POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22198, 27 February 1934, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By Terrob.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT " Troubled."—The trouble is known as "layers' cramp," and it is thought that the* bile ducts have much to do with this annoying ailment, which frequently affects laying pullets. The trouble la supposed to be due to derangement ol the functions of the oviduct. Treatment: In addition to the old remedy of five drops of tincture of perchlonde of iron in a teaspoonful of milk every morning, it is now recommended to give a pill of compound rhubarb every night (live grains is enough). The pill will not hurt but, on the contrary, will do good. However, it is suggested that the pullets that recover should not be bred from. If this suggestion included the rule that birds suffering from any disease whatever should not be bred from, although cured, there would soon be seen more robust fowls than we have at present. Elimination of the Unthrifty The unthrifty hen, or the lien that has been cured of any disease, should never be bred from. No matter how good the parent stock may be, or how high their inherited producing Qualities, there will usually be some unprofitable, birds among the progeny, and it is only by the systematic culling of, such undesirables that poultry keeping can be .run on economic lines. It is poor business to feed hens that lay only a comparatively limited number of eggs, during the plentiful months of the year and spend the rest of their time idle. Such birds are merely boarders, and are liabilities to their owners. A number of poor producers' in a flock will soop eat up the profits made by their more industrious sisters. It is, therefore, most important that all culls should be disposed of. as early in life as possible. The right tune to cull is not once a year,, or any fixed season, but is a matter which demandb attention all the year round. There arcmany means of distinguishing the good layer from the bad one, and it is by these indications that culling may be carried out. A strict watch must at all times be kept on the flocks, and .the moment the first signs of unthriftiness become apparent in a bird that' bird should be culled without delay. Money in Table Birds A former Government poultry expert (Mr D. F 'Lauri) tells the readers in the Adelaide Chronicle .''that there is money to be made in table birds, but adds: "They must be good." He spys there is a good demand for the right type of fowl and that three weeks of scientific fattening makes all the difference between large and small returns. It happens that here in Dunedin at the time when the Government has established depots in each of the chief centres of the Dominion to pluck and prepare birds sent in by farmers for export that the rejects were bought up by one man for a-"song" and after being fed on pollard for two or three weeks were accepted at the depot as fit for export. He said he could not understand the mentality of the farmers who sent such stuff in for export. "They provided," he said, " the whole bird body, bones, feathers,' everything, but overlook the fact that only just a little fattening is required to make them worth anything. But I don't mind—so long as they are prepared to provide the birds I am willing to earn the profits." Mr Lauri gays that suitable birds result from suitable specimens fattened in coops. While 4he fattening process goes on birds ■ require no exercise. Small houses or coons can hold almost '. as many birds as there is standing loom for,V:and if the birds are ordinarily healthy they will" soon fatten. Three good feeds a day will give satisfactory results in from 18 to 21 days. He points out that ground wheat and barley are excellent fattening feeds, biil failing these bran a-nd pollard meal will do. In addition a little sweet fat may be mixed in. The mash should be mixed with hot water or'separator milk and be of the consistency of thick porridge and be fed in troughs. .No grain or green feed is fed to fattening birds. If sweet, fat is added not more than half a pound daily for 20' chickens or ducklings is required. It should be minced and thoroughly mixed . with the meal. All troughs must be kept eleaan. One look at the small specimens ' on poulterers' counters, which are actually bought, should suggest that properly prepared birds- would be engerly bought up. The culled out cockerels of dual purposo breeds make good table birds. " Chilled "; Not " New Laid " English poultry-keepers are much concerned because Dominion.eggs are branded in England as "New Laid." It is now decided upon that Dominion eggs must b<* branded " Chilled." Ventilation Carbon dioxide, which Is the gas given off by the fowls as they breathe, is lighter than air, and rises, but if i£ meets a heavyinrush of cold air from a top.ventilator in the fowl house it will be forced down around the fowls, whose health will inevitably suffer as a result. It follows then that if the air outlets at the top are placed wrongly, or are not baffed in some way, the ventilation is bad. Colds, roup, and bronchitis may quickly follow. The efficiency of the ventilators can be tested by means of smoke. In open-fronted fowlhouses which serve the combined purpose of scratching shed and sleeping quarters thej-e need be no concern about carbon dioxide.

