring weather coccidiosis will spread quickly, and the latest control is regular dosing v/ith Epsom salts, combined with as much clean range as possible. ! Never place a batch of young chicks on ground where adults or older chicks have been running.

To bring about improvement in the class of eggs being laid, the first thing to be done is to eliminate from the breeding pens all hens laying faulty eggs. Unfortunately physical appearances are not always to be relied upon in this regard. Hereditary weaknesses manifest themselves in a variety of ways, and, while it is a safe plan to reject as breeders all birds that have failed to make good development, it does not follow that all well-developed birds are free from hereditary defects. Wherever this trouble has appeared it will save much valuable time and incubator space and thus ensure the full use of valuable male birds if some system of recognising the eggs laid by different hens is adopted when the breeding pens are first made up. In the case of small yards, by close observation of the birds as they come on to lay after being penned, it is often possible to recognise most of the eggs and hens that lay them by slight differences in shape, colour and other peculiarities. In the case of larger operations, the difficulties are multiplied by the greater numbers.

(By James Hadlington). Fattening is a term commonly employed to denote the topping-oil of birds for market or private use. It is as well to remember, however, that what is really required under New Zealand conditions is not fat but flesh. Nobody wants fat as it is understood in colder countries. This being the case, and having in mind inquiries on the subject of fattening cockerels, some explanation is perhaps essential. Where real fat is called for, some animal fat is usually incorporated in the formula; but where, as here, only juicy flesh is required, a rather different formula should be used. First, then, a frame is required to carry the flesh, which means that we must first grow the birds to the required size of frame before attempting to put on flesh. This, too, is a matter of breeding and environment, as well as feed. With good birds well grown, it is a simple matter to top them off, but no amount of special feeding can make birds that are stunted in growth into prime table poultry. Such birds lack the quality of flesh that is necessary. What, then, are the desirable weights in order to obtain (Satisfactory results? Commencing with the griller stage, and taking the two breeds mainly in evidence; —White Leghorns should weigh 21b to 2Jib at 12 weeks old, and Australorps at least Jib heavier. From that age onwards Leghorns should make at least “lb for each month of age, and Australorps about Ulb a month up to five or six months; while heavier breeds, such as Sussex, Plymouth Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds, and expected to go a little heavier at all stages. These are all live weights, before topping off. It is as well to remember, too, that much of the weight said to have been made in the fattening processes often quoted is, after all made up of the increased weight that should be made without fattening. The weights sometimes accredited to fattening are therefore apt to be misleading. According to breed, £lb to Jib should be credited for a normal rate of growth during the three weeks, not all to the fattening process.

As soon as silver beet runs up' to seed heads the plants should be pulled out and replaced with younger ones. Lawn clippings can be used for greens just as long as they are cut frequently and the grass is not too fibrous. « » n • Stale eggs take longer to hatch than fresh ones, and if eggs have to be saved several days before setting they should be turned daily just as if they were being incubated. * * w * It will soon be time to set duck eggs if early autumn layers are required. For table use, the sooner they are hatched the better, and the drakes should be marketed at from 10 to 14 weeks after hatching. * ♦ ♦ * Check up for red mite infection in cracks near' the perches. A little spraying now may save much work when the hot weather sets in. Look for the greyish specks near cracks which are the cast-off skins of the mites. The best spray to use is creosote.

Most pullets have been laying hard, and care must be taken to watch the quality of egg shells; which usually get very thin about-November. If necessary make the birds take a spell from laying for a few days in order to give the oviduct a rest.

Slatted-floored arks are the ideal houses for growers, but arks must be moved on to fresh ground every two days; the slats scraped clean no less

frequently. In warm weather, ventilation can be improved by raising the arks on bricks, one at each corner. •