POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19779, 28 October 1927, Page 16

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

SOMETHING ABOUT TURKEYS. BREEDING AND REARING. HINTS ON HATCHING. BY G.H. One hears a great number of people say that turkeys are a great deal of trouble that they are difficult to rear, that they eat a quantity of food, and that in the end they do not pay. In some cases they do not pay,, but is it the fault of the bird or of its owner? I am of opinion that it is the latter. My experience is that if turkeys are bred from healthy parents and are well cared for from the time they leave the shell until the} are fit for the Christmas market, no branch of the poultry industry

can be made to pay better, as if you have good birds you can always sell them, and, up to the present time, at a fair price.

To be a successful breeder you require plenty of room, for turkeys love liberty, and will not do well in close quarters. Then you mus' have healthy stock and fair-sized birds, Of course, different breeders have different ways, but, for my own part, I should never breed from pullets unless they were mated to a two-yeav-old bird, and then there is always a great risk that the turkey cock will be too heavy for his mate. I prefer two-year-old hens mated to a young cockerel of about 251b. weight as the better of the two methods.

Toward the end of September or the beginning of October is a very good time fyr the hens to commence to lay. When you see the lieu wandering away by herself you may feel certain that it will not be many day? before she will lay. At this time, of course, they want a little looking after because they lay in the most out-of-the-way places, and then cover their eggs with leaves or anything else close at hand A3 a rule, a hen turkey lays from fifteen to eighteen eggs, and then she want., to sit. The question then is whether you are going to lot her hatch her owi eggs or shut her up.

If yo shut her up for a w£ek she will soon comment 1 to lay again; but if, on the other hand, you let her have her liberty, you may always kn»w where she is, because she will sit on her nttst for weeks, even if there is nothing but stones to sit on She is the best incubator I know, and very quiet if used gently. Care at Hatching Time. Many breeders prefer to put the eggs into an incubator. Others, as soon as they have six or seven put them under a reliable broody hen, and leave the turkey free to lay a second batch of eggs. I have tried the various methods. I find that it is best to allow the ben turkey to hatch her own eggs. First, she is a good ,sitter, and wil< cove, a set of eggs without breakmc then; secondly, you have a good number of chicks at one time; and, best of all sht is a good mother When ! know sht wants to sit 1 make quite certan. tha' her nest is large enough to hold twenty eggs, so that she may have room enoug! to turn them without rolling then ou* o' the nest and I always let her sit where she lays her eggs If it is in a suitable place I put a coop over her After the turkc\ hen has once settled on her eggs- it is not wise to disturb her She should bt visited once a day giving her water and corn, placing both at some distanc from her so that she must come off her nest to feed While she is feeding one can set- if her eggs are all right without upsetting her I have on several occasions known a turkey hen to hatch twenty chick« from twenty eggs. ['he next thins will be to put her, with her chicks, into a coop which should be large enough for her to stand upright in and alsc be able to turn round in. Otherwise disaste is bound to follow to the chicks, for they are snch stupid little creatures that they never seem to know how tc get out of the way. Before putting .the chicks into the coop the hen should have a good feed so that she may settle do-.'-n The chicks will not want feeding ur.til the next day. Value of ft Good Start.

Then the work must commence in earnest, for a good start is half the battle. Feed and wate< thp hen first. Ihe chicks can be fed with hard-boiled eggs and green food chopped very fine, such as onion tops, lettuce leaves, etc. They must have green food of some kind given to them until they are able to pick their own. After feeding them for a day or two on eggs they should be gradually put on to oatmeal, barley meal, ground oats and fine sharps, mixed up to a crumbly state It is not advisable to give the samt kind of food twice in succession, but the green food should be continued as long as they care to have it rhey soon, however, find out and pick their own fill of the latter and as soon as they will eat it some good sound wheat may be given though as young birds they are not very partial to corn _ After about six or seven weeks, if thev have a good paddock to roam about in, they pick up a good deal of their own food, sucn as grass or clover, and insects, of which they are very fond After that they are not much trouble. All they want is good feeding, and as much as they will eat, both of meal and corn. They must have plenty of water to drink, and should not be overcrowded in the sleeping quarters. If they are attended to properly, from the time they are hatched until they are fit. for sale, they will pay the breeder and give satisfaction tc the purchaser.