POULTRY NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11857, 8 January 1902, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES.

Give young turkeys liberty on dry, warm days. Feed nothing the first twenty-four hours after they are hatched. Ground bone, fine gravel, ground shells, and a dust bath must be provided for all chickens. '. Golden-pencilled Wyandotles are one of .the: latest varieties . for public favour. We i. now have the white, the buff, silver, golden and: buff laced, silver and golden pencilled, and -a' buff pencilled !i is f; promised. ' Take * any of them that you like, they are all good. : Special-cars are in use in Europe, so; that chickens for the British; market can be fat-' tened during the journey, one attendant be-, ing able to ; take caro ; of,/ a ! number of cars.; For instance, J chickens : are bought •in v the country districts of Russia or Italy and reach the English market ! alive and considerably improved by being well fed during the trip. ;■ \ Settler,': Waikato. — cannot; do //better - ; than secure Indian Runners for breeding pur-; poses. In our climate their laying power is I enormous, when compared even with the best layers of other breeds. The Indian Runners are good eating birds also. : They are small, but it is contended that:, for their size ; they, ;.have more meat in proportion to! the weight of bones. than some of the larger breeds.; V '$ '.: , The Australian i Poultry,, Gazette, !in commenting upon the success which has attended the efforts of Mr. S. H. Pitman, of Adelaide,' ; in the'breeding of Indian Runner ducks, adds that Mr. P. has kept a careful record of the eggs laid by a pen of ducks which were hatch-', ed 'November 16, 1897. ' The result of the first vear's ; - laying—! 1891 eggs; average," 210 per duck. Second year, total, 1709 ; . average,' 190. Grand: total, two years' laying, 3600;| average per duck, 400. > ■ The Maine Farmer, in a laconic style, bits the nail on !the head thus:—-" Poultry pays and poultry doesn't pay. % Some men .succeed, others fail". Those who succeed arc satisfied; those who fail condemn, the business,'- forgetting the fact; that : the conditions underlying success are,the same yesterday,' to-day, and for ever; and failure results either from, neglect to observe: or- inability to i grasp the details of these conditions." v This is ' the story in : a nutshell. -.::':,, .'.

The last number of the New Zealand -Field, has the following appropriate remark: —'Tis ridiculous to sec two of the leading,shows of the colony fixed for the same Christchurch and Auckland. We 'would suggest that Auckland take a week later, which: will allow of Chi'istchurch birds competing at'the' Northern fixture, and, should the owners desire, of competing at the Wellington Show] on their way home. - ■- '• • ) Selecting Good Stock:-* In the first place, 1 one must see that the eggs to be set are from good, sound, =■ strong stock;, that have ; been proved for their .breeding qualities. The! stock need not necessarily, be of " exhibition" quality or any particular breed to produce strong,; healthy stock, but must certainly be procured from well-framed, /; vigorous : '■ stock that are not too old, and on the other hand it -is not advisable to. set the eggs from } very young pullets, as the first few eggs are usually small; and unsuitable. As ; the chicks -got large enough to roost .;• the coops are not suitable! for them longer. A cheap shelter can be built against the side of a ; building. Incline the;, boards - against the wall and cover with tarred or stout'build-' ing paper, lapping it as : shingles ;■ are '■■ lapped and ; tucking the upper.:edge .up i under-; the shingles of the building. ! The ends can be closed in, or not, as desired, . and; the; affair can be extended to any length to meet the size of the flock. : Set up roosts in the highest part. ' '

Mrs. Comyns-Lewes, the. able editor and proprietor of. the Feathered World (London), has recently been telling her ; impressions -of the" methods of American poultry raisers. Viewing the mechanical work of our breeders, especially on the big plants, she writes: — "In their knowledge /'of incubators and brooders,; and tho extent to which; these / artificial : aids are utilised, some of the farms visited!came to me almost as a, revelation, one ;of these having : under• one roof i loss • than .40 ! in-; cubators, each of : 360-egg capacity, ■ with: brooder houses on a similar large scale. '/The attention; too, paid in all yards visited :to /every arrangement that might tend to economy of labour was in marked contrast to some happy-go-lucky methods I have seen at homo. From the passage-way back of a single row houses, or, running between 'a.' double ! row, of the same, an attendant can/feed, water,' and' collect the eggs from a large number of fowls without entering any of the houses, with a vast saving of /time, and,, therefore, ; money, over less carefully-planned places. -■■ In larger establishments a, tramway runs from "the food house above the outdoor runs for feed- , ing, and : a ■ similar labour-saving appliance for. serving food exists throughout the : ' principal buildings."