POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2507, 9 April 1902, Page 49

POULTRY NOTES.

By Tkrroi:

— V* the irerea-ed business now buns don 1 - at the f Jnvermr.ent Poultry Depot, ili" gradei mfums v- that whilst only 313 birds (?+ ca^c-) were put through for the freizpr in Maich last year, th" number for the month ju-t closed wa- 2341 bird- (134- <a*e«). It may be mentioned that thr-re aie nearly 300 (.i«-- of poi.hry i.nw lying in the frei /.ing clumber* for shij-mpi.t t<> South Africa without the blightfit ptospect of <tirfct sluppitig arommnuatinn lining available. At the nr. »»nt time, owing to Melbourne and Sydney bring infected port-, anangornent » for tran-hipment vla A" trail j are inipos-ible, a^, of cour-c, poultry cannot be fumigated wit'iout iujui-y.

— P.v the Burrumb^et then* ii.i« jii'.t mined a consignment of eight trio- of bird- for the G'ni r;irrn-nr Poultry Farm. Milton. Thp new .arrival- arc Minorcas. Silver and Golden Wyandottt'N. Black and Buif Orpington*. Rouclaiife, Plymouth Rook- and Brown Leg horns. The fir-t-mpntioncd aro large birds, the pullets particularly -<> : they are hard anJ brilliant in feather, hat p -trong facet, good combs and wattles. The pullets' combs indeed, are pretty well perfect, being nice Mze, prptrily pendant, and well s-errntpd : the cockerel's rornb is good, but probably owing to the heat of the tropical journey is overhanging. The cockerel's eyes, unfortunately, arp light, but the pullets are faultless in tlii- respect The Wyandottes are good -["cim'-ns. and ohc of the silver pullets is very correct in fe-atlipr The Black Orpingtons are correct throughout. I don't think tiiPrr arp finpr birds of thw breed in Otago. if in Xcw Zealand In pyp all are jet black; in bone strong, and in build ideal The buffi arp also nice bird-, being oven in size .iriil < olour The Pl} mouth RopV-« and Hond;ui- arp aood, but wo have sPPn hotter. I think-, m thp colony, and tbp Brown L^g lioin- are fair— very large in =izp a<= regard* the Bullets. The combs of these lattpr aro

rather large, I fancy, for the breed, but otherwise very pretty. The cockerel is not quite suitable for his mates, in my opinion, and his comb, like the Minorcas, is over. All told, I consider these birds form a very desirable importation, and when seen, on the farm wiJl justify their presence and the Government expert's judgment in going abroad for stock. They will certainly be the best birds of their kind on the farm, par- , ticularly the Orpingtons. j — If it has not been already done, no tims should be lost in thoroughly cleaning out and otherwise renovating all nest boxes and generally purifying the fowl houses. It j it not fair play tc allow pullets to take up the business of egg-laying in soiled, vermininfested nest? or to roost upon perches covered with tho filth of a whole season. A bag of nice dry hay or sixpence worth of nicp clean stra v from the nearest stable is sufficient bedding for a couple of dozen nests ' and more, and as this and half a pound ! of insect powder are all that is necessary to ] start 150 ruHf-s comfortably, th?re is no j excuse on the score of expense at any rate, ' for neglecting this very necessary procedure. | As regards the trouble of the undertaking, a , fai cier who would consider this point ought , to give u n tho care of fowls. Comfortable i nests and plenty of them tempt birds to lay, ; the reverse condition is unprofitable in every way. — • Show me ° men nr a woman (says , • M.S.P., ' in Poultry Monthly) who has I made a fair, iioi.esi . ucccao with pculUy, and I will °ho',v you a man or .i woman, as thp. case may be who has the ability to command iucc^sa in any undertaking in which attention to detail is all important. Tho", gist of the matter .s that poultry-keeping 1 is really lrc-de up of the regular performance \ of an lnfinaip numb.?.- of small dttt ; e« oi de tads, and any per-on unfitted to attend to these v\ith faith and fidelity, is not calculated to mike a siueoss with fcvvls or anytl iug else, for that matte", for succpps has been defined as " the capacity for taking infinite pains " It is grand good discipline for any young boy or girl to have a fpvv fowls, and bo held entirely responsible for them, that is. bound to make them pay by i being required to do tho business in a busi-ness-hkn way. A lot of practical informa- ' tion will in this way be gained, and youth : will be taught to tee that something cannot ' be obtained for nothing. If our young men I could get some ?uch training as this, there | would be fewer business failures among the older men. — The two Victorian expert poultry plucker^ — Messrs Mendoza and Raphael, — who came to the colony recently under engagpment to the Government Stock Department, complain of ill-treutmpiit by the New Zealand Government. They state that they wore sent to New Zealand by the' Viftor.an Government in reply to a cable asking for four e.\Dfit pUuker-. It is understood that they vvpi-p to reecho £2 ICK for a WPek of 48 hours, and be paid overtime. They landed in Dunedin. and vvpiv senl to Chribtehurcb, where they were informal that a wpek'a work was from 60 to 80 hours. The officer in charge stated that he knew nothing about payment for overtime. The men said tliey wpr* prppared to take £2 10s, but would not work more than 43 hourp a week, and insisted on being paid overtime. Xv pntually the department agreed to pay overtimp. On presenting themselves at the depot, however, thp foreman would not let | them -tart work till they obtained a written agreement from the Government in refer- j ence to mprtime. 'I his they were unable \ to get. The Government refuses to f-end them Ijac-L to Australia. The men are in an impeeunioix- condition. Both have -wives and families in Victoria. » — Dear Terror. — You published an article on "' Poultry Tick " in a r«.cpnt issup. Will ' oi) '-I'idiv describe what the vermin are lik« a- we me troubled with an ms-cct and ■-liould liko t<> know if it is the tick pest? Tli<"\ arp mtv '■mill, of various colour 0 . — TrcK. j I t.mnot an s w t "Tuk's" query, but ppr1 ap= reader can di «o. In tie issue of .January 8 la°t I published a par^arapb which -aid that thp tick's habits are nocturnal, and that it attache itself to th» fowl with lengthy sufl r er=. drawing blood in a wonderful iranner producing fever and speedy death. On the 12tn February app^arpd two article= on preventives and remedies, of which I ropublis'i ore for the information of my corre&pon?! >Nt By Riciiard Helms, Biologist to the Bureau of Agriculture, Perth, W.A. The fowl tick, like many other parasites, is ! ?n introduction. Whence is a matter of con- • jecture, but that it has come with Feme fowls no one, I think, will question ; and from this ' we learn that we must be cautious when bring- ) ing ffowls to our run not to bring the tick along with them. Ticks cannot come by themselves, , but when once they have come with come fowls they will soon prove troublesome, as they are prolific breeders. I have had no opportunity yet to test the laying power of the fowl tick, but from the peculiar habit of this creature of continuing t* prey upon its ho=t after leaving it when near maturity, it is likely to he greater than* that of many other =pocies not possessed of thi« characteri-t'C. The cattle tick ie known to lay on an average 2100 ekes. 1

