POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22204, 6 March 1934, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By IERBOX.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT “ Valley.”—Yes, bread serves a useful purpose in the mash,' but it should not be used* in excess. A properly-made mash should be balanced in respect to nitrogenous and carbonaceous contents. Bread should be placed in the oven till it is dry, then passed through a grater and added to the soft food, or, alternatively, it may be placed in a jug and warm milk poured over it in just sufficient quantity to be absorbed by the bread. By using surplus bread from the household table you practice economy, and so far as quality is observed, economic method of feeding poultry is advisable. Make Men Happy with Hobbies H.R.H. Prince George, in opening the Derby Poultry Show in December last, said that every man should have a hobby, and he praised the promoters of the show for encouraging hobbies- for men and the keeping of pets by children in town areas. He said: — “ Dwellers in Great Britain were lovers and protectors of the animal world. Most of them had owned a pet at one time in their lives, and pets; should be regarded as an important feature in the building up of character in the younger generation. The keeping of small livestock in towns should always be encouraged. “ By these shows the society did a further service by drawing people together who had interests in common. Theirs was a democratic movement which united in friendship and healthy competition all ranks and all classes. Livestock hobbies made men more efficient workers for their employers, and big industries, like the railways, should see the value of fostering a love of animals and birds and of encouraging livestock keeping in towns, A Poultry Association Conference

A conference of delegates attended the New Zealand Poultry Association’s meeting at Wellington towards the end of January, when about 30 of the leading poultrymen were present. The rousing welcome given to Mr C. Macmillan when he opened the conference showed the appreciation of his ■ services in no mean manner. In his opening speech Mr Macmillan stressed the value of the good work accomplished in the past by the association, by egg-laying contests and by poultry clubs. He ventured the opinion that, had the association not been in existence we might to-day have been importing eggs instead of exporting them. He pointed out that our export trade might yet he developed into greater numbers, showing that for every £1 worth of eggs exported from New Zealand Australia sent £lOl, China £SOO, and Denmark £OOO. Mr Walter Nash, M.P., issued a warning that - the proposed Poultry Board should not exploit the public, and repeated his former statements that it required a thorough training in order to make a success of poultry keeping as a means of livelihood. Tha Timid Ones and the Bullies In every large flock of layers there are some hens that do not get their fair share of the mash because they are bullied by the more aggressive birds; and as- some of the timid birds may be good—if not the best layers—layers, giving a fair deal, a good plan is to separate the flock into pens, selecting the timid birds for one and the aggressive ones for the other. Providing extra hoppers will often, help all birds to get their full ration.

Capacity ’ In planning a poultry plant it Is recommended that at least one-eighth of an acre should be allowed in the run for every 250 fowls, employing the double run system to maintain sanitary conditions within the fences. With the double runs of. equal size, it is possible to have a crop in one while the chickens are running in the other, when a green crop such ns lucerne, oats, clover, or other suitable green stuff has been sown. When this green stuff has been fairly well cleaned up by the birds, they are turned into the alternate yard, where a fresh crop is waitihg them, and the yard they have just been- running in is ploughed and seeded for' another crop. ** ■:> T'. V'*> * . Wire Floors Wire floors 'in the poultry houses has come, into use in,many plants abroad during the last few years and experimental stations that have tested this method of raising poultry have approved it as an added' fortification against poultry diseases. In combating coceidiosis, wire floors have proved successful in brooder houses. Wire floors in the houses where the birds perch at night certainly tend to cleanliness, but fowls cannot become strong and vigorous birds and be happy and contented unless there is either a scratching floor or an outside run. Where the scratching shed is also fitted with perches it is a good plan to fix netted wire under the perches so that the dung dropped during the night passes through the wire to trays on the dropping board, and consequently cannot be stepped upon. Learning Whila Earning Poultry farming is a "seven-day a week ” business and cannot be started (says a Home writer) without knowledge and experience. “Terror" has stressed this fact repeatedly. Poultry farming at. tracts many city' dwellers because it isi associated with outdoor life; but they should realise that it is a 12-hour day job, free of fascination, it is true. There are few idle moments in poultry farming; method and system are essential, also commercial ability in order to make a living from the birds. The most successful men in the poultry industry to-day have commenced with a few birds and built up year by year from their “ learning while earning.” Those who have. already started are urged to “cull, cull, cull.” Every bird kept must have the necessary anatomical properties “to deliver'the goods.” Winter egg production must be the main objective; because the eggs in the scarce season bring the beat prices,

The Twelve-month Layer . Tests are being carried out at Stroud, near Gloucester, on a method of poultry feeding which, according to the inventor/ fattens chickens more quickly, : produces heavier birds, makes them lay more eggs of a larger size, and shows a great savn ing in the food bill. Furthermore, he asserts that these conditions prevail for 12 months in the year. 1 Onions Beneficial ‘

