POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22744, 3 December 1935, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By Tebbob,

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS “Progress” (Harrington).—l do not advise using kerosene for_ head lice on chickens or adult birds; it is effective, but too drastic. A little vaseline rubbed in gently answers the purpose equally well. Cat Amongst Chickens There is a good deal of doubt as to the necessary action to take in the event of a neighbour’s cat destroying the chickens of a poultry keeper, but a case which cropped up in England same years back is enlightening. Thp case was decided in the Divisional Court of King’s Bench. A certain poultry and pigeon owner suf-. fered loss among his bantams and pigeons, and suspected his neighbour’s cat, and on one occasion saw the cat with a pigeon in its mouth. The owner of the cat was satisfied of its guilt and destroyed it, but declined to pay the sum of £B, the assessed value of the birds lost. It was admitted in the hearing before the county cannot judge that the cat was guilty of the 'damage, and that it belonged to the defendant, but the judge dismissed the claim on two grounds—viz.,, (a) That as the roaming character of cats was a recognised habit, and the custom was to allow them to roam about freely, the responsibility in law was on the owner of pigeons to keep them out'of the way of cats, and not on- the owner of a cat to prevent a eat from attacking pigeons, (b) That in the case of a cat attacking pigeons, it was necessary to prove scienter before the responsibility in law could be laid upon the owner of the cats. Now, as was recognised at the time, this decision ia rather alarming for poultrykeepers. It means, in simple language, that your neighbour’s cat may come and clear off your chickens and bantams, and that you have no means of redress, unless you can prove scienter against your neighbour, which means that you must be in a position to prove by evidence that will satisfy the court that your neighbour knew perfectly well that his cat was dangerous where chickens or pigeons were concerned, and that having that knowledge, he failed to keep it under control. How are you going to prove this. It seems that there is only one way, and that a very simple one. Directly you see your neighbour’s cat prowling about trying to catch one or other of your chickens or pigeons, you must either write a letter, and make sure that the cat s owner gets it, or you must go and see him, or her, and in the presence of a witness notify him of the attempt made by , his cat to get your bird. By so bring about “scienter” —that is'to say, to bring to his knowledge the fact that his cat is a chicken depredator; and, thereafter, it is up to him to keep that cat under such control that he will not again trespass on your ground and hurt or destroy your poultry. If he falls to do this, thereafter, you, or any other poultrykeeper, will be in a position to recover damages, and, what is more, if after the knowledge of the cat’s propensities has been brought home to him he refuses to stop its depredations the court may even grant an injunction against 'him or her, as well as award damages. An Inglenook Yarn

Some few years back I came across "the following by one who styled himself " Professor.” It is in humorous vein. He wrote under the heading, “ Reflections on the Sale of Sittings,” and warned buyers not to be too sanguine that a “champ” (champion presumably) will eventuate from any ’tic’lar dozen eggs. Nevertheless, after a few cautions he gives an experience of his own as follows: — “All the same I’ve knowed three or four cases durin’ me ’istory where the champ of the year 'as come from a bought sittin’, and’ the kewrious part be that in one of 'em, the sittin’ were only the cheaper kind. Once it were only Hl’ old mo' that sold the eggs, an’ bein’ as ow there’s the yarn attached I’ll go lir to tell you it. Nigh on six months arter a workin’ chap ’ad 'ad the eggs, I gets a woeful letter from 'im, cussim me 'igh an low for a wrong un, an' eayin’ as ’ow Mr Awk ’ad' been along an’ seen the chickens sayin’ plain they was a ‘lot of wasters, an’ offerin’ to take ’em off’ is ’aude at 7s 6d apiece. So ho, I thinks: ‘ Airy’s at 'is old games agen, an’ I wires the workin’ chap sayin’: “ On no account sell, coinin’ down tomorrer.” When I geis there ’twere only jest in the nick for I finds the feller fumblin’ with another tellegram from ‘Arry Awk, this time askin’ for immedit decision. One look at the birds was enuff. They was all a nicish and promisin’ lot. So 1 dresses down the bloke a trifle, tells 'im wot 'c’d got, offers ’mi a fair price for the best bird and told ’m (when he refused to part) how to trade them. Also says I, if \ she wins a classic, I’ll trouble you for my expenses over this yer outin’. Well, she were the goods all right, 'an I got me expenses an’ a bit over, so that were. that. Oh, aye, mister, there’s some knaves about an’ some fools too-, but the sensible buyer kin alius find a straight breeder to deal with so be as he keeps ’is wits about ’im. Well, for another instance, is them writer chaps, for if they can’t put a finger on an ’onest poultry farmer when consulted: Well I arsks yer.”

