FEATHER-PULLING AND EGGEATING

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1315, 13 May 1897, Page 28

FEATHER-PULLING AND EGGEATING

This is a vice often indulged in by poultry when closely contined, especially during cold weather. It not only makes the hens unsightly, but retards egg-laying. Ooating the feathers around tbo bare spots with tar will partly prevent it. The proper thing to do is nevor allow the fowls to acquire the habit. If one hen t-onmiences the practice it is bettor to ? erve her up for dinner at once, f r she will soon teach the trick to all the rest. With proper food and exercise (says the Epitomist ) the poultry will never acquire i he habit. Meat in some form should be fed at least three mornings a woek—four » r live is better. We feed it every morning in the soft mash, but of courso we j ed less at a time than if we fed it three « r four times a week. Do not fail to keep v. small box of clean grit before the fowls all times, and, above all, make them scratch for all they get, excepting the morning feed. We all get into mischief when idle ; therefore, idle hens not only «(o not hi}', but they also get into featherpulling and egg eating. Dike feather-pulling, egg-eating is f usually caused by idleness or lack of pfner food, or carelessness on the put of ? be cwner. By carelessness we mean wghet to take proper care of the egg, or providing too few or too small nests. During cold weather eggs should be gathered up twice a day. Always go into i he roost at noon and see if any eggs have been laid on the fiber, thus liable to be i-svkeu and eaten by the hens. The nest boxes sin u'd be. of good size, so that if two or more hens wish to lay in the same i .-x at the same time they will not be so crowded as to break the eggs, Have the

sidep of the egg boxes low, so that the hen can step down to the nest and not hive to jump down. By frequently gathering the eggs it will lessen the chance of breakage. Hens will greedily devour a broken egg, but will not break a shell purposely unless taught the trick by another, or by frequently eating broken eggs. Like feat liarpulling, one hen will teach it to all the rest. When once acquired it is very hard to break them of it. Some writer advocate dirk nests or placing nest boxes in dark corners. While there i 3 no harm in following this plan, there is, however, no good reason for it. Wo have never had our hens acquire this habit, and the most popular nest boxes we have are those placed in the corners next the window, or the lightest place in the house. One nest box ia only Gin or lGin above the scratching floor, and made of a so-.p box with simply the top cover removed. This is the most popular nest with the hens in that house. We, however, prefer to elevate the nest box some 2ft or 3ft from the floor, unless the bens are heavy, as it partly prevents the hens from scratching therein. By placing a cover on a nest it will largely prevent sortiching, but this adds to the trouble of cleaning or white washing.- In nailing up a nest uso long nails, and do nob drive them quite in, thus making it easy to draw them when wishing to clean house. Proper feeding and exercise will also prevent egg-eating.-The heavy breeds ere more apt to bread eggs than the lighter weight breeds.