POULTRY KEEPING

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1628, 13 May 1903, Page 64 (Supplement)

POULTRY KEEPING

(By Mrs Edward Moul, Late Lecturer on Dairying to the County Council of Cumberland.)

SEASONABLE NOTES

How often we hear and read nowadays about "Poultry Keeping for Pleasure and Profit"; and. in theory, how delightfully easy and profitable the occupation appears. Worried parents* thankfully conclude that at last they have found the very occupation of all others that will suit a son who has proved unable to fix his mind upon the profession or occupation most adapted ix> his abilities.

"Why—a Poultry Farm. Of course; the very thing!" A healthy, open-air. and free life, with few cares and evidently a most paying employment. Quite light. It can rightfully boast all these advantages, provided Hie undertaking is entered lipou with a determina-' tion to give the same attention to tfiTm occupation as to any other that would be entered upon seriously. Where failure ensues, investigation too often prove® that the place selected was unsuitable

for poultry-keeping, though charming as to rural surroundings; that the qualifications of the person were no greater than "He is so handy at carpentry. Those fret-work brackets he made for mother. Surely, a talent like that might be turned to immense account with poultry-houses. And then, how fond of birds! Don t you remember bow wonderfully he taught the parrot to say 'God Bless You ?’ ’ Or the attractions of the hunt, the river, or shooting, proved far more powerful than superintending the poultry. And so. sorrowfully, a dearly-bought experience results in the. verdict : “Poultry don’t pay.” The ideal occupation is voted a “Castle in Spain,” and the poultry farm offered as a going concern for purchase; or is brought beneath the auctioneer’s hammer—costly machinery, “incubators, foster-mothers, etc., being disposed of for anything they may fetch and purchased, by others, who will, we hope, by proper attention make the profit missed by the vendor. “Why did he go in for.it?” was the remark overheard at the winding up of on© of these “ideal, farms” the other day. “Why do people play billiards?” Avas tire reply. “To play, I suppose.” “Oh, no, you play billiards to play, but you can’t play at poultry-keeping.” Quite right, you cannot, and the result liapproved the correctness of the conclusion. If the occupation is not entered upon in the tru© spirit of business, it Avill only spell failure, and should never* be undertaken. EGG TESTING Is a- valuable operation that has many advantages,, not least amongst them being the saving of time and disappointment in l ascertaining the fertility of the eggs and replacing them. Avi.th those that are fertile.

THE METHOD OF EXAMINATION. ; ; The eggs should be tested upon the coventh or eighth day, and again on the fourteenth or fifteenth day. Testing lamps are easily procurable, or an ordinary lamp may be employed, enclosed in a wooden box Avithout a lid., having a hole about three inches in diameter cut out of one side, directly opposite the flame; The object is to only permit the light to be seen through the body of the egg. The egg should be Held in the operator’s left hand—between the forefinger and the hollow of the thumb, and held up to t he light, when the Avhole of the contents of the shell may be seen A FERTILE EGG.

If the egg is fertile, it will be found, to have a dark patch in the centre, and a number of red streaks running in various directions radially. On the seventh day the dark patch is visible, but not the small veins and streaks. An unfertile egg. is perfectly clear, like a neAv-laid one. Note.—By the seventh day all fertile eggs will have developed sufficiently 1o tlenicnertrate the fact by their opaqueness.

AN ADDLED EGG’ Is distinguished by a dark spot adhering to the shell, and a cloudy, ill-defined appearance generally. An egg Avhose yollc is broken, or where only a feeble aOempt at germination lias commenced, will generally be found to have a blood-red line attached to the shell at. that side -which has lain uppermost. Note. —It is a good plan to mark those eggs which are doubtful, and to correct your judgment in distinguishing the fertile from the unfertile.

. Eggs decidedly unfertile are quite good for culinary purposes, and can be bodied and chopped up a;s food for the newlyhatched chicks. As the embryo gets more and more developed, the egg becomes darker and the air space greater at the large end of the egg. If a fertile egg has been incubating for even twenty-four hours, a small speck is visible, but it is not discernible in thick Ofr dark-shelled eggs; but if tlie eggs av©i*o Broken open, it Avould be perceived 1 fiat the vesicle had enlarged, and radiating from it would be a number cf minute blood-ve-s seis.

On tire third day these blood-vessels will ha.ve completely surrounded the yelk, and the small dark spot in ilie centre avjll have developed into the eye or hra.n. The brain is the first part to take definite form.

On or about tbe fourth day a respiira--tory membrane is formed, and the egg gradually increase.? in'opacity until after the seventh day, it.is not practicable to form any judgment of the progress of the, chick by means of light. By the tenth day the bones of the skele-. ton have begun "to assume consistency, the internal organs have a decided shape, the heart is formed, and ail vital parts are complete. On certain parts feathers are growing, and ail development from hence is rapidly carried on. On the twelfth day heat is given out, and this is easily demonstrated to those who use incubators, as less heat is required to keep up the temperature, and it is generally necessary to move back* the weight. Note—There is much more danger in exposing eggs during the early days of incubation than later on. The chick reaches its perfect form on the fifteenth day. and from thence grows in size, until, on the nineteenth day, respiration through the lungs takes place'. Tip to within a few hours of the exit of the chick from the shell, the egg bag lies outside the bird. Immediately before batching it is absorbed into the intestines, and forms sufficient sustenance for the chick for twenty-four nours. Therefore, people should avoid attempting to cram the little birds until this time has passed, when, if they are healthy, they will help themselves readilv enough. If all has gone well the eggs will to chip not later than the twentieth day, and the chick leave the shell unassisted in from twelve to eighteen hcuis from after the first appearance of the trill.

TRKA.TMENT OP YOUNG CHICKENS 1 . If under hens it is the best plan to remove those already out to a waxjh place, until the rest are hatched. If iri incubators they should be placed, in the drying box, the tray of which should have been previously littered With some absorbent material, such as peat moss. If there are many birds in the drying box, the lid should be raised a. little to admit

air and. the glass covered with some map terial to prevent the radiation of heat. The young chick is provided with a hard scale on its beak, the object of which is.to provide it with the*means cf fracturing the shell. Many people foolishly advise the removal of this horn, which is quite Avrong. and will, upon observation, be-found to have disappeared in a Aveek. When, it is apparent- that the appetites of”the chicks have been established; they should be fed on soft food, such as poultry meal, to which bird san<l or some gritty substance has been added, as all birds require gritty material to enable them to digest their food. If the chickens are kept dry during, the early days of their lives, a, great many more Avill be reared, as half the early-Broods are carried off by cramp. They: should therefore be carefully Avatched for the first symptoms, and treated accordingly. It is best not to put early chickens on to the grass. The greatest success- Avill be realised by those rearers who - place their young'broods upon dry ground, and do "not let them run into the long wet grass. Weakly and deformed chickens should be killed 'off. But if the precaution, not to inbreed is taken, and only mature and sound stock birds are bred from, very few casualties Avill occur, and fjvr less trouble Avill be incurred in raising the broods to healthy chickens and maintaining the health of the rising stock.