Capons as Foster Mothers Answering an inquiry, “ What is the method of training? ” The Feathered World says:— "The bigger and fluffier the capon, of course, the better, so that heavy breed birds are best for the purpose of rearing chickens. They will take to them when about months old, and the way to accustom them to brooding is to leave the capon first of all in a coop between two other coops in which young chicks are running with hens. The big chap will soon become interested, and, seeing the chicks coming in front of his coop, probably stealing his food, he will then begin calling them. When he is seen to be keen—say at the end of a couple of days —try him one evening with a couple, and he will probably settle down and croon to them at once, after which all will be well. A big capon will tackle up to a couple of dozen chicks, the only thing being to ensure that he has plenty of room—in fact, with this number he is often best left entirely unconfined during summer if the risk of vermin Is taken." Retarded Growth in Chicks If chicks appear to lack vim and vigour, examine them closely, and it is probable that lice will be found on them, thus lessening their vitality. Rub sulphur well into their feathers, especially under the wings and in the thick feathers of the breast and on top of their heads. Poultry Farm Costs The following, taken from a report published by the Harper Adams College (England), applies to poultry farming in England. but should prove instructive to poultry farmers everywhere. Amongst other information it supplies will be found the answers to questions which many wouldstarters in the industry ask. Investigations respecting the working conditions and mortality on general farms have been going on for several years, and the follow? ing brings the report of the investigators up to date: — “ Some 80 or more farms were studied in each of the three years 1931-32, 193233, and 1933-34, but the actual farms studied in each year were not the same throughout. They were all commercial egg-selling farms, not hobbies nor pedigree or table poultry plants. “ They included both general farms and purely egg farms, and they ranged over a wide area in the North and West Midlands. They were selected from lists supplied by poultry instructors and societies, as being fair samples. Every effort was made to avoid spoiling results by including untypical cases of any kind, as the report fully explains. “ The most significant feature of the report js the very wide variation of costs and profits on different holdings, whether of similar or different types. The economic success of a poultry plant is not so much a question of the system, intensive, semi-intensive, or extensive, as how well the system is run, whatever it is. “ The investigators found, in brief, that: — “ I. Commercial egg farming on plants averaging up to 2500 layers requires capital of approximately £1 per layer—stock takes about 43 per cent., houses, equipment, and supplies 57 per cent. “2. Profit per layer falls as the flock size increases. “3. The most profitable groups wore those of farms with 0-200 and 600-800 layers. “4. One man. without hired labour, can manage about 430 layers, including hatching and rearing of replacements.

“5. ‘On no farm with which we have come into contact does one man manage anything like 1000 birds single handed. “ 6. Egg production ia consistently more profitable on the general farm. “ 7. Both'types, general and specialised, show a worsening of the economic situation over the three-year period. "8. Money is lost by not employing "skilled" labour at fair wages. A 50 per cent, increase in the bill for hired labour (which becomes necessary after about 450 layers) increases total expenditure only by 5 per cent. “9. The most important item of expenditure is on feeding stuffs, and there is much room for improvement in feeding methods and quality and type of foods used. “ On the farms examined feeding cost per layer per year varied from 18s s|d to 3s Sad. “ 10. General ignorance on beat feeding methods results in ill-considered changes, and various systems are not properly applied. “ Out of 15 ‘ one-man ’ flocks examined in 1933-34 “ Three returned a labour income of 80s a week. “One returned a labour income of 60s a week. “ Two returned a labour income of 30s to 45s a week. “ Five returned a labour income of 20s to 30s a week. “Four returned a labour income under 20s a week. “Much profit is wasted by bad planning and overcrowding. “The average prices obtained for eggs was Is 3Jd, Is 3d, and Is 2d in the three years respectively. “The average profit per layer was 4s Hid, 3s 2i]d, and 2s ll|d respectively in the three years, and the average cost of feeding a layer was 10s 7Jd> 10s lid, and 10s 04d. “Perhaps the information asked for by most of those aspiring to be poultry farmers or to establish poultry settlements for the unemployed will be the labour income per flock in one-man flocks. This ranged in 1933-34 from £285 to a loss of £35. This is a most striking demonstration of the wide variation that may be expected. “Amongst other matters observed by the investigators were the low prices paid for* hatching eggs (averages 2s 9d, 8s 7Ad, and 3s BJd, and for stock cockerels (i7s 7Ad, 17s Id, 18s 2d), though these increasing prices suggest that commercial egg farms are learning to pay more to get better stock. “Until breeding is taken out of the hands of men who have insufficient time and knowledge to realise its full importance, the commercial flocks are likely to suffer from cumulative deterioration,’’ say Mie writers of the report. “ In their desire to maintain large flock numbers, many poultry farmers do not give sufficient heed to the importance of courageous and continuous culling.” The foregoing are but brief extracts ,from a tightly-packed report, which is of vital interest to every commercial egg farmer. It is not so much the figures in themselves, which, since they are averages, cannot apply to any one particular case, but the conclusions and general observations drawn from them as a whole that are most valuable.