POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2761, 13 February 1907, Page 35

POULTRY NOTES.

Bt Txskok.

!— Mr T. Leihy, Government poultry grade? afc Dunedin, has compiled" a very interesting return, showing the estimated annual value of New Zealand's poultry industry, his calculations being based on the numoer of birds as shown by the census taken in April, 1906. The number of fowls shown in the census return was 2,784,269, and ?ftei\ making an allowance of 40 per cent. for. males and non-layers Mr Leihy places the number of layers at 1,670,562. It is estimated that each hen lays 80 eggs, and that 30 per cent, of the eggs are used for incubating, from which chickens to riie'&C 1 tent of 33 per cent, are hatched and rearacf. This gives 13,364,496 birds, which, valued at 2s each, give a value of £1,336,449. The product of eggs is estimated at 7,995,9M1 dozen, and the y average value is set down afc ; lOd a dozen, or an aggregate value of £333,164. At the time of the last census the number of ducks was 281,999, and by the same method of calculation as that indicated above Mr Leihy estimates the number of layers at 169,200. The prcduct 1 is estimated at 1,353,600 birds, which ft an , average of 2s each represent a monetary, , value of £135,360, and 789,600 dozen eggs, \ alued at £32,900, taking the average value of lOd per dozen. There were 77,101 tnr- ' keys, of which 46,261 were calculated as layers. These were estimated to produce 277,5^6 birds, valued at £69,391, taking the average at 5s eaoh. The "number of geeso ' when the census was taken was 44,300, of i which 26,580 represented the estimated! number of layers. These were estimated to I produce 265,0*00 birds, which, valued at «?s od each, represented an aggregate cf £33,225. On this basis the poultry industry is worth £1,940,490 to the colony annually. — The best definition of the word fancier that has met my eye is "one who fancies' the stock he keeps and breeds from pure love of his pets and pursuit of breeding', and is not of the class who arc incited to join the ranks of breeders from mercenary, motives alone. Fanciers are born and not made." To a great extent this is «o, though it must bo admitted that it is •quite within the" range . of practical possibilities for a person to be suddenly seized with what is termed the "fancier's fever." —In these days of egg-laying competi- , tions there is amount ol evidence that a large class are interesting themselves in poultry-breeding (and of purebreds at that) whose chief interest is not love of the bird but love of tho profit, and in view of the" fact that these breeders join fanciers' clubs and are prepared to use their influence in regulating shows and appointing judges, it behoves the genuine fancier to be on tho alert to counteract attempts to subvert utility to fancy interests. — If, however, the "fancy" carefully guards its own interests in the noar future it may do much in the direction of converting those who at present breed merely for the pleasure of the profits to a recognition of the fact that pleasure in pecuniary gain may be enhanced by combining therewith tho fascination of breeding prize-winning specimens. — The brcodor for profit is not to be expected to jom hands with that class of. lturitimato fanciers whoeo object is to breed tno peculiar or to create new varieties. The only class of fancier likely to attract the 6trictly utility breeder is the one who merely aims=^-there is a- large cla*s of such— fo improve upon existing useful breeds, and as there can be no question but that iutility and beauty may be combined all efforts to this end 'should be encouraged. —As was pointed out in * this column some weeks back it is the effort to maintain; utility, which, in the <ong run, will curb the tendency which undeniably now exists on the part of fanciers to favour the nro.

