POULTRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21136, 19 March 1932, Page 20

POULTRY INDUSTRY.

AUTUMN PREPARATIONS. HOUSING IN BROKEN WEATHER. BY .UTILITY. The magnificent weather experienced in Auckland and other districts during the past three months may lull many people into a false sense of safety from th 6 autumn risks to their poultry, but it will not he long before a rude awakening comes, for the temperature is bound to drop with a run when the. weather breaks again. Fortunately fowls can stand even a sharp fall in the temperature, provided the other conditions are right, whereas dampness and draughts are sure to cause trouble, and it is far better to be forewarned than to have all the labour of curing the birds when they become ill. In the late autumn and early winter the birds are particularly subject to colds, and these are often' the beginning of serious complications that cannot be cured at all. Roup is one of the worst of these, and it is so infectious that it may run very quickly through the whole, flock, so it is worth taking every possible precaution to avoid even a cold. The usual signs of a cold are eyes watering, an offensive breath, sneezing, and eventually often a cheesy matter forming in the eyes. The moment any of these signs are apparent, it is advisable to treat the birds with Condy's crystals. . Dissolve a teaspoonful of this in a. quart of water and keep it bottled, putting a teaspoonful of the solution in a, quart of their drinking water. They don't like it, and the only way to make them drink it is to give them no other water. In fact, it is not at all a bad precaution to give them the solution in their drinking water, to half the strength suggested above, as soon as changeable autumn weather comes, even before a single bird showns signs of a cold. The cost is negligible, and the trouble is far less than trying to cure even one bird when it catches a. colcf. Easy Precautions. Even better than giving the birds a medical precaution as described, one may suggest making the housing conditions such that they will keep well and strong. Colds are not, usually caused by cold weather, either in fowls or humans, and it is fairly easy to keep birds from this ailment by due attention to their house and yard. The usual cause of a cold is a draughty or badly-ventilated house, particularly if it is damp and dirty. Any sign of mustiness predisposes to colds, so a dry and clean floor is most essential. Whether it is of earth, wood or concrete, let it be covered with a nice litter of straw, deep enough to make them scratch for grain thrown into it, but not deep enough to become musty. The old idea- of a closed-m house has gone, fortunately, and now most houses have the front completely open, with nothing but wire-netting to keep the birds in, and even in the depth of winter itis not necessary to close this down. If the rain happens to be beating in, it is certainly worth taking the trouble to put a curtain of some kind to protect part of the front, but it would be better to let in the rain than to close down altogether ■in the old-fashioned way. If the' house is built the right way, facing the north or north-east, it will not. get very wet, for it never rains very long from that direction, and the. sun will soon dry up the floor again. Ventilation and sunlight are too important in a fowlhouse to be sacrificed for the sake of keeping out a little rain, although a hood would certainly be an advanteg-e, -if it can be conveniently attached and detached, coming down for about a couple of feet as a kind of

verandah. Trouble in the Yard. The most common lack in a yard is the due provision of shelter, from the sun in the summer, and from wind and rafn in the winter, and this is really remarkable when one considers the ease with which this can be provided. A few little fruit trees are all that are wanted for the summer shelter, and a small lean-to could be made very quickly, capable of giving shelter from rain and wind. If the yard is so small that with all these provisions there is hardly anything but mud where the fowls have to walk, the best thine is to shut them up altogether as soon as the weather breaks, and keep them in during the winter. This gives a good opportunity to dig up the yard and plant it in grass, to sweeten it for the spring, and the birds will do far better under cover. The advantage in digging over a. fowlyard cannot he over-estimated, for numerous diseases have been traced to microbes in foul soil, spoiled through continual yarding without being turned over. Soil is a wonderful purifier, and if it. is not dug too deeply it will thoroughly destroy all the harmful disease germs, especially if it is planted in grass. Bringing on the Pullets. Whether the birds are to be housed continuously, kept in a yard, or given free range, every care must be given to the pullets, for they should now be coming into profit. They cannot bo too well fed, for there is everything to gam by allowing them to develop good frames and plump condition, but on no account "is itwise to force them to lay by feeding too much meat. By all give them bone, either green or cooked, and plenty of green stuff and grit, and then they cannot eat too much. Several coirespcndents have remarked on their young birds being weak legged, but if they are well bred the lack is most probably in green stuff apd grit. By grit one does not mean simply broken oyster shell, but a full variety of shells and gravel, for they like both.