POULTRY NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5134, 28 November 1903, Page 16

POULTRY NOTES

(By “Oackler.”) Plontv of insect food, such as worrnE, slugs, etc., is very good for fowls ana. youim ducks. Nothing helps the dudes like a plentiful supply of worms, etc., and if the.,3 are allowed to go where there is a bank or a soft marshy place found they will bo seen to be most industriously picking v.p all they can find of this kind of food. Perhaps a very popular error on tno part of duck-keepers is that of shutting up their ducks in the evening. Incso birds feed in the evening when m their natural ■ state, and at no time will they forage so well as during tho twilight and evening. Ducks a.ro excellent foragers, and where there are fields and hedgerows, tbo young ducklings will got about half their food. If there are no foxes about, tho ducks 1 ’ sleeping boxes or houses should bo kept open, so that as soon as it is light tho young ducks can take tho opportunity of a free range over tho land, which they will enjoy, and tbo farmer will benefit also by, this ar--rangement, as tbo chicks cousin no all tho insects, worms, slugs, etc., which do tho farmer a lot of injury. It is often a matter of surprise to ns. that there arc so many fields unoccupied by fowls and ducks. If tho birds wore put in small flocks about the fields, they would got tbo greater part of their living for tho whole of tho spring and summer months, and tbo cost of their accommodation would not be a serious matter.

Those who havo young ducklings should bo careful to provide for them as much shade as possible, as they feel tho effects of t ho suu more than any other class of poultry. They need cool quarters and plenty of fresh drinking water. Those which are being reared for table purposes should havo their water half an hour before their food, as if they have it after they do not got nearly aa fat as they otherwise would. Tho insects increase very rapidly during the dry weather, and groat care should b’3 taken in cleansing tho porches and ho,uses thoroughly, so that no signs of vermin are left. This is such a vital question that poultry-keep-ers’Should take the greatest pains to .avclid anything like meglect, because tho little bugs increase so rapidly that only tho greatest vigilance can effectually prevent their ravages. Blood in eggs may result from, many causes. When tho cause is discovered tho remedy should suggest- itself. The first few eggs of pullets aro often bloody or contain a little bright blood. When tho egg organs get in running order, this condition usually passes off, and therefore needs no treatment. ,

Old hems frequently lay ' eggp with clots of blood in or attached to the yolk. These clots are probably caused by tto rupture of some email bloodvessel during the growth of t-ho yolk, or just as ,u becomes detached tc enter tho oviduct Injuries to laying fowls null oftentimes cause bloody eggs or blood clots in tho eggs. The injury may bo from jumping from too high a roost, a blo-w, or the abusive treatment of a too attentive cook. Tho too free use of'“egg foods” and over-forcing may, by causing irritation of tho ovaries and oviduct give riso to Wood in tho eggs, caused by , tho rupture of one or moro of the engorged blood vessels. Feeding diseased or “smutty” grain may also give rise to such a condition. Eggs from debilitated and diseased fowls that have boen confined in small coops with little or no run often contain blood, and snob are, of course, not fit to cat. A few farowniah-grey specks or blood clots in eggs from -perfectly healthy hons do no harm, and unless very numerous should not affect the sale of the eggs.

NOTES FOB BBEEDEBS. Never feed onions to tabio fowls. Cull out all old hens in thel flock. Freeh water should be supplied every morning. Grit and fresh water should always bo available. Lime is essential for forming egg sheila and bone. Green food should be regularly supplied to puu)' : . 'Don’t overstock your runs, it only leads to trouble. eop a goo-d look out for vermin in the roosting bouse. Bone meai should be frequently given to growing chickens. Cleanliness in the roosting house will save many troubles. rvoop only the utility breeds, they always pay if properly managed. Look ahead and prepare your birds for tho Christinas festivities. Keep tho drinking water in a shaded position away from tho sun. Store your eggs in a cool room if they are not being properly used. There is now a bountiful supply of eggs on ajll well managed poultry farms. A laying hen. to give the best results, should bo kept in loan condition. Tree lucerne makes an excellent hedge and provides quick shelter for fowls. . ■ " Don’t feed on maize in summer time to laying hens: it will pile up inside tat. Separate tho cockerels from tho pullots as scon as the former begin to ureIf you wish to perpetuate a good laying strain, hatch the eggs from the best layers only. 1 Soft feed in the mornings and grain at night aro tho correct classes of food to give poultry. Now is tho time to prepare for the coming warm season by providing shelter in the poultry runs. Tho prevalence of soft shelled eggs is through tho want'd' lime, and, in many instances, are found when hens are kept too fat.