POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19417, 27 August 1926, Page 16

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

REARING OF CHICKENS. SUCCESSFUL. METHODS. ATTENTION TO FEEDING. " BY G.'H, Tho most vital essential between success and failure in poultry-farming is the rearing of chickens. Thousands of chickens die (or, rather, are killed) anually within six weeks from when they are hatched, : and it is an established fact that the rato of mortality among young chickens is quite 50 per cent. Tho causes of this groat loss are many, but I am fully convinced that the majority can be avoided, and losses be reduced to & minimum. Successful roaring depends largely upon the strength and stamina of the stock birds. If the stock is not right, the chicks will not be right, and will die, no matter what care and attention may be given them. Stamina and vigour must be the all-determining factors in the breeding stock, especially if the chickens are intended for egg-production. The mating of this class of stock must be carried out with rigid selection, as it must always be remembered that increased productiveness tends to degeneracy and loss of constitutional vigour. Another cause is erroneous feeding and management of the stock. I firmly believe that the great layer of to-day is as much the result of good feeding and management as the special blending of strain and breeding. For example, an over-fat hen wil not only breed offspring with weakened vitality, 'but the offspring will also prove only moderate layers, and every generation of badly-fed stock will deteriorate accordingly. Never breed from a bird that lays a deformed or rough-shelled egg. The condition of a bird can usually be told by the egg she lays. Artificial Hatching. If chickens are reared on a large scale or during autumn and winter months, when broody hens are scarce, artificial hatching and rearing must bo resorted to. In artificial rearing, many people put too many chickens together. Make sure tho temperature of the brooder chamber is correct, for if chickens once get thoroughly chilled or over-heated at the start it is often fatal. Ninety degrees is the correct temperature of the warm chamber when chickens are first put in, but it' should be cooled down to 70 degrees within three weeks in cold weather, and one week in hot. Some successful rearers never use a thermometer, but are guided by the chickens. If they are too cold they will give a miserable, plaintive chirp, if too hot they will be restless and pant. The way they huddle together should show in a moment if anything is wrong. Chickens apparently always do well for the first week .or 10 days, then they begin to droop; but tho mischief has been done in the first few days, and medicines are of little use when the hatch has once gone wrong. Straw-chaff, wood-choppings, hayseeds mixed with sand, are good litters for chickens, but the material should not be allowed to get too dry; if it does, sprinkle occasionally with a little water. The litter should be at least, two inches deop. Each foster-mother should have a covered-in run attached, six feet by two feet six inches being a useful size for 40 chicks; the back and top boarded, but wire-netting front, and no bottom. This will prevent loss from cats, hawks, etc. Chickens must be lei out on the ground as soon as possible, but they must be kept dry. " I have found that numerous losses are caused through chickens being allowed to run out on the wet, cold ground; but I do not believe in coddling thefn. 1 Keeping them shut in, ; even if floors are littered with earth, is as harmful as letting them out in the wet. Hence the. covered-in run is indispensable in bad weather, either for artificial or natural rearing. 1 Fresh Ground lor Chicks. The foster-mothers and runs should be moved on to fresh ground every other day, and chickens should not bo allowed out of these runs until they are a month old, unless, of course, the weather be dry and warm. The sleeping chambers should be cleaned out . every week, as dirt and smell are fatal to young chickens. Foster-mothers should be disinfected every three months . with a strong solution of a good disinfectant. ■ When chickens are 10 weeks old they should be drafted to colony houses, where they have more space and cleaner ground. It should be well known that chickens, whether hatched artificially or naturally, should not be fed for 36 or 48 hour's after hatching. Feeding should be done in the cool chamber after the first day, excepting for a little dry feed which may be given in the hot chamber at night. Soft foods should always be given on feeding boards or in troughs. Having tried almost every system of feeding, I find the best quality food the cheapest for young chickens. Digestibility is of far more importance than analysis, and any food that cannot be given with safety to young, stock is npt worth so much a unit of albuminoids as one that can be, even for older stock. When feeding for the first few days always sprinkle a little fine chicken grit on the feeding boards. When feeding soft food of any kind to chickens always see. that it is dry and crumbly, and not a. wet, sticky mess. . Avcklance of Over-feeding. This is important. ..Great care should bo taken not to over-feed during the first three weeks. The chickens' first feed should be of hard-boiled egg (unfertile will do, ; addled ones will 'not), minced with the shell and. dried off with fine ground oats or oatmeal. The first day the chicks should bo fed five times on this food, and it. will give them a good start. The second day's feed should consist of egg and oats, with second and fifth, meals of a good dry . chick food. Then, from 'this time to the third week they should have five feeds a day, alternately •of ,dry and- soft food, but always let the last feed be of dry chick food. •An occasional feed of boiled wheat is good for a change, but do not feed too much at once, and never allow any soft food to lie about and become sour. Feed . dry feed in the litter after the third day, so that the chickens have to scratch for it. After three weeks the meals can be reduced to three a day, and a little meat meal can be added to the soft foods. Onions, lettuce, cress and lucerne can be chopped up as green food and given daily from tho' start, while granulated charcoal and fine grit should always be before the birds.. Importance o! Drinking Supply, When the chickens are first put into the foster-mother or with the hen, see - that they have water, or milk and water, to drink. The drinking vessel should be arranged bo that the chickens-cannot get into it. I haye seen some fine batches of chickens spoiled through getting into the drinking water; but never allow . chickens to go without drink of some kind. • Gapes is not very prevalent in New Zealand, but should thdre happen to be an outbreak of these or of colds, a few drops of oil of thyme or a few flakes of camphor Ehould be added to the drinking water. You should keep a keen eye on the male bird in your breeding pens. If he fights the hens atid does not allow them to cat and generally seems ungallant he will most likely do no good, and is better replaced. On the other hand, there are male birds who never attempt to cat until the hens have eaten all the food. In such cases one must see that lie is fed apart, or his health and usefulness will suffer.