POULTRY NOTES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 11 September 1909, Page 1

POULTRY NOTES.

The time to prepare for winter eggs is when winter is past, says W. B. Cary in New York "Tribune-Farmer." It is almost useless to try to get winter eggs by the adoption of some plan of feeding and care when the winter is about to set in, unless the flock has been prepared for it, which means that from the time the chick was hatched the idea of winter eggs has been in the mind of tlie breeder and the proper attention and care of the. Hock- have beejr" i-bestowed from the first. So one :may *say the timeto prepare for winter eggs is when you do not need them, and ,too late just before you need- them. But when the winter has passed . and the pens have been silent and unproductive all through the cold • weather, and when you have felt disappointed and chagrined over your failure to get eggs, and you have canvassed the whole matter, have discovered one or more mistakes you have made, have observed how some other man or men have succeeded and are reasonably certain that by correcting this or that error in management, shelter, care, or feeding that you can succeed— that it the verytime to prepare to get eggs the next winter And it is about the only time that commends itself with any reasonable assurance of success. "In time of peace prepare for war" is a wise saying ; because the time of peace affords time for quiet, deliberate, thorough preparation ; while in ( war time everything that is attempted must be hurried forward by minds that are so excited" and anxious to get things done that whatsoever is done is quite i likely to b-* incompletely and inadI visedly done. Egg getting in winter [ is -a war against unproductiveness, nnd ' tlie time to prepare for it is when the hens are laying eggs to hatch chickens for the next winter. * Therefore we begin with the hen. What sort of a hen shall I depend on for eggs to hatch? Shall it be a young one or an old one? Shall it be a wellbred hen or a scrub? Shall it be a Red pr Barred Rock.. White Wyandotte, Brown Leghorn, or what Begin with the last question. The Leghorn is perhaps as much in favour with egg producers as any. It is a lively, 'active, fertile sort, and may succeed! better in the hands of-ordinary psr.sons' than the others. Yet there are th= records cf the Rocks and Wyandottes and Reds that almost, if not quite, equal that of Leghorns. There are failures with everyone of them where high hopes have been entertained, and there are successes with everyone of tbem. If the conditions of house as to warmth and protection, of feed, management and care are not what they should be the breed will not triumph over them, whereas if the eoii-; ditions are right any of these breeds will have* good returns. It appears to be more a question of care and management than of breed, therefore a man's fanfy may be- his guide in the matter of-*fceleeting stock. '" Shall it be a well bred hen or a scrub? Scrub hens have laid eggs and cackled through the winter for one person, while a pen of choice bred next door was dumb and idle. But here again the pen of scrubs had excellent and intelligent care, while the others had t.o shift for themselves very' largely. There is no proof in that that scrubs are more productive than wellbred stock, or as productive notwithstanding the fact that their owner bragged over his success in that way. With like gocd conditions, care and . management the well bred hen will distance the' scrub every time. The emphasis must be placed on conditions suitable, to egg production, management, feed and care. The scrub hen is a nuisance and a disappointment in comparison with ' Rocks, Reds, Wyandottes ,or Leghorns. Shall it be young hens or old ones We are told that young hens will give more chicks, but that old hens will give stronger ones. Old hens of the heavier breeds are "awful good sitters." They will sit and sit, and then sit some more. If they get off the nest it is to eat and go back to it. And the heavier ones are clumsy and careless, and are likely to break thc eggs or kill the chicks when Uiey are hatched. Jf one has a lot of ten to 12--months-old hens in good condition he will lose very few chicks by breakage and very few chicks by smothering or trampling upon upon if he sets them. And their eggs, for aught I know to the contrary, will prove as fertile and produce as strong chicks as those of hens twice their age. I spea kof the average hen. There are hens occasionally that are prolific at first — prolific at two and three years oldr There is another thing about •'hens that I cannot explain, and I never saw nnvone who could explain it any i better than I can. Take two'or more clutches of eggs from the same pen at the same time. Set them under hens that appear to be the same every way. One hen will bring off 13 or 12 chicks out of 13 eggs, another will bring off six, another ten. another seven or eight, when all four hens appear to sit equally well and liave equal care. That is one of the 'uncertainties in the hen business. There are many more, but that is one of them that "no fellow can find out" the reason of. ' If one starts out with bright hopes and eager c:<n-'ctations as to his chief assets' in the hen business, all the probabilities are that he will "sup on sorrow." I!' h - hits it the first time he will mak: a b.-.tcli of it the next timo unless be dii-il'i-atcs the first conditions vcvv nearl-.- where thoy were correct. The onlv way to succc?d is to follow carefully ec :i plan that has proved to

, be successful. The first item of the I plan is to start now with the hen that I lays the egg. Care for that hen and ' h?r eggs, care for her chicks right jalohg.' Get tho eggs under the hen as 'early as possible. Keep the chicks 1 growing. Give them a warm, cosey ; pen for cold weather, make them as , contented and happy as possible. Keep the pen clean, fight the lice, and they ' will probably repay you by beginning l to cackle in November and continue to cackle, all winter. ■ ; ' • 1 ' 1 1 \ 1 ' s ' i ' ' ' , ; 1 ! ' . • ' ' ' ' , : ■j > : i ; . ■ : , | , j ' i \ \ , , . , ; ' L' | ! [ ■ " ' ~ 1 ' | t t , • s ' I i i i I ' j J ;' | ; ' • ( c [ ' s * ; I i ; ' ! ' I ' > • . > ' 1 ] j i ' : ; ! , i • 1 ! 1 -5 ; « \ f ■ t t i I i i i . ' f - - i i ? -5 .' -3