POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 58

POULTRY NOTES.

I Bt Teeroe.

It ' s reported that of the 16 thousand million cgg3 produced annually m the United Stetec, lowa alone supplies tensixteenths. The figures are derived' from Government reports, and it is computed that, of this 145 million dollars' worth, nearly half go to Chicago. In November last tie Chicago cool stores were estimated to hold from six to seven million cases, or more than 216 million eggs, the charge for storing being 5d per case for the first month, and 2£d for each succeeding 30 days. The average temperature at which Ihe eggs are kept is 30deg to 34deg (the white of an egg freezing at 25deg). It is not unusual to store them for a whole year, and it is considered they should remain good for two years under proper attention. The object of cool storage is, however, merely to hold the eggs from times of plenty to times of scarcity. Cool store eggs are liable to suffer shrinkage, owing to evaporation, but when they are stored near where produced, the loss by this cause should not exceed 3 per cent. In packing, the pointed end of the egg should be down, as it is found that when packed blunt end down, the weight of tho meat is apt to bear with sufficient force upon the air cell to burst it, causing the white and yolk to fall into the hollow and become mixed, decomposition rapidly following. — Dawson's patent egg carrier, grader, tester, and counter, patented by Mr J. G. Dawson, is a contrivance destined to play a most important part in the furtherance of the poultry industry generally in New Zealand, and for that matter, everywhere else. A tray shown to me stood the severetest of being shaken in every conceivable manner — edgeways up, upside down, and so on ; and shocks such as banging the wooden foundation boa-rd against a wall and dropping corner down upon a table failed

to in any manner disturb the eggs. The tray iosted was one of six made to just fill a kerosene- case, and as each tray holds 40 egaa, it will be seen that the convenience of regular consignors to market is .studied by the makers in a most effectual manner. The eggs are hold separately upon the tray in wire holders, and prevented from dropping to the bottom board by wire rails or runners, and in view of the fact that the eggs can bs? placed in the trays at the nests, and need never again be handled it will be seen that many breakages and l frequent recountings are avoided, as when filled the tray can be packed with the knowledge that e--ich tray holds exactly 4-0 eggs. Eggs despatched (o market in these trays should, and no doubt would, be accepted as correct in number and sound as regards breakages by agents and storekeepers, and such being the ease, wi3l in very few consignments, in the saving of rejects, clear their initial cost. They should also prove most useful to ianciers preserving eggs for incubation, as V y one ttvn of the wrist a whole 40 eggs may be given the daily turn over necessary to ensure continued vigour in the germ. Made in sizes to hold a do7en eggs, they <vould answer admirably for conveying settings through the post.

—"Hotspur," a Melbourne poultry scribe, i*s the author of the two following most interesting paragraphs for =ilver Wyandotto breeders: — Breeders who have not had much experience in the silver Wyandotte should not condemn the breed without* considerable hesitation. Frequently the best laced pullets will become mossy and badly marked as two-year-olds, then as three-year-olds they wilJ again come all right and be pure in colour and lacing. Inexperienced fanciers will condemn =uch birds off hand, and ths cute breeder will step in and score. Very often some strains of silvers will throw white chickens, and as a rule this is a good sign that the laced silver chickens will be well defined and open in their lacing. I have leceived a good many letters on these points, some correspondoafs describing their stud birds as mongrels for throwing sports ; but such is not the ea?e. We must remember that th-T Wyandotte is a comparatively new breed, aloo that it throws fewer sports than the Andalu-ian, one of the oldest breed*. Quite recently I saw the progeny of one Andalnsian hen. and out of 30 chickens there wnv 14- blues, 6 mottled whites, and 10 black chickens. This gives a gosd^idea of what some strains of pure blue Andalusians will throw, so Wyatfidotte men need not worry over their troubles. A prominent breeder of Wyaixlottes recently remarked that he often got a touch of feather in the shanks of Lis 3'ounqr birds, especially from the best laced strains. Ho faid : — "I like to see it, because I know it is associated with Ihe beat birds for breeding." Of course, the chickens showing feather in the leg are destroyed, and as a general rule there is only a small proportion of such birds. Perhaps this, may be. sorpe solace to budding breeders who imagine they should be able to breed champions right off the reel and without any trouble. To get a perfect laced bird is no easy task, b-ut when you do breed them they are worth money. The champion partridge Wyandotte cockerel of England brought £165 this season, and I always assert that Australian fanciers are lucky in being able to buy the best colonialbred birds of the year at prices ranging from £10 to £20. " The latter flours will never stop a wide-awake breeder who knows that the male bird :s half the flock Breeding is an art. and if the fancier can get to the top of the tree through one stud bird, then such a bird is cheap at any rea-sonable price. The breeders of to-day, who have relied on buying their stud stock locally, have no idea how much it cost the fanciers' of earlier days, to import and pioneer the different varietras. It was no uncommon thing 1o find breeders in the seventies and eighties sending drafts for hundreds of pounds to English fanciers for stud stock. Nowadays some exhibitors at our premie shows think £5 too much to expend on a high-class eockorel for a change of blood); but as a general rule those who do not show a spirit of enterprise and enthusiasm in this direction seldom come to the front as breeders, and their stock gradually dwindle away in quality.

— Those who wish their birds to be in condition to properly compete at the shows. later on should lose no time in n.aking ail preparations. Provide a dust bath, and pay regular attention to it. The legs of all birds should be carefully washed, and if scaly, -well scrubbed, and treat-ed with kerosene ' and oil, or sulphur ointment, at frequent intervals-. Keep the birds going nicely, but do not overfeed them. Close-fitting, glossy plumage requires hard food. Too much soft food tends to long-, loose feathers. Grain — limiting maize to a few syra-in.-} occasionally — parched wheat, and a little torrified barley can be used. Soft food may be given in moderation, and is often aii easy medium for administering Epsom ssltr, tonics, or Douglas mixture-. Forcing foods are bad at any time, and only permissible just before a show. Their uso is generally an admission of failure in judicious tr?atment. Many a bird' is spoilt for show through damaging the plumage in some friendly dispute in the open pen. Penning during preparation for show is universe Uy practised.

— The propensity of some hens to sit, in season or out, on eggs, stone, doorknobs, or anything that comes handy, rs one of th© most gre.yious afflictions of the poultry keeper. In his interest is reprinted the description of a "sure cure" discovered by a oorrespon-cJent of the Chicago Chronaele, in Leslie ur, Minnesota. The cure consists of a- cheap watch that ticks loudly and clearly, and is enclosed in a white, e,jgshaped case. When a hen manifests a desire to sit at the wrong time, the poultryman gently places under hor this bogus egg, and the egg does Ihe re-:t. Cheerfully it ticks away. The hen soon begins to show signs of uneasiness. She stirs the noisy egg with her bill, thinkingperhaps that it is already time for it to hatch, and the chicken in it wants to get out. She grows more and more nervous as the noise keaps- on, and finally phe jumps off the neat and' runs round awhile to get cool. Generally she returns to her seiiimposed duty; but things get worse and Worse for her. She- wriggles about and cackles, ruffles her feathers, ?nd looks wild, Until ait last, with, a frenzied squawk, sh© abandons tlie nest for good and! all. The fever of incubation is broken up completely. The Lesueur poultryma.i declares that Le has never found a hen that could stand the strain of the conversation egg for more than three ho>ur^ La much le,ss tim© th.an

that, as a rule, tho hen is ready to return to her legitimate business.