POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19303, 16 April 1926, Page 16

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

FEEDING OF BIRDS. USE OF HOUSE SCRAPS. RIGHT AND WRONG WAYS. BY G.n. Thero is a right and a wrong way of doing most things, and even in the matter of the best way of using house scraps for the inmates of tho poultry yard there is room for a good deal of mismanagement. In a well-ordered house thero ought not to he much of actual waste, but it is inevitable that fragments of bread, small portions of potatoes, meat scraps from tho table, odds and ends of vegetable cuttings, bacon rind, potato peelings, and tho liko should bo found in every house. It is a great pity to throw away or burn what might bo most profitably used for the benefit of the hens, but care must bo exercised, or the food will bo a negligible quantity. With regard to starchy foods, it is not good to givo fowls largo quantities of bread or potatoes, since tho result of such feeding would causo the formation of internal fat, and hence the reduction of the quantity of eggs produced. Potato peelings, again, must be used with great moderation. Thero is little actual nourishment in them, and what food thero is is of a starchy nature, so that the daily use of such is liable to have an injurious effect upon tho fowls. I am not condemning tho use of any ot these things, but am merely concerned to point out the dangers which may arise through these being used in too groat a proportion to tho other ingredients of tho morning mash. Bacon rind is much relished by the fowls, but it is necessary to cut it into small pieces, otherwise the fowl which takes possession of a large piece might in its haste get it across the crop, causing obstruction. Often when tho bacon is being cut in the house the rasher is found to be tiiicker at one end than the other, and so naturally the piece of rind which has been cut from it is threecornered at the end where it has been cut, and it is just this wide strip which is likely to cause stoppage of the crop, which may bo a very serious matter. Bacon rind should bo cut thinly. A fowl can manage to get a long, thin piece down just as it disposes of a lengthy worm, but the wide bits are really dangerous. Scraps and Vegetables. Often when fish is being cooked in the houso the fish skins and refuse are put asido for the fowls, and excellent as this food is for the birds there is another danger of crop stoppage if a piece of bone two inches in length gets across it. The small bones, if smashed up or cut into little bits, would not hurt fowls, but anything which is likely to cause an obstruction must be avoided. It is wise when cutting up the outer leaves of cabbages, cauliflowers, or savoys, to be boiled up in the hen pan to see that the fragments aro in narrow strips, not three-cornered slices, otherwise stoppage may be caused. We do not use the very coarse outer leaves nor the stems for boiling purposes but throw them down as they are to the fowls, which will enjoy picking them, and there is no danger, as they peck off only small pieces at a time.. I find one-third of house-scraps of all descriptions the best proportion to use to the other ingredients of the morning mash, and the liquor which has been used to boil lights may be used to cook the scraps with advantage. Where it is not possible to obtain the vegetable part of the scraps from one's own garden, a friendly greengrocer will often send in a weekly or biweekly supply of outside leaves and spare vegetables. Care should be taken that no rank or yellow leaves are cooked for the birds, as they are not good < for them, but if coarse leaves are cut up and boiled at once they will be none the worse for looking a bit withered. I have always found that the best way of mixing such a morning mash as that composed of pollard, bran and house scraps is to boil tho latter, pour it on tho bran, so that tho latter is thoroughly well | scalded, and then use pollard for the drying off. The feed should be brought to a consistency as dry as possible, and should not bo given .in a sticky condition. , Value ol Charcoal. j The value of charcoal cannot be overestimated. In the case of crop troubles, digestive orders, and the like, charcoal sweetens the various organs and their contents, preventing the latter from turning sour and sending off poisonous gases. If the fowls do not take too much it can bo left always before them; but in some cases the birds will take an excess, when it should bo put bofore them only two or three times weekly. Tho samo applies to growing stock, but it is well to let the latter become accustomed to it, or they will not touch it as adults. It should be introduced gradually if they arc not accustomed to it. It is a simple matter to make charcoal after one has mastered tho gentle art. Hard woods aro usually employed, but the softer kinds can be treated. Dig a small pit in tho ground and make a nico firo with paper and small, dry sticks of wood. When well going, place tho hard wood in small pieces on the top until tho pit is full. When it is full of red-hot embers, cover with a sheet of tin or galvanised iron, and then placo soil thickly on top. Tho next day the pit shoulcl be opened, and the charcoal will bo ready. Break it into small pioces for the fowls. - When egg-production is the solo object in view, fowls undoubtedly do better in limited rung than when allowed the uso of a free run, and especially-does this apply •to birds kept for tho production of winter eggs. Tho birds that make such wonderful egg-producing records in the laying competitions aro confined to limited runs. Advantages ol Limited Euns. Wherein lies the secret of tho success achieved with laying stock kept under confined conditions ? Well, tho birds aVo under better control. They can be exercised sufficiently among scratching litter during periods of wet and cold weather to keep up bodily heat and to prevent internal fatness. Tho food becomes more ovenly distributed among tho flock and tho flock itself is generally smaller than that kept on free _ range. Tho conditions under which tho birds aro kept render work among them more comfortable for tho attendant, and so less negligenco in any part of management is likely to occur. Fowls kept on limited range aro under control, as they can bo fed on properlybalanced rations, or rations sufficiently balanced to ensure physical stamina, and a profitable output of eggs. Fowls running on free range fill their crops with a lot of useless food. There aro times when dry weather toughens tho pasturo and renders the existonco of insect lifo imI possiblo. During tho warm weather the attendant, if he studies his fowls' qomfort, supplies them with fresh, cool water during the day. Kept on freo range, the fowls stray far afield, and rather than return to the drinking vessel when thirsty, they prefer to drink the contents of a puddlo to tho ondangennent of their health. I'owls kept on limited runs aro generally on hotter terms with the attendant than those kept on free range. It is false economy to endeavour to rear chickens on cheap food-stuffs or to ornploy choap plant. A person who tries to adopt that policy will end up with 100 matured birds out of 500 chicks hatched, and he must add to his outlay on cheap foods and plant the loss of 400 birds.