POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1910, 18 September 1890, Page 8

POULTRY NOTES.

Advantage ov Low Roosts. — High roosts are not desirable, as the nearer to the roof of the poultry house the more unoomfortable for the fowls. A low roost has more advantages than a high one ; hens can get off and on easily, bumble foot ie avoided, and loss space in the house is taken. Low roosts can be made easily movable to be cleaned, and if they are lovol thero will bn no scramble for position. Hiph roosts are more or lobb danperouo to fowls, causing injury in many ways. Grit for -*he Chickens.— On no account omit to supply the younga'evß with fine grit suitable for their gizzards. It would be just as reasonable to expect a man without teeth to chew and digest his food aB it is to expeot hens and chickens to digest their food without having the means to grind it up. Hundredß of chickens are lost every yew through the neglect of this simple precaution. See to it. — Poultry, Worth a Tbial.— The Trench mode of killing poultry, causing instant death and perfect bleeding, is accomplished by opening the beak of the fowl, and with a phiwp-pointed and narrow-bladed knife making an incision at the back of the roof of the mouth, which will divide the vertebrae and cav>eo immediate death, after which the fowls are hung up by tho legs until bled. They are (hen picked when warm. In this way the tkin presents a natural appearance.

Gapes ii 1 * Chickens. — A correspondent writes : — Having given a good deal of attention to poultry farming, I found a most successful cure for th'iH complaint by dissolving camphor in water, and holding the patidnt's head over the mouth of the bottle for a minute. The patient is not inconvenienced by the process in breathing, but is cured immediately. The process never fails. Unfortunately, thia remedy is not widely known, and the chickens are put to great suffering by persons endeavouring to rake the germ out with a feather, &c. Hundreds of poultry are lost annually in consequence of this disease. A neighbour of mine tuld me she had lost 100 this year, and knew not how to prevent it. To prevent the disease use fresh lime as well as cleanliness. To cure the disease, use camphor.

THE PRESERVATION OF EGGS.

From the new edition of Mr Long's book on "Poultry for Prizes and Profit," we give the following extraot on the preservation of eggs : — " The competitions during the past few years at the London Dairy Show and the Birmingham Oattle Show, for the prizes offered for the beßt lot of preserved eggs, have conclusively shown that there are two systems, and only two, which can be implicitly relied upon for the preserving of eggs for any period of time. These systems involve the use of lime and of salt. Lime affords one of the simplest possible means for the preservation of eggs, The plan to adopt is to select a vessel, preferably of earthenware, into which a number of eggs is plaoed 5 a mixture of lime and water is then poured over the eggs. The liquid may, if necessary, reach the mouth of tho vessel, so that other eggß oan from time to time be dropped in. A frequent mistake is in making the lime too thick. In this case, that which is not held in solution by the water— for water can only take up a certain quantity of lime— remains at the bottom of the vessel, and the eggß become imbedded in it, and are sometimes difficult to remove without breaking. "flggs have been packed in salt for years, with more or less success— generally less, for those who have made the attempt have fallen into the mistake of using salt in the state in which it is purchased. The great secret of preserving in salt is to use a sample which is absolutely dry, and then to keep ifc dry. The best plan is to use a box sufficiently large to hold 50 eggs— this is a convenient size. The bottom, aB well as the lid, should be so fixed that it can be taken off without breaking. In practice, a layer of salt is laid upon the bottom, and on this the eggs are placed (upon their sides) ; these are then covered with another layer of salt, when a second batch of eggs is placed in the box, and so on until the top is reached. During the process of packing the salt must be pressed down as tightly as possible, more especially round the sides ; and when the box is full, before the lid is fixed, every means should be taken to pack and press the salt aB cloeely and firmly as possible without breaking the eggs. The box should then be stowed away in a perfectly dry place. When the eggs are to be used, care should be taken to remove the bottom of the box, so that the stalest eggs — i.e. those first put in — may be first used. Any person may safely store eggß by either of the above systems ; *nd, provided proper care has been taken, it will be found that the losses are trifling, and that egga which have been kept four months are almost equal to those new laid."