POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 5

POULTRY NOTES.

Does Poultry Pay 2 TO THE EDITOB.

SIR,— I have frequently been asked by many of' your readers jf fowl-keeping would pay. I have always held the opinion that ib would pay better and be easier work than much of what they do ; but if tbey wish a good return they would have to attend to the comfort of the fowls— their feed, cleanliness, and breed — as much as to those df their own children. Ifc would be necessary to attend to the keeping, packing, and marketing of the eggs where the best prices rule. They can learn as they find it necessary. There is no more difficulty in keeping fowls than in raising mutton or beef to sail* round the world with— less, in fact. Care and attention are needed in collecting and treating the eggs daily as they are laid. The accompanj ing paragraph may be of interest in this connection. — I am, &c, W. D. SIPIHERLAND. The Poultry Monthly answers those who cry that "poultry does not pay": -One of the snuggest;, best-paying farms in the State of New York consists of only five acres. The owner breeds white Leghorn?, and sells bushels of eggs at 50s per dozen throughout the year. In addition to the poultry busi- j ness he is engaged in raising small fruits. To see the well-kept rows of raspberries, blackberries, &c, and the neatness of the poultry yard", is sufficient evidence of the prosperity of the owner. This is but one farm in many, and one of those we seldom hear anything aboub. [We are surprised at the Poultry Monthly allowing the statement that the owner of the farm realised 50c per dozen for eggs throughout the year to pass. If colonial farmers could count on 23 a dozen for eggs their fortunes would be assured. As it is, at 7d or 8d for seven or eight months in the year it is very doubtful whether egg-production alone does more than pay for the food consumed.— Ed. O.W.] Influence of Shaking on Eggs.— The germ contained in the egg is matter that is subject to early decay, and experiments have gone to show that it only preserves the faculty of development 25 to 28 days in the summer and two months in winter, when put in favourable circumstances. An egg transported to long distances loses its capabilities when this removal takes place some days after the laying. The liquid not filling all the cavities of the egg, there occurs in this case such a shaking that some of the fibres are broken which unite the germ to the other parts of the egg. A Pkactical Poultry Farm. — Au enterprising poultry farm in New Jersey, says the Fanciers' Journal, is run on a system that is bound to increase its income each year. The owner and the manager are thorough poultry men. Broilers, roasters, ducklings, and eggs are nearly always for sale. The poultry manure is carefully gathered and sold to the farmers. Several cows are kept to furnish milk for the stock. An extensive hot bed is run to grow lettuce, onions, and other green stuff for feed during the winter and spring. This farm comprises only a few acres, yet on it is done a business probably larger than on any 100 acres general farm in the State. Incubators and hens are employed to do the hatching, and both the stock and the men are busy from January to January. Poultry-keeping in Fbakce — The French women manage the poultry except in some rare cases where the men go into the business and make a sad mess of it generally. They are all women who, with their snow-white caps and aprons and in their little pony or donkey carts, or with great baskets on their heads or arms, I pass the octroi or the Custom stations around the city of Paris, where a tariff duty is levied on all imports, and take their produce to the city markets, where one may buy a leg or a wing of a fowl or a small piece of the meat just the same as if ifc was a sheep or an ox The greatest care is taken in the rearing of the fowls. Chick Feathering. — Chicks thafc feather slowly are usually more hardy th%n others. The drain upon the system is not as severe, being gradual, and in keeping with th-ir strength. The Brahma, Cochin, Langshan, Plymouth Rock, Wyandotto, and Dorking are slow at feathering compared with Leghoras, Minorcas, Spanish, Hamburg, and Bantams. The farmer wants a strong, vigorous breed, one that combines many good points that make them profitable for market. Keep up vigour. This means production and health. Bantams lay the sweetest of eggs, and games come next. But the best flavoured eggs come from Guinea fowls. , Old Hens.— lt has been claimed that it is better to sell off the hens after they are two years old and replace them with pullets. This depends on circumstance?, however. For producing strong and vigorous chicks the hens are to be preferred. The objection to the hen is tnat she loses time in moulting ; but while this is true, yet there is a greater period of time lost in raising the pullet to take her place. Egos for Hatching should not be kept more than 10 days, and should be turned over every clay during the time of hatching.

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