PREPARING POULTRY FOR SHOWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2463, 29 May 1901, Page 55

PREPARING POULTRY FOR SHOWS.

Mr E. Cobb, F.Z.S., has published an instructive little pamphle', on this subject. From it we make the following extracts which should help young fanciers : —

Almost everyone in tlffi fancy knows that in order to keep white- birds in good exhibition trim it is necessary to protect them fiom the hot sun ; 'but the same law applies — though perhaps not to as great an extent — with black or coloured fowls. If kept much in the sun, a,Plymouth rock's hackles, shoulders-, back r and saddle will become much tanned, the hackles turning yellow and the back brown. A silver Wyandotte cock ■will become completely spoilt, as a rule, on the top, for instead of being silver it will become yellow. A' black Hamburg, especially a hen, instead of retaining that beautiful beetle green sheen, will frequently turn, more or less, to a brown colour. • A buff Cochin will become paler in colour, and even a Peking- duck, whose colour should be yellow, or rather canary, and m which case one might suppose that the effects of the sun would be beneficial, considering that with most breeds its tendency i<s to turn the plumage yellow, is ruined for exhibition purposes by the sun turning it white.

The fact is, that the sun's effect is such as to draw out the colour from all feathers in a given vaiiety that are coloured, and to tan those feathers that are white, or that iiave a small amount of c olouring matter in them. Anyhow, it i= impossible to get the bloom so much-admired in the show pen on to birds that have not ample shade during the heat of the dny, and if you have no natural accornmodiarion. such as a coppice. about which to rear youi birds, we strangly advocate, if you wi.=h to obtain the best results, that you fix up some protection previous to' the time when they start to moult out into their adult plumage. go SB to guard the birds during the heat of the day from the sun's rays.

We used to think that the reason why some cockerels and cocks seem unable at t'mes to properly moult out their tails, the feathers often appearing with a hard, dry sheath on them, aad the webbing more ov less injured by the bird's beak in its endeavoura to get the feathers free of this d-cath, was on account of weakness, more or ltas, of the fowl's constitution. We still ibink that to a certain extent this is so, but that the chief cause of the mischief is insects. No doubt these pests lower the fowl's constitution very considerably, and the bird has really not strength, enough to stand the strain of growing new feathers ; but. besides this, we believe that tho insects themselves directly injure the young quills. It is, therefore, most important to frequently overhaul the young' stock as well as the old birds, previous to moulting time, and if it is found necessary, give them a good dusting with insect powder, or with a solution of paraffin.

Disappointment is frequently caused by an otherwise good exhibition specimen losing the greater portion of its leg colouring. Black iegs become a slaty or grey colour, and yellow legs lose so much of their former brightness as to appear almost white.

Birds kept on a -( cry chalky ground, or where lime has been strewn for disinfecting purposes, suffer the most, but e\en where such is not found, if the bird= are kept on dry ground, sooner or later the leg colour will more or less disappear.

It appears necessary that in order to properly maintain the colour on the legs moisture is absolutely indispensable.

Rarely will the fowls' legs look brighter and in better condition than when the birds have been able to run out in the early morning into longjsh grass, their legs thus becoming thoroughly saturated with the dew that has arisen and fallen on the ground. Such natural methods are, however, not within the reach of many fanciuis. and others, which if more tediors. aie but little less effective, ha\e to be resiorfced to. Some fanciers strew the whole of then fowls' run thickly with peat moss, and moiaten it well with rain water every day, taking a. gardener's watering can and ror-e and rpsprmkling the- same ; the boft food bemo placed in a wooden trough on the top ot a good sized piece of boarding, so that any *hat fills out of the trough is not co\eied loy the loose fragments of the peat mo-s. which would be liable to cause trop binding if consumed. The hard eorn»i&, on the contrary, well scatteied amongst the mo^ httei, and the birds, in. scratching for it get their legs thoroughly moistened, t^lus method ansv>ei3 the #urjiose, as La-

as tne colour of the legs are concerned, admirably. But it is only natural that fowls which never have a really dry =pot to stand on during the day time should be liable to roup and cramp, which birds kept under such conditions undoubtedly are. A better plan, we consider, is to have a. portion only of the run thus co\ ered and divided off from the remainder, and then shut the birds up in the damp portion during an hour or so when feeding on hard corn. Another method, which we first saw advocated by a coi respondent to the Feathered World, we have also pro%ed beneficial in maintaining the colour of the legs. The plan he adopted was to take a good sized cooking pan and fill it with rain water, and place it in such a position that the birds are bound to step into it as they come from or enter the house. The water, however, should be changed as often as possible, using, whenever you can, fre-jh fallen rain water.

But besides these, what we might term more or less self-applying methods, others equally advantageous and less likely to injure the health of the stock may be adopted. The regular rubbing into the legs of paraffin, sweet oil, vaseline, unsalted lard or butter, will one and all keep the legs of a bright and sound colour. The greatest drawback to the employments of these latter preventives is that if the birds have dry, loose earth to scratch in, or are allowed a duet bath, instead of -being given a dressing when "necessary for the destruction, of insects, they get their legs smothered with dirt, which, if not washed away thoroughly previous to the next application, is liable to get under the scales and collect to such an extent that it becomes exceedingly difficult eventually to remove. If. however, the bird is kept on ground very bard and smooth, and the place is swept clean and no dust bath allowed, these latter remedies will be found most beneficial.

Although we have mentioned a number of ways and means by which the leg colouring may be improved or maintained, we have yet to mention that which in our opinion is the most important point connected with this subject. We remember some years ago attending a certain show, and purchasing for a very little money a rare coloured and altogether grand brown Leghorn cock, with the exeception of its legs, which, if they were not actually white, were near enough to it for everyone to call them so. Within a week we sent that same bird to another show and secured first and special, beating the first and second winneis of the former exhibition.

Not one in 20 — we think we might almost say, not 1 in 100 — -fanciers seems to know that a fowl sheds the scales on its legs at the same time that it sheds the feathers on its body ; or, anyhow, that it should do so, though very often it requires assistance.

When a fowl has finished moulting, if its legs are not a good colour, carefully examine them, and make sure that the old scales are properly shed. If they are not, get someone to hold the bird, and press your thumb nails against the sides of a scale, and it will drop off. leaving probably a bright, good coloured scale underneath. In like manner work down the whole leg, and, perhaps, it may ©yen be necessary to follow suit with. the toes, Then having finished one leg, compare it with the other, and you will often be astounded with the result.