POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1929, 9 November 1888, Page 8

POULTRY NOTES.

CARE OF TOUJSG TURKEYS.

The loss among young turkeys every season is very large. In fact, few farmers raise more than one-third of the young turkeys hatched, which entails quite a loss when the season's work is finished, as it requires but little extra labour to care for a larger number until they arc past the critical period. The young turkey is very tender in its first stages, but it i 3 very hardy when matured. Young turkeys cannot be fed like chicks, as they are as dainty in the choice of their food as young wild birds, and a mistake of a single day may destroy them all. In feeding them it must be kept in view that they make very rapid growth of feathers, and food well adapted for the production of feathers Bhould always be fed. They should have meat every day, but at times they -will 'refuse it. They seem to have a preference for food of a white colour, and are very fond milk and curds. Stale bread soaked in milk, and also plenty of curds, is the best food for them at first. Some advise feeding hard-boiled eggs, but such fopd usually results in various bowel diseases. Odions chopped very fine, with the tops included, are highly relished, but little troughs of wheat and chopped meat should be placed before them every day, in order to induce them to begin on such food as soon as possible. Dampness is fatal to young turkeys. They should never be allowed to go in the damp grass or get wet. The main cause of loss is lice, which come from the hens, and right here we will say that nearly all kinds of adult fowls have lice, even when seemingly free from the pests. Not only the little red mites attack young turkeys, but the large grey body lice soon begin on them. As young turkeys die very suddenly when attacked by lice, it is best not to wait until they begin to droop before using precautions, for then it will be too late in a majority of cases, but search them every morning. Should a single louse be seen, grease the heads, necks, and vents with lard (using the smallest possible quantity), and dust the bodies well with Persian insest powder. Do the same with the hen. The general supposition that young turkeys must have free range has not always proved true. We have a small lot, hatched in an incubator and being raised in a brooder, that have kept remarkably healthy, not a single one dying, though they are more troublesome to feed than when they are with the hen. The experiment has demonstrated that clean, warm, dry quarters and careful feeding, with freedom from lice, will enable farmers to raise a larger percentage of the young. True, it entails greater care, but it will pay, as the young turkeys become hardy after "shooting the red." The advice so frequently given to turn the hen and her brood loose to roam at will has caused the death of many young ones, but there is no doubt that if they are carefully attended to every three hours during the day, aad fed on a variety of food, with clean water, which should be given in a manner so that they can only get their beaks wet, it will not be long before a large flock will I be on the farm, and the members of which will then be able to provide for all their necessities. — American Agriculturist. To judge from the following notice in a German paper, there is work in Berlin for a society for the protection of animals : — " On Tuesday I afternoon there arrived in Berlin a goods train in whicb, among other* animals intended for ' the market, were 2000 fowls. When the carriage was opened they were all dead, probably because it had been neglected to provide the poor creatures— which came from Poland— with the necessary drinking water." Very fat hens cannot stand the heat of summer unless provided with shade. The normal temperature of birds is much higher than that of animals, and on very warm days they suffer considerably. Fat hens will suddenly die from apoplexy even whens apparently well, which may be prevented if cool water and shade are provided. Milk in any form, sweet or sour, is liked by birds of all ages. Buttermilk is very acceptable and highly nutritious. It pays far better to feed your spare milk to chickens than to pigs. Try it one season.