POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23362, 30 November 1937, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By Terror

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS " Novice," Milton. —The symptoms you mention do not indicate any particular disease. When chickens go wrong at that early age it is sometimes due to their being bred from birds of week constitution. Sometimes through well-bred chicks being wrongly fed or lack of sufficient warmth at an early age. I gather, however, that your chicks are overfed, and have never been healthily hungry. I suggest that you read the following method of feeding adjusted at the Hawkesbury College, New South Wales:— The rations used at the Hawkesbury College for feeding chicks and up to laying period is distributed as follows: Chicks coming from the incubators are allowed to fast during the first 36 to 48 hours from actual hatching time. Then they are fed for two days on dry rolled oats. From two days to six weeks they are fed five timet, a day on mash (by weight): Bran onethird, pollard two-thirds, mixed with hot skim milk if procurable. Fine salt, loz, is dissolved in water to be added to the milk or water used for mixing every 51b bran and pollard used. Two of the above feeds to contain loz bonemeal to each lib mash; chick grain mixtures to be given at the last feed of the day. From six to 12 weeks feed the above mash three times and whole wheat and maize evening, instead of chick mixture From 12 to 24 weeks feed the adult mash as given below, with an extra feed of simple mash without meat meal as above at mid-day, and adult grain ration as from six to 12 weeks. Give green feed daily from eighth day. Hot mash (lbs): Pollard 60, bran 24, meatmeal 6, fine salt 220 z: green feed, wheat two parts, cracked maize one part.

New Milk Food for Poultry I have been asked whether a milk food much advertised in Great Britain under the name of " Krafco " is in any way superior to the New Zealand-pro-duced milk powder, which, by the way. is exported abroad in large quantities. Through the local agents I have received the following report from the chief chemist of the New Zealand Cooperative Dairy Company Ltd. (Hamilton), which reads as follows: — " I have your memo, of 2nd, forwarding some information from Dunedin regarding a new milk food for poultry produced by the Draft Cheese Company. "I have examined the advertising data published in the September 3 issue of Poultry. It is apparent that 'Krafco' is a straight whey powder prepared by drying separated cheese whey. The claims made in the advertising matter are exaggerated. Undoubtedly whey powder is a good line and compares fairly favourably with our buttermilk powder. It is, however, appreciably lower in protein content. Even in the figures presented in Poultry buttermilk powder is given as 38.3 per cent total protein against 12.13 per cent in 'Krafco.' It is claimed by certain scientific workers that Lactalbumin is a more complete protein than casein. This may give it an advantage over casein weight for weight, but it has to be remembered that buttermilk powder has a very considerable increase in the total protein content, and this increase as casein would easily outweigh any advantage that the 'Krafco* may have in its increased lactalbumin. "We could manufacture whey Eowder if there was a market for it, ut I am of opinion that buttermilk powder is a better article for poultry feeding—(Signed) W. H. Udy, Chief Chemist."

Feeding for Results Generally speaking the poultrykeeper feeds this fowls for the eggs they may produce. The egg-producing foods are more expensive than are the flesh-producing foods, but he wants eggs and plenty of them and feeds accordingly. That is to say he balances his ration so that it contains one of protein to four of cargo hydrates and is often tempted to add a little more meat —i.e., still further narrow the ration. A fact to bear in mind is that a fowl does not really want to lay eggs, she lays them because she cannot help doing so; the egg is there and must be produced. It must be somewhat a nuisance having to leave a nice green pasture, or the company of her mates and retire to a dark nest to lay an egg, consequently it is her nature • to forage for comfort-produc-ing in preference to egg-producing foods. Birds in confinement have to eat the balanced-for-egg-ration supplied, whether they like it or not, but it does not follow that the poultry keeper has sole control. The fowl does a little rebalancing on her own and 't is possible that after thorough digestion of the food she draws into her blood stream just what her system is craving for and excretes the rest, which maybe is the mose expensive part of the ration. It is reasonable to believe that a little more generous feeding, say one protein to five carbohydrates instead of one to four would result in less mortality and compensate for a few less eggs, besides being morn economical. "Ask the Birds " In dealing with the balanced ration question the expert for the Belfast Weekly says:—"No, our judgment in such matters is not at all comparable to that of the fowls, and our motto should be, 'Ask the birds.' Another error to be avoided is thinking that a balanced ration for to-day and to-day's conditions will be a balanced ration for next week and next week's conditions. It is quite possible the requirements may be entirely different. Still another argument in favour of mixed grains of the desirable kinds is that the requirements of the individual birds in the same flock differ from day to day. Let me here suggest (says the Belfast expert) an ' efficiency method for determining a balanced ratio'n for those who are keen on doing the thing properly. The method is this: You choose a time when the fowls are fairly hungry, say. in the early morning, and place in different troughs a definite quantity of sepa rate grains. After the grains have been before the hens for some time it is usually found that some varieties have entirely disappeared, some others will have been scarcely touched, and the others cleared up f o varying extents."

The idea underlying the foregoing is, of course, that the hens will tell us what they want, but the fact is thai the poultrykeper wishes to tell the fowls what he wants. The poultry keeper's motto should be " Moderation " for greed for eggs on his pari and greed for comfort on the hens' part both need restricting. If we feed for eggs and for constitution as well we cannot go far wrong.