faction of monstrosities, and consequently lave present useful • breeds from • destruction. The utility breeder who joins hands with the fancy will not love a male bird which grows a- comb too heavy to be carried upright, or a female bird whose comb is developed to the extent that it obstructs the vision. Abnormal growths such as these the strictly utility man will not tolerate, and hia voice in the club con- j lequently will be raised accordingly. — The utility breeder already recognises that while the "standard" weight for lightlaying birds is favourable to production, over-weight is aar deleterious thereto as is underweight in breed*- bred for table purposes, and consequently will insist on judges observing the standards. — Poultry-raisers who make a business of lelling young chickens cannot do better than Itudy the methods which swine and cattle raisers adopt in preparing their animals for market (writes 0" S. Walters, in the Michigan. Farmer). A fat chicken is alway* desirable* and a full, plump body and limbs will go a- long way toward finding a customer. Most of the chickens sent to market are lean and lanky. It ia said that it is hard work to fatten a young chicken. Is it so hard? I believe if the right methods are observed it will be found an easy matter. A young chicken ,w prone to run around a good deal, and her nervous activity is «pt to run off ail fat. But there or four weeks before it is time to market the chickens, confine them in narrow enclosures where they cannot run around much. Keep out all roosters or fighting chickens, for worry is sure to keep them thin. Only, a few should be kept in each enclosure. TAe pen should be a. good one from every point of view. It should- have a shady run and a sunny side, so that the chiokeas can auit themselves a. little. Preferably, -it should have some ■ green growing- grace or a shrubbery. This help* to make life more pleasant and agreeable to the chickens. Everything to make their quarters comfortable should be added. Now give them, clean, fresh water once or twice a day* and ail the food they can eat. Muscle and bone-making food ar» not required. These can be eliminated entirely. Corn in various forms •hojild be fed freely to them. Cooked corn mashed end ground corn, and whole corn should be- fe«f every, day. Warm potatoes and breadcrumbs will also make fat. Any kind ot milk and a little sugar will help along the fattening process. The process must be hurried along as fast as possible, for during tHeee day« the chickens will eat considerable, and if they do not lay on fat every day it will be a losing operation. In the end, however,, good returns should be made for all this trouble and expense, for tb.9 chickens wilL sell quicker in the market, weigh more, and generally bring the top prices.. — Without questioning the maxim that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, there can be- no doubt, that come slight acquaintance with poultry diseases, will help in the detection, of illness in Its early stages, and enable the owner of the fowls to perhaps save the lives of his birds, or, at anyrate, prevent disease spreading chrousrhout theHeck. Many amateurs are not su/Beientlyj acquainted with the- hafiits- and movements of their fowls when they ate well and healthy to notice quicHy if there is anything wrong with them. It is, however, an easy thing to see whether all" the bird* come with eagerness to be fed, and it is a. sure sign if one- or more mope about alone at feeding, time, and either decline to «at, or pick up only a grain or two, that there fa something wrong with those birds- They should- be- caught, as soon *3 possible, removed, from the others, and examined. The throat and nostrils should he first looked at. After a continuance of damp weather, and where the fowls are overcrowded and the house and rue seldom cleaned, that troublesome disease, roup, is apt to make Urn appearance. It is easily recognisable by the discharge from eyes and nostrils, the ogengive 6mell, and the difficulty in breathing. At first the symptoms are identical with those of 'a sever© cold. But very soon the nostrils- are closed by the discharge drying around them, the face swells, and froth appears at the corner; of the eyes, which swell greatly. It is essential that any fowl suffering with roup should be isolated from. fche others, as the disease is contagious and spreads rapidly. The swelling round the eyes should be bathed twice a day with warm water, and the mouth and throat washed out with permanganate of potash and water, the water being made of a deep claret Many roup pills are advertised, some of which arc efficacious; Another method of curing is by means of. a preparation used in the drinking water. This is said not only to cure, but to prevent the spread of the disease. Liver disease is common in some poultry yards', • induced by feeding largely on maize, by too much food, by deficiency of vegetable 'diet, and by various- other causes. A frequent symptom is for the comb to turn bluish black, the appetite to be feeble, and for the patient to have diarrhoea, the matter evacuated >eing yellowish and slimy. The affected Airds will sometimes walk stiffly, going quito lame if made to run. A mode of treatment is. to give saline purgatives, such as six grains of Epsom salts and 10- grains of bicarbonate of potash daffr for a few days, and to alter the diet. A complaint that troubles some of the- hens now and then is that of egg-binding. Thi* may arise from high feeding with too much fat-pro-ducing food ; or from the «gg being an abnormally large one, so that the oviduct will not allow of. its expulsion. The bird will often go to the nest without laying. and when off the nest will walk about "with wings nearly touching the ground, apparently in pain. Generally a dessertspoonfiill of olive oil, applied to the inside of the vent with a feather, will cause the egg to appear. Or if this is not successful, hold ,the hen over a jug of hot water so that the steam may reach, the vent, and then place her on the nest. Diarrhoea will visit the- poultry -yard if the feeding is not correct. Any novice can tell when thi3 attacks the birds. A few meals of boiled rice, sprinkled with powdered chalk, will generally stop it ; or give" «ome rice water to drink, instead of the usual plain water. —An abundant supply of protein in 'palatable form is necessary, for satisfactory growth of poultry, writes W. P. Wheeler, in Farm. Field, and Fireside. The development of blood, flesh, and feathers k very rapid in young birds; and these part* and organs are- rich In nitrogenous matters. These can :ome only from the food of the yountt chick or duckling. Under farm. condition* these indefatigable little foragera will supplement their allotted grain ration Ji'ith grasshoppers, flies, booties, worms, slugs, and other for/ns of animal life that are rich in protein; bur in confinement, especially _ where the flocks arc larpp. the young birds cannot accuie a sufficient