and cannot recuperate. I should, therefore, not be surprised if the fowl tick were to exceed double that number. Fowl ticks lately received from the Cape of Good Hope were labelled " found under bark." Just what I should have expected to judge from my own observations. From time to tims these roosts should be whitewashed with a heavy wash, to which, besides a little glue, 2oz of alum per gallon must be added. The j alum is best dissolved in hot water; it pre- ' vents vermin crawling on the whits-washed poles, at least in. a vertical direction. This is due to the action of the alum destroying the viscosity secreted by the small cushion (pui villi) of the tfeet. Only the secretion of the puvilli enables flies and other creatures to walk a vertical surface. If, therefore, the poles of a loost are quite smooth and covered with an I alumnised whitewash neither the sharp claws nor the puvilli of the ticks can get a hold ivpen them. 1 Where fowls are allowed to roo3t in the open ' air it is advUablc- to tram them to the habit j of perching on a stand erected for the purpose. I If they are allowed to ro6st in trees and <|et ' infested with ticks there is no means of ridI ding them of the pest so long as they return to the same roost, because the chinks and. ' cracks in the bark of the limbs have become convenient hiding places for ticks. : j If once the pest has made its appearance ifc ' must be assailed in every direction. All drop-> plugs lying under the loosting places must bacarefully swept together R.nd burnt. All cracks ! or chinks in boards of fowl houses, or those - ■'ound m the perches, and where these are joined to the uprights, must be well disinfect- . ted. For this purpose, nothing caji surpass, , nor is it cheaper, thau a tea kettle full of J thoroughly boiling water. The perches and all ', surrounding woodwork muat then be painted with alumnised whitewash. This clearing pro-. , cess should be repeated monthly during the summer months, and eveiy second, month dur« hie; the winter, till the pest is eradicated. The fowls in the meantime must be carefully ex.imuied, and if patches of ticks or single specimens are found to have fastened upon them, oil mubt be applied to the ticks and the surroundings of their bites. Any kind of oil will do, or even grease. Kerosene should not be used except as an addition to oil or grease when these substances aro very stiff. Ifc must ' not bo more than 2 per cent., nor should turpentine be used in a, greater quantity with oil or grease. Uoth kerosene and turpentine aro j ver£ irritating, and liable to cause inflammar tory action, which will punish the fowls worse than the ticks. Plain fatty matter v/ill kill ticks very promptly, consequently there i 3 no need for using anything else. A repeated examination of tlip fowls is an absolute necessity. It will be advantageous to separate the sick fowls from the healthy, if such can be conveniently arranged. TJnder any condition the sick fowls must be specially well supplied with nutritious food, and regularly, but moderately, fed at short intervals. A little raw meat, chopped fine, once or twice a day., will probably bring them louud quicker than anything else. r.KST GEEXK FOR THE FARM. Tlip Toulou-f ii one of the best varieties of geese. They are light grey in colour, with darker t-hachng. The females lay 17 to 25 eggs the firs-t season, beginning early in hpring. They can cover about 17 eggs in. sitting. Tiie exg* of geese one year old are all riqhL. for la=t year (j-ays a contributor 1 to the American Agriculturist) my geese laid 32 ?««?, and 26 hatched. If there is a pasture near the house, tho geese are generally sppii in it, as in summer they eat mostly glass Do not handle the young geese too n.ut h the first week. i When hatched by hens, goslings do not grow a» fast as whrn hatched by geese, for th^y do not get everything to pat which they r.ppd There i*- no need of shutting them, up when they are to be fattenpd. They will b» as fat as you want them by Christmas if givpn all the corn, oats, and fresh water they want, and left to run where they please. Thoy do not walk much after they are full grewn. To have the best success in raising thpm, one mu*t have a pond or some holee • in the ditch that retain water all summer, io that they can swim whenever they please. i .o-