Modern Feeding Methods In continuation of the foregoing subject I quote Mr Tom Newman, editor of the official journal of the Scientific Breeders' Association, some of the best-known poultry authorities in England. He says: "If I were asked whai are the general conclusions at which I have arrived after years of experimental work on the Scientific Poultry Breeders' Association farm my reply would be: All the talk about feeding for body. size, for feathers, etc.. is so much nonsense The object of every stock breeder should be to feed for health and condition. All the other essentials will follow to the limit of the birds' or beasts' inheritance. Feeding for health means that the food employed must be of a high standard of quality, and that the stock feeder should know enough to avoid an ex-

cess or a deficiency. There does not seem to be sufficient realisation, on the part of poultry-keepers as a whole, of the fact that the best of environment, which includes food, will not do more than permit the bird to reach the limits of its inheritance. Why, then, talk of feeding for body size or production when feeding to maintain the bird in that condition which will help to give the fullest expression of its inheritance? It is true that by what we term "forcing" a temporary increase in the rate at which the eggs are laid may be caused, but it inevitably leads to complications—to thinshelled or shell-less eggs, to prolapsus, and in a flock the best individuals suffer.'"

Scratching Material The evils accruing from the continued use of scratching material that has been down so long that it is partially decayed are numerous, for such material is 6nly too often disease-pro-ducing, and one need never be surprised if one finds that one of the birds has died during the week If there is one thing more than another that will contribute to the prevalence of disease in varied form, it is filth that has been allowed to accumulate for an indefinite time. Clean Surroundings This point of clean surroundings brings us to clean eggs. When a batch of eggs with spotlessly clean shells are seen, it indicates cleanliness in the nests from which such eggs are collected. Dirty-shelled eggs a sign of indolence on the part of the poultrykeeper. At any time of the "ear one may expect fowls running on ungrassed areas to carry a lot of dirt in the house and nests, and eggs laid in the latter will become soiled. It is impossible to have clean nests so long as the fowls wade about in sticky mire. See that the litter and nest material is always clean. Summer Broodiness Broodiness is more pronounced in summer than at other times of the year. A broody's temperature is generally 104 to 105 degrees in summer and winter, while the normal hen's temperature shows considerable variation This is because when a hen becomes broody its feed takes three times as long to pass through its body, causing a "general slowing-down of the body processes. Exercise and exposure to cold, when the broodies are removed from the nests, will help to break them of the broodiness, but although exercise might be provided by putting a broody in an adjoining yard and letting it run up and down the wire netting, it is not possible to supply the exposure to cold during summer, so v the only thing, if the broodies have to be put in a coop, is to have the coop well ventilated and in the coolest place available. —Poultry.

Rats Mr Richard Norman (Lawrence) writes a long letter in which he refers to my, remarks, a week or two back, on cleanliness, in which, incidentally, mention is made of the depredations of rats and the fact that they are the carriers of disease germs. Mr Norman speaks of the rat in a general way, but from the poultryman's point of view the information he gives is scarcely matter for inclusion in my notes.

A Prolific Duck A Khaki Campbell duck has laid 300 egps in 308 days at the Harper Adams trials (Eng.). The flock average for all ducks at these trials was 212 and for pullets 164.3. The duck mortality was 2.98 per cent., as against 19.59 per cent, for pullets. Turkey Poults " Shoot the Red " When the turkey poults get to be from two to eight weeks old they will " shoot the red." This shooting the red is a very critical time for turkeys. It is caused by sexual development, and is recognised by the unusual redness in the bare portion of the head and neck. Poults that have been well fed and are in good condition go through their red shooting period satisfactorily, but under-nourished, improperly fed birds very often fall by the wayside. No Grain for Germany's Fowls According to a Berlin message dated July 27, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Herr Hitler has made a decree taking over the whole of the German wheat and rye crops to safeguard Germany's bread supply and forbidding the use of bread or grain for the feeding of poultry. Care Needed in Keeping Cod-liver Oil Vitamin A—one of the two vitamins for which cod-liver oil is supplied to fowls —deteriorates very rapidly. A mash which contains this oil should not be kept, save for short periods.. The action of the air causes oxidation of the oil, and this produces changes which are definitely detrimental, because while undergoing the changes vitamin A is destroyed. The value of cod-liver oil may also be decreased by a little carelessness. If any traces of oil are left in a container, or round the mouth of the cod-liver oil bottle, the oil will oxidise •rapidly. If a fresh supply of oil is placed into such a container or bottle it comes into contact with the old. and deteriorates quickly. Old containers should never be used a second time, while the "neck and mouth of the bottle should be wiped clean each time it is used. Reilly's report a medium penning of birds for their weekly sale, good values being secured for all lines. Hens—--3 5s Bd. 21 5s 6d. 29 5s 4d, 8 ss, 105 4s 6d. 51 4s 4d. 10 4s 2d. 55 4s. Cockerels —l3 4s. 8 3s Bd. 8 3s 6d, 3 3s 2d. 2 3s, 10 Is 6d. 4 Is 4d, 13 Is 2d, 106 Is. Ducks —4 8s 4d, 6 Bs All at per pair. One hen and 10 chickens for 9s 6d.