POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2436, 21 November 1900, Page 50

POULTRY NOTES.

Bx Teheoe.

— The cheapest food for fowls I know of is 3orrel seed, now s.old by MorLizson "and Co. of Dunedin, at 2s 6d a bag (sack m). I have exv>erhnpul t ed with forrel in the feeding of chickens— after the fir&t fortnight— a?nd ' adult fowls, and find that they fatten and ! prosper generally. To prevent the seed growing from the droppings and thus becoming a mxksrffce in the. farm oi- garden, sorrel should be boiled before being served as food. — Irj. jhe course of a couple of months'' time I mirpcse makirg a trip- south, calling at all place= between TDvmedin. and lu\ ercargill — inckidmg Lawrence and Gore — where there are. fanciers willing to'ieeeive a visit from me. In the interest of Headers of these 1 columns it. is

my desire to see all I can of the methods of fanciers, and to report in the same mannen as I did last yea' after my trip north. That I may plan my appointments to the very best advantage, I shall be pleased to receive intimation at the earliest convenience from those desirous of a visit. It will not, however, in all probability, be till the end of January or beginning of February that I can leave Dunedin. — Mr L. C. Veriy, of Surrey, England, who has charge of Mr Fred Rogen's Langphans, writes that the best of the cockerels— which had been entered for the Dairy show — had gone into the deepest moult, ancl consequently could not be sent to the show. Of the pullets, one had developed a severe cold, and the other had a swelled eye — the result being that their pens also wilJ be empty at the-Dairy. The second cockerel was still, however, in good form, and had won first at Winslow under Lucllow. Mr Verry hopes to get the other birds round in time for the Palace show. All my readers will, I. know, be sorry to hear of the troubles above recorded, but, tho36 who have had experience with imported birds will not be altogether surprised, for they have learned by experience that much travelling and climatic changes almost invariably incapacitate birds for a time. Mr Rogen's successes, however — a second and third at Beckington, and first at Winslow (the latter under Lucllow), are sufficient consolation for worse troubles than those so far experienced. — A breeder at Gimmerburn, writing to a local Minorca fancier, states that the eggs sent — Minorcas and Wyandoltes — by the latter had hatched out well, but that tilers was a lot of white about the Minorca?, and Sis wonders whether they aro pure. It may allay the alarm of this particular breeder, and interest some other amateurs, to learn that nearly all black fowls are white and black as chicks, and with regard to some breede— LangshaTis, for instance— tjte niore white on them as chickens the bettei they will turn otit. I — With regard to the importation of j Chinese eggs into New South Y^ales, of which j particulars were given in these columns some j weaks back, it is now explained that the scare I raised in the Sydney papers was scarcely justiI fied. Eitcli egy, it appears, is "preserved" in I a thick coating of evil-smelling black mud, 1 gathered, seemingly, from the bed of a river ! containing salt water. The smell is v-ery high I and of a fishy nature. They certainly suit the palate of ChineFe, for on the mail boats, which have Chinese crewe, these eggs are served out as delicacies two or three times a week. The yolks arc shrivelled up, and it takes 15 minutes to cook them. — The difference between the laying power of pullets and moulted lions (i.e., first-year hens) is once more illustrated by a Melbourne fancier, Mr A. Browne,, who in a report to the Australian Poultry Gazette states that a pen of golden Wyanclottes, consisting of five hens, returned in August (31 days) , 53 eggs ; September (30 clays), 94- eggs. The same pen last year gaye — August, 119 eggs ; September, 117 eggs. The superiority of pullets, as layers, over hens of any age. has -been proved over " and over again, and it is now pretty generally accepted as a fact and acted upon by the great majority of experienced fancier?. Acknowledging the principle, the rule to follow, where eggs are looked for, is to send to marLet — reserving only those required for breeding purposes — all birds', just -prior to their first full' motilt. In this way the farmer feeds and'houscs the best layeis only. Where. .is the utility in accommodating hens when their food and room is required for pullets which pay better? — Notwithstanding all that has been said ancl written in their favour, it is extremely doubtful, after all, whether large runs are better than small ones for poultry. It is alleged in favour of the former that they give less labour in the cleaning ; but on the other hand, would it not be true to say that they never are, and as a matter of fact ennnot ■ be, cleaned? That there is necessity for sanitary precautions in the ca-e of free range is obvious enough when we remember that no matt&r - how exten c ive their range may be, the fowls will in course of time contaminate the gr?sa and soil. In the case of small areas, after the ground has been turned two or three times it can be, to all intents and purposes, easily v.and cheaply renewed by top-dressing with, fresh earth, factory cinder, tand, or whatever material may be available. Where birds are confined in wirecl-in runs thej'' c&n be supplied with gresn food in the shape of grasF — cut . with scythe or lawnmower — and as this is not grown from then own droppings, it is fresher, cleaner, and altogether more suitable for them as food. As for the worms, etc.,. which confined birds are deprived of, regular supplies of chopped meat and cut green bone are found to be an excellent substitute. That the foregoing is not mere theory is evident, in the fact that fanciers seldom get as good results from their fowls — where they are allowed free range — after the first three or four years as when they start on new ground.