The Feeding Question Just how much food to give a fowl cannot be set down as a fixed rule. The advice given for years past was to give them all they could clean up. While this is a good plan, a man having the charge of a large number of fowls can' hardly spare the time to watch them. A lien that is laying will consume more food than one which'is not laying; but the food supplied for laying hens must be different to that supplied for fattening purposes or to the breeding-pen birds. A hen to be in a food laying condition must not be overat, but in a good healthy condition. .Experts who make culture a specialty agree that about 1, quart of soft food in the morning and a pint of grain at noon, and a quart of grain at night, will keep 12 hens in good condition—this amount to be kept up daily. The food must be of a nature that will give bone, muscle, and elements for producing eggs. The evils of overfeeding are apoplexy, falling dead from the roost, egg-bound, soft-shelled eggs, etc. Study the question of food and the art of poultry feeding thoroughly. Purposes of Food Elements The purpose of .carbohydrates and fats is to supply nourishment and heat, while protein promotes productive energy. There are vegetable and animal proteins, and the latter are regarded as essential for productive poultry. A balanced ration for laying stock should contain one part protein to four parts of the others, and this is assured by adding animal protein, in the form of meatmeal or fishmeal, to the vegetable protein. A Sanitary Precaution Now that the hatching season is over all incubators and other appliances used should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before storing away. A disinfectant such as Jeyes' fluid (one part in 20 parts of water) is useful in such cases, and can be readily applied with a brush or as a spray. The poultry house will be the better of an application to the inside of limewash, with a little paraffin added, paying special attention to corners and crevices where* red mite and other vermin hide. The birds should be examined for lice. Should these be* present a narrow strip of nicotine sulphate (Blaekleaf 40), as purchased, painted on the upper surface of the perches before the birds go to roost is verv effective. The proportion of maize meal in the food of laying hens should be reduced during the warm weather. A plentiful supply of drinking water at all times is essential. —Northern Ministry of Agriculture (Ireland). Transmission of Laying Qualities In the course of a paper read by M. P. Waroquiez, of France, at the World's Poultry Congress in Rome, the following occurred: — Numerous works have been published on the inheritance of egg production, many of which seem to be based on the same theoretical foundation (Theories of Mendel) completed by statistics or the results of practical experiments. Since 1920 we have continually tested in our poultry farm (arranging hatching at the most favourable season for obtaining the maximum yield from the pullets) a number of the most accepted theories. '

Matings: Dam and son, grand-dam and grandson, have never given an increase in the " average " egg production. On the contrary, the total from the pullets showed a falling off. Sister and brother: Results definitely inferior. First cousins: Results superior to those obtained with dam and son and grand-dam and grandson. Second cousins: Results distinctly better, provided that a selection is always practised. We have always obtained very good layers from a direct cross of high-laying hens with a good cock of new blood. > In-breeding is found most effective (when it does not exceed a certain degree) for the transmission of morphological qualities. It seems opposed to the transmission of qualities of production, if the strains are already more or less enfeebled by previous iii-breeding. It should be restricted to cases of exceptional birds obtained from vigorous lots. Thus 'it must be admitted that the transmission of laying qualities by inbreeding must be practised only with birds obtained from matings of different bloods, and to the degree dam and son. or grand-c Pam and grandson once only, limiting later in-breeding to matings between cousins and second cousins after introduction of new blood. Flavour of Battery-brooded Chicks At a gathering in Essex of poultry breeders reference was made to battery chickens, and it was pointed out that there was a danger, if this system was extended too rapidly, of flooding the market. A very interesting point in this connection was brought out —namely, that Mr- Sainsbury distinctly stated that, so far as the experience of his firm was concerned.'they found that the battery chickens, whilst good in appearance and with soft flesh, were poor in flavour. That has been mentioned in other quarters, and is a matter of very considerable importance. With reference to' the colour of the the questions asked elicited the fact that white flesh should always be sought for, and it was stated that birds with that coloured flesh, and otherwise good, would command-,2d and 3d per lb more (ban those with dark or coloured flesh.