POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21552, 25 July 1933, Page 14

POULTRY INDUSTRY

BREEDING IN PROGRESS REARING HEALTHY CHICKS BY UTILITY Now that even the heavy breeds are losing their old tendency to becomo broody, it is not surprising to find a great many people trying an incubator. But there are still thousands of farmers who requiro a small number of chicks, and they naturally prefer to uso a few broody hens. However, these nro becoming scarcer every year, and those who want early chicks —always tho most valuable as producers—are sure to bo lamenting the difficulty in obtaining their requirements unless they set about tho necessary inquiry at once. Probably even now there arc enough broody liens in tho aggregate. Some havo too many for their immediate requirements, and pen up tho surplus they want to break; but others wait in vain for their own liens to go broody. For the next six or eight weeks any broody hen, large or small, will be too valuable to break, and could be sold at a mutually satisfactory prico, well above its ordinary value in tho market. Those who havo more than they require, therefore, should leave them on tho nest till they can make a sale. Better still, after leaving them for a day, to become settled, transfer them to a fresh nest, in a box that is readily movable, containing half-a-dozen artificial eggs. Tho hens will then be in a safe condition to bo taken to another farm, with tlio assurance that they will readily take to the new eggs. Obtaining Broody Hens

The man who wants tho broody hens should not'wait till the very day that ho has a full setting ready, for ho is unlikely to bo able to get ono just when he happens to need it. Early inquiry is tho best safeguard, and with several neighbours knowing of his probable requirements ho may save tho disappointment that ho would otherwise Buffer. One cannot be too careful in removing a broody hen to new premises. It is very easy to spoil everything by being too hasty. If the hen has been sitting for 48 hours in a movable nest that can be taken bodily, there is virtually no risk. Under such conditions nine hens out of ten would bo content to sit 011 golf or ping-pong balls. The trouble is that too many people are so impatient that they insist on moving a bird before it has settled down, thereby courting failure. In the meantime every care must be given to the breeding pen, for so much depends on giving the chicks a good start, and this begins with the requisite constituents in the egg itself. As a general principle, the best plan is not to adopt the policy that aims at quantity of eggs, but to produco a smaller number of better quality. Abundant mash, rich in meat, has a forcing tendency. With such a menu it is'' frequently found that well-bred birds will lay six or seven eggs a week regularly for months oh end. This is unwise in a breeding pen. It is far better to have five eggs a week, with just an occasional six. Green Food in Winter The best way to bring this about fs to gradually reduce the mash, and put a smaller proportion of meat in it, making up with occasional bone, as well as an abundant supply of shell grit of several varieties, mixed with gravel. Instead of feeding as much" mash as formerly, add grain to make up for a decreasing quantity. Whatever lias been fed before, whether wheat or a mixture, let the additional grain be oats, full-bodied, and clipped for preference.

A very necessary provision is green food. There is not so much actual nourishment in it, for it is mostly water, but it is rich in vitamins, and contains the properties which keep the birds so healthy that all their food is digested to best advantage. It is not often that green feed_ has been as plentiful in winter as it is this year. Consequently the supply for the fowlyard presents no difficulty. It is noticeable, however, that fowls are largely creatures of habit, and although they like a variety of green food, they nre not at all partial to those varieties to which they are not accustomed. As it i? not always possible to have a full supply of every variety each winter, the obvious precaution is to accustom birds to all kinds, from their youth up, and then they will readily eat whatever kinds happen to be in good supply.

Usefulness of Grass On the assumption that all farmers give their birds a moderate supply, so that they are not desperate to eat whatever is given to tliein, it will bo found that their preference depends 011 what tliev get when they are chicks. For instance, a mature flock will not readily take to mangolds, and yet these are such a convenient winter food that it is worth giving the chicks an occasional root, just to keep their taste in, in readiness for a possible scarcity of other kinds some winter. Probably of all kinds of green food the most useful is grass, obtainable at nil times of the year, and the birds will eat huge quantities. Nobody should miss an opportunity of cultivating their taste in this direction. This ran easily be done if they are taken in hand early. It renuires only half-a-minute a day to take a handful of grass and cut it up into small lengths "with scissors for a brood of chicks from the time they are a week old. By throwing in an odd leaf of cabbage, silver boot, chou moellier, or even n stalk of thistle, they will come to like them so much that they will_ subsequently eat any of these varieties that happen to be available.