THE POULTRY RUN

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12406, 27 March 1926, Page 19

THE POULTRY RUN

SEASONABLE HINTS SELECTION OF POULTRY BY HANDLING TRAP-NESTING AND WHAT IT WILL DO (Written by Geo. H. Ambler.) There is one thing which will pay more than any other, and that is winder eggs, but if birds in lay are put with those in moult and others which are two months 'off, it may mean a loss of 30 eggs per bird over the whole flock. By handling pullets one can, tell whether they are ready to lay or how far off, with a little practice. Place the thumb on the hack of the pullet near the tail, and the first and second fingers nnder the bird at the end of the breastbone. Press gently, and if the breastbone is pliable the hones are not set. " The pelvic hones should also be tested by pressure to see whether they are set. When the bones are firm, or set, the abdomen. hegins to fill, the vent to grow, and the ovary develops. A . bird which is ready to. lay to-morrow will have a three-finger space’between the pelvic bones, and if a heavy breed five-finger space from the end of the breastbone to the pelvics, ,a light breed having four to ffve fingers; the abdomen win he full and the vent targe. If the pelvic hones have ,onlv a ono-fipger space, the vent - small, and the abdomen, empty, the bird is about . -three months off laying. ■ " 4

A GUIDE TO-LAYING CONDITIONS

If the poultrykeeper can ’tell the laying "condition of-ihis pullets it will mean a great deal "'to'him. It is bad policy to buy .pullets., vyhep they are not laying and sell them just before they commence, , and again, when one has a number of pullets which do not lay well;, they are.'liable to imagine that the breeder • has sold them some “duds,-*- that they have bought the wrong strain, or that the breed is no,-'good. What does he do) Very likrily the quantity of fish or meat is doubled, then someone advises- him to try dry mash, and so it goes on. By the system of handling" which we use, you- will be able to tell just when., you ipay, expect eggs. ' • ■ When a bird sets in bone she begins to- jmtaffleahrrdii the pelvic bones and abdomen,‘also fat. One of the easiest .way» of. losing condition in a flock is •■starvation, and in- this connection it is well to consider the practice usually, followed in “curing” early laying, that is, reduced rations, .free range arid frequent change of ' quarters; My system is'to take out the early layers and let' -them lay. A pullet needs ripeness ■and, table condition when the first egg is due to drop, and if the rations are cut down witn the object of delaying, laying, she assumes- thd condition of . a bird which has laid a hundred eggs or more, so that by the time she has produced that number she is in a poor "condition,, and very possibly will develop roup or some other complaint. It is not necessary to handle every bird in a flock, for half a dozen will cate tfye condition of the remainder. BROODINESS AND CONDITION ‘

When a hen is allowed to get thoroughly broody she loses fier appetite and also loses her abdomen, while the ovary ceases to function. Such « bird will take ten to twelve' weeks'to get hack into laying again,-/blit if before she is allowed to go broody she is properly dealt with and is fed to stimulate egg production she will possibly take only a few days to get hack into lay again. At the recent Harper Adams’s laying trial the average period of broodiness is pine days per bird, and if the poultry-keeper is able to get this low average it means .that, he will lose, very few yggs. TRAP-NESTING AND ITS functions'

I am a believer in trap-nesting, but unless the poultry-keeper is observant, trap-nesting loses muph. of. its value. To merely record eggs without considering the birds’ condition is making the work quite automatic; observation and handling ,in cqnjunction with the trap-nest should be practised. It is not generally realised that an egg may be held up in/the oviduct due to excessive fat, which' prevents its entering the shelling department, with the result that although, the poultrykeeptfr is confident'it is“new laid,” the consumer finds a chicken in it! Of course such cases ate nht frequent. , Trap-nesting should-, apply only to birds which are fit for brooders and have the right body construction.-Ihis is another case where handling will assist the trap-nest, ’for it 'is a waste of time to record egg? from birds which are good layers and yet unfit for the breeding-pen A breeder must have a good wide hack, ample room between the lees, n nine full abdomen, and breed Characteristics.

THE EFFECT OF TEMPERAMENT The construction of a bird will de-

cide in itself what it is capable of doing, but temperament also has an offoct on its production. If a bird is greedy, for instance, she may be a good layer, but there is a tendency for her lo put on too much fat. In selecting birds to he trap-nested with a view to breeding from them later pn, any which squeal and are nervous should be discarded, because a bird which is easily upset is .just as quickly put off laying. A very common rule to follow is to .like all good layand detest the “duds.” A bird which' is easy to handle has the natural temperament of a heavy layer. Scratching exercise is a cure for fat birds and a “punishment” to them for not laying, but when a bird is laying heavily , she should not be made to lose 1 more condition by making her scratch. In. those cases the grain should he fed in the trough in the run. Many birds look quite big, 'but when handled are found to be small, while others

which look comparatively small handle Well. Tight feathering is an indication of the layer. If the abdomen and thighs are heavily feathered, egg-pro-duction will be found to be poor, whilst a fine silky feathering which is tight to the skin denotes tho laying type.' FEATHER-PICKING Hundreds of letters reach me annually soliciting advice how to’ cure the above; in fact, this vice seems much, mote prevalent to-day than in yeans -gone by. In my opinion, this increase is largely due to the. ever-increasing vogue—intensive culture —for all authorities ' ate agreed that insufficient exercise or idleness is a predisposing cause of this vicious habit. Do not .misunderstand me. I am not opposing intensive poultry culture, I am merely desirouo of pointing out one of the difficulties which attends this system, and which intensivists must overoome. And that difficulty is exercise. Without exercisce no fowl can keep healthy; without health no bird can be profitable. To promote activity when birds are kept under intensive conditions, the grain is deeply buried in the litter; so that the bird must work for it; and that for quite a prolonged period; whilst instead of wet maqli, dry mash is. generally employed, as this causes yet more* work. Either through ignorance or carelessness, these rules are frequently overlooked; then the birds lack exercise,- and Satan finds mischief for idle beaks—feather-picking being the result. And it is extraordinary how rapidly this vice spreads, particularly during the spring and at moulting time. Unless you actually observe