ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. POULTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 53

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. POULTRY.

Clydevale. — Your small hatch niay be-account-able to yoor method of caring for the breeders. The fact that there were chickens tn various stages of development shows that , it is not a question of fertility. Too close confinement' ox the laying hens, inbreeding, overfeeding, or lack of green stuff are probable reasons. Orpington. — Give plenty of bone meal. For fhe first week v or so mix it with the soft food ; you will then be sure it is eaten. Afterwards see that it is always before them in a "tin or box. Make up some lime water, and add a liit-ie dF it to the drinking water on alternate days for a few weeks. Clean the water -vessel daily, -so that at least every other 'day the birds can g"et fresh watei, as 'to give limed water every day would ba anything but agreeable to the birds. Be careful to put lime water and not lime in the drinking vessel. Pip, Alexandra. — This is not -a disease : it -is merely an effect of .other abnormal conditions. A cold in the head will result -in .breathing through the mouth instead .of (the nostrils, causing the tip of the tongue to became dry. FtnS out the cause of the cold, — prohably it is through perching in a 'draught — then apply frequently .glycerine or oil to the tip of the tongue to moisten the hard scale, and up th-e nostrils with -a -feather to clear the passages. Shortly the scale will become loose and be easily removed.