POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19809, 2 December 1927, Page 18

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

BY G.H.

HOT WEATHER HINTS. GUARDING AGAINST DISEASE. NEED FOR SUITABLE FOOD.

Now that the warm weather has arrived chickens will get on rapidly. Owing to the bad weather conditions experienced during the breeding season, there are probably fewer chickens being reared than for some considerable time past, with tl)6 result there will be a big shortage oi pullets next April. Every endeavour must be made to get July and any aged chickens as large and forward as possible for the earlier shows. Soft I'ood helps size and plenitude of feathers. Let birds roost in open sheds or trees if they will, except such as will be spoilt by their plumage being exposed. Some of the earlier chickens, if very promising, and of the red or white varieties, may be taken up the latter part of this mouth and housed out of the rays of the sun which may cause the plumage to fade. Let such birds out in the early morning and again before sundown. Be sure that all the fresh air possible is given at night. Young chickens will run a great darigei if soft food is left about after each feeding for the sun speedily turns small morsels of food sour. The greatest care must be taken. It is a good plan to feed on a piece of roofing slate which can be washed after each day's feeding. The slate may be turned with each meal. Some advocate plenty of water being given. Otheri sn» phnty can be obtained naturally by the chickens. Where delicate chickens are concerned never leave them water. Let them drink, and then take, away the water. See that it is at the temperature of the air. Remove coops daily. If the weather is dry all bottoms should be taken out. An old sack hung before the coop will tend to keep it cool. Feed the hen first on her normal food, and let her drink freely. Then follow on with the better food for the chickens. Let all have a free range on fine days. Nature plays a great part in the well-bein£ of all young stock, and no section appreciates this more than tlr> fowl. Danger of Overcrowding. There is always a danger of overcrowding this month and next, for this reason: the adult stock are still on hand. One must not yield too much to these conditions, for overcrowding means delayed maturity. Many poultry-keepers ask why they did not get eggs in May. If they go back to December they will probably find their birds were ov^jcrowded, cch is no doubt the cause of few eggs in May. The birds must have room to develop. Many a man keeps a flock of, say, 100 in rather limited quarters and perhaps sells half a dozen. The half dozen lay weeks before hi.s 100 of the same stock, and he wonders why. It is often a difficult matter to know what to do with the cocks and cockerels which are being reserved for another year's work. They should be removed from the breeding pens and kept apart till mating time. Accomodation can, as i rule, be found for two or three birds, but when a large number is being kept, this is -impossible. The only course is to run the lot together in a fairly extensive grass run. Fighting, of course, will be the order of the day for a time, but the birds soon settle down. The fighting can be curtailed by keeping the cocks in the house for a few days, and if this is kept fairly dark just enough light being allowed for them to see to feed, they will settle much sooner. Each flock of young chickens can have an old bird with them. In this way the youngsters are kept in order, and the old cock himself benefits by the 'extra run allowed him. Many object to the system of amalgamating the males owing to the damage of combs, wattles, nnd other prominent points. From an exhibitor's point of view the system would be detrimental, but the utility breeder need not worry over the matter, although it must be confessed that now and again one may be troubled with the rather severe cases of canker owing to the wounds festering. Attention to Wounds. After a fight, carbolised vaseline should be • applied, or a plan which is better still is to wash the head of the bird in a strong solution of disinfectant, and to paint the growth with tincture of iodine. Every few days the growing cockerels should be examined, and a few of the best brought in for special feeding. • A fortnight on a fattening ration puts a finish on to the birds, and the extra price obtained more than pays for any labour involved. During the past three months I have had quite a number of letters from pouiltrykeepers having imaginary diseases among their chickens and growing stock, Is it not true, as has been generally considered, that all animals harbour different germs, which are ready to multiply the attack the moment the body becomes debilitated ? The presence of white diarrhoea in a flock of young chickens has a part in spreading the infection. But what starts the trouble in the first place? Is it not the presence of a specific organism, which is no longer held in check as the result of the chicks becoming overheated in the incubator or chilled and crowded in the brooder ? Disease germs are more or less common, yet domestic animals do not. as a rule, break down and succumb to them unless their natural resistance to disease is lowered by poor management. The thing for the practical poultrykeeper to do is to keep his fowls and chicks in good health, so that Nature's power to resist disease—that power which develops antitoxins to hold in check the gsrms that would develop—is maintained at its maximum strength. You will find that the ordinarily successful poultrykeeper known very little about disease, but he knows a great deal about health and good management.