Cutting up onions is not a, (pleasant pastime, but every poultry-keeper should realise their value for fowls. As a tonic they cool the blood, and whenever onions arc fed regularly intestinal worms will be kept at bay. The green tops are equally useful. Science has yet to find: a better treatment for a worm than Onions, as nearly all poisons used to eradicate the several kinds of intestinal worms act also on the fowl, and fail to reach the desired portion of the intestine where the worms live. v ■' Electricity on the Farm The agricultural correspondent to The Times, writing in the special electrical supplement which was issued recently, writes: “A good many poultry farmers are already users of electricity - from a Eublic supply. The lighting of, poultry onses to lengthen the short winter, days and stimulate food consumption -and egg production has been adopted on a con-, siderable scale, and on intensive farms is probably a good investment. Electricity; with its ease of control, has advantages for incubation on a large scale, and several of the biggest hatcheries are dependent upon electricity. The advantages of this source of heat will be recognised by farmers working on a smaller scale if suitable equipment can be supplied to give low running costs.”

A Ditease-free Farm The following are extracts from a_ paper read by Miss E. E. Kidd at a conference organised by the Surrey (England) Agricultural Committee:—

“ The disease question is important not only because profits are now relatively lower, but also because the death rate on farms and in laying trials is apparently increasing. This, in ! spite of the fact that research workers have given'us; methods of control over four of the most: infectious diseases—B.W.D., fowl pox,i avian tuberculosis, and fowl typhoid. j "This serious check to the progress of|. a rapidly developing industry hag been a: matter of grave concern for some time. The findings of our poultry pathologists and scientists have been -followed very closely, and strong demands for further research work have been made by the industry from time to time. The laboratory workers, however, on the other hand, now tell us that the troubles they are asked

to diagnose are not, in' the ihajdrity of cases, due to specific disease, or, even if "they are. that the main contributing factor to the presence of' disease is some point which-comes under the heading of management. ; 'V _ “I must say, that from everything 1 see, and the nature of my work gives nfe rather special- opportunities for studying the predisposing factors ,of disease in poultry. When wc can look our troubles squarely ip- the face and admit that our own shortcomings arc the cause of them wc must then try and find out where we went wrong befofe we„ consider on what lines ive must continue in the future. •! , . .■ ■

“ The starting point of trouble on many farms has been, first, the unsuitable system of farming and- type' of housing for the land in question, and, secondly, the blijid following of the writings of some who hav e claimed that success will accompany any venture on similar lines-pwith-out having regard to the great difference which usually exists in environment apd conditions between one farm and another. - “ If there is any choice in the matter I should, in the case of a farm where breeding and rearing is to be done, unhesitatingly choose the finest grassland it is. possible to afford, and I shopld moke thq fullest use of that land, and do all I could! to, keep it in good condition !by efficient grazing, and. even the discreet use of linio and artificial fertilisers. •

“ The intensive housing system for chicken rearing and laying flocks eliminates to a large extent the danger of spread of disease; on account of the possibility of cleansing every area over nhich the bird ranges. In consequence of this, the system is most satisfactory for poultry keepers who wish to keen t niore birds than the land will reasonably carry.

“In the semi-intensive system, where there is a fixed house in a run, or even in the case of large fixed houses with birds on free - range, the difficulties of providing constant clean ground are much greater, and this can really only be effected where alternate runs, are arranged. In cither case, however, the birds vill congregate round the house and tear off the grass, leaving a bare patch of earth well covered with droppings which, in the winter, Will turn to mud. The coldness arid dampness of the mud and its pollution by the droppings make this patch of ground a very strong contributing factor towards the ill-health of the birds.

“ Overcrowding ig still one of the biggest faults in management to-day, both among chickens and adults. This is frequently a contributing factor in the case of autumn cold*, which cause the.losa of

thousands of eggs every year. Under nek Conditions birds become too hot during the night, their lungs are filled with poisonous /.air. and their blood stream* devitalised. They rush out into the cold air in the morning with a'lowered circulation, and naturally cannot resist thn • change in temperature. Birds • must : ; h* housed under hardy condition* with plenty of air , (they need three to fbur tiaie* as much per lb of body weight as any animal which has sweat gland*), and alter a frosty night the windows of the house should be fully opened and the bird* ted in the house before, being turned, out. into' the run. Damp or duaty litter, will'alao cause colds, but the “ former cphflitioii. • should not be found where heoaing' i* sound and these points with regard to ventilation . and overcrowding are ob». served. '" x v-:: '■s? V