amount of protein, in the limited range of natural animal food that comes their way, to balance up the carbo-hydrates of the grains. When shut up also, the birdslack the vigorous exereiee that might enable them to utilise large amounts of foods low in protein so that they could secure the needed quantity of the essential requirement for rapid and profitable growth. The cereal grains, especially corn, are very starchy foods ; and no combination of them. will give a nutritive ration narrow enough to develop the young birds rapidly. Some supplement must be used. Seeds of the legumes, like peas, beans, or cowpeas, a-re richer in protein : bur, unfortunately, these foods are not well liked by poultry, and will not be eaten in any considerable quantity. Those materials that are richest in nitrogen are the concentrated by-products ; but these products are not, in a way, natural foods. They are refuse materials from slaughterhouses, from creameries, or from oil mills ; parts of grain from starch factories, sprouted grains from distilleries and breweries, or other materials whose natural composition has been changed in come way. It is not safe to depend on the content of protein and fat in estimating the fcod value of euoh materials for poultry, as may usually be done in case of whole grains. Palatability, constipating or laxative effect, excess or deficiency of mineral matter, are all factory that must be considered. The adaptability of such feeds can only be determined by; actual trial. The Geneva (N.Y.) experimental station has fed several of these by-products to poultry,, and finds such marked difference in their effect that the results are well worth presentation. In the test with ducklings, three pens of from 25 to 30 birds were fed for nine weeks, starting when the duoklingw were one week old. Three highly nitrogenous rations were fed, the basis of each being corn meal, green alfalfa, and" a mixture of four parts oream, gluten meal, two parts each of peameal and low-grade flour, and one part each of corn, meal, wheat middlings, and blood meal, with soz of salt for every 10001b of the mixture, and with liberal allowance of sand. To this basal ration thera was added about one-third the amount of the by-pro-ducts to be tested: For lot 1, "animal meal" atfidV "meat meal" ; for lot 2, blood meal and bone meal; and £qt lot 3, "milk albumen" and bone meal. Lot 2 made much slower growth? than either of the >ther lots, 1 and 3 being about equal. The average gain for the birds in these lots in nine weeks was 5 l-71b, for those of lot 2 4ilb; but each lot ate almost the same amount of dry matter for a pound of growth. That s, the rations for lot 2 were of the same prodiuetive value as the other rations, when eaten; but it appeared to be unpalatable, so that the ducklings would net eat it freely enough to make a. rapid growth. The ration containing the '*milk albumen" was? the most satisfactory so far as the general appearance of the birds was concerned, as the plumage developed more rapidly and evenly under that ration than under "animal meal" ssnd "meat meal"; but the relatively high cost of the "milk, albumen" made the ration lets profitable" to use. Ia another teat, 40 to 50' chicks in each of four pens were fed foe eight weeks. The by-products tested were:— For lot 1, "animal meal" ; for 2, "milk albumen"; for 3, gluten meale; and. 1 for lot 4 gluten meals, with ground bone to make up any deficiency in ash. The jrrowbh of the chicks was. slow. Most of them were Leghorns. Lot 1 on "animal meal" and lot 2 on "milk albumen" did fairly well, the increase being about equal for die two lor*. The chicks of lot 3 on gluten meals gain-gd; only one-third as much as those in lots 1 and 2, and those in lot 4, with ground bone to supply the ash deficiency of the gluten meals, about twothirds as much. The gluten meals appeared 1 to be unpalatable, cream gluten meal less so than Chicago gluten meal. The use of ani6e and fenugreek to disguise or flavour the gluten meals resulted in but little better consumption of food. The "milk albumen here, as with the ducklings, was palatable, being somewhat superior in this respect to the animal meal, and was the more healthful food>: but its cost marie the rations unprofitable. It was observed: n both of these tests, as in many other tests along different lines, that the unfavourable effect of a ration was most marked during the first few weeks of the bird's life. Differences tended to disappear as the ?hicks or ducklings became older. It is essential that young poultry be fed 1 rations made up of foods known to be palatable and healthful. Older birds can utilise to better advantage some more questionable materials. —A- Tapper and Co. (per Mr E. Reilly) report for week ending Saturday, the 9th inst. :— Poultry are in full supply, and prices very low. We received jome nice consignment-, the past week, and placed them all as soon as they arrived. Young cockerels and pullets command good prices ; ducks and geese are neglected. At our weekly *ale on Wednesday we sold: Hens. Is 6d (o 2s 6d ; ducks. 2i to 2s 9d; duckling*. 2s to 3s 3d; young roasters. 3s to 4fe 6d ; pullets, 4s to 4s 6d ; geesp, 3s 6d to 4s per pair Eggs: Ihe market has been fully supplied, and pnew remain steady. We sold ra«e eggs at Is Ad. and stamped (guaranteed fresh) at Is 5a per dozen. Butter: In keen demand. Farmers' pate, B£d ; separator-lib pate 9-id to lOd, 41b pats 10id to lid. Pigs: In. good demand. 1201b to 1401b, 4id to 4id f 1401b to 1801b. 42d.