POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 35

POULTRY NOTES.

Bt Teiuior. Pullets hatched out in September and October last, -should in. the natural order ! of events he laying by March or April, I but where they have suffered neglect m Sect to feeding, or .-here vonnmhave been allowed to make headway, the six ! months' old pullet Will find quite enough I to do to keep itself warm without botheri in,g about laying eggs. _ Much cam be done between, this and j the end of April to promote the laying ! of pullets, and perhaps the most important ! step in that direction will be a crusade j pgainst vermin. Nesting material is not ! so dear that it would ruin any breeder 1 to burn all in use every week for the next ; four weeks.' If this is done and the nest j boxes are painted as regularly with kero- ' sene, some millions of vermin and their eggs will be disposed of satisfactorily. The perches and per oh slots should also be I painted frequently, and the floors and walls ■ i thoroughly swept and dusted! with fine lime cr coal ash: and, let it be underetocd this cleaning work is imuerativo

on all poultry keepers who hope for event fair average results in winter egg prodilation. Then of course the birds themselves may require attention, for it must! be remembered that when. youngsters are covered with vermin the insects .not only Ske the Strength from the bird* but! hoy derive a great deal of nutriment from the big feathers, especially those out ot the tail and the chickens do not tcatnen nitvly so £a.s..': as they otherwise would. It is very o!tw nothing but vermin which causes the chickens to be 60 weak, which makes them very subject to cold which often turns into roup, and they are ako more susceptible to gapes when in ttu.3 weakened condition,. , Bmfc which are weakened in constitution are more liable tn fcake any disease. When chickens are covered with vermin, in, almost every case) the trail duct overflows upon the liver, i Whv is this? Simply because the chickens uetso weak the live* dors not act properly,! and" the gall mixes with blood instead SpaKg into the proper channel. When tihde is the case the chickens usually be-, come very thirsty, and drink a great deal of 'water if they are allowed it, I8n« brings on acute diarrhoea, and the poor, birds go moping about with their wings on the ground, and death is the result. Son™ readers may ' ask : "Does all this 0.0,=. u i,t ' from not keeping chickens-clear., of vermin?" Yes, and a great deal more.;' Many breeders can testify that this is teue Pyretihrum powder is an excellent, thins for dusting the chicks to kill these vmW nits, and the ointment can be made. by" mixing precipitate powder and lard!, in equal parts. Most readers will have, noticed that whenever there are vermin,; which we call lice, in chickens there are! also nits TlKfie latter are deposited prmeir round the head,. No matte hoW ; many vermin the young fowls nave offl hem. the powder will destroy them, butt in a few days or a week, according to the heat of the weather, the niie hatch; out, and naturally turn into lice. There-, for" the dusting only lasts for a bhorfi time- then when the young ones are. hatched out they grow very fast, ancE in a few weeks they, in their taw, I**£ mom nits on the feathers. This IS the way these little pests keep on breeding. Bv this our readers will understand it is a waste of time to use the powder unless a little ointment is used as well, ssa matter how full of vermin the birds are,, fariee dressing with insect powder a,n<« ointment will clear them all. oft,, and l» thev are not bad one dressing is often effective. It is a great pity when people go to the tfepeneo of buying eggs and batoning chickens, and feeding these oftentimes i-ncn the best foods that can. be bought thev will not, take the precautions, such as as examining the chickens and during them, to rid them of vermin; ones of the most, essential points necessary to keep them in health and get them along, they entirely overlook. _ \ question which seems to give con* *ide,rabl-° cause for anxiety to beginners in the poultry business is that of the quantity of fool which ought to be ted to laying hens. Some contend that tha. matter can be regulated by allowing a certain quantity per hundred pounds o* live but breeds differ so much insize, habits, egg-producing capacity etc* that it is quite impossible' to work oi£ a rule of this kind. Ten Langshan hens,. for example, will weigh as heavily a'4 35 L ■f-hov'ns. and, theoretically, lve t-houkf he able to feed the larger flock of Leg* horns on the same quantity of food a* the smaller flock of Lang.-.hans. hub in praotiee we cannot do eo because th*" habits and productive powers of the breedjj are different. There is also more wasts incurred in feeding: owe hundred pennd* of hen flesh made up in parcels of Leghorn size than in feeding the same quantity; made up under the form of Langshan, or. Cochin, or Brahma, just as there would . be more waste of fuel in running fifteen; small engines than ten larger ones of equal. ■ horse-power. There are, strictly speaking*! only throe purposes for which fowls avei ted. namely, to maintain the condition! of the body, to increase the weight and fO] produce eggs, and, in tho case of adutfij birds which are in proper condition fo'.\| laying to begin with, we may leave outh the 'second of the purposes mentioned-.,! But although we know the purposes foa* which we are feeding, viz., to produce. eggs, it is impossible for us to estimate ; exactly by an y system, of weights or ■. measures the exact quantity of food re- . quired. We can, however, lea.rn by cx-f perience to keep our hens in good laying condition and by handling them occasionally we can ascertain whether they are tod fat or too lean. The laying hen should feel bard in feather and muscle, and plump-,-but a soft or over-fat condition .of thai body would indicate that we have been! feeding too much or prebaps on too fat* tening foods. It is only necessary to refeS to the Aylesbury duck fattening industry*' to show its lucrativeness. In 1870 overt £20,000 worth of ducks was disposed of inC the Aylesbury district, and in late year* the total has been over £30,000. Thai bestf duck extant for table purposes is the Ayles-: bury. Not only is it of fine size and flavour,': but it is quick of growth and readily. Next to the Aylesbury come* that Pekin', but it takes at least ten days longed to reach a weight of 441 b to 51b (thej recognised killing weight) than afflf Aylesbury. It is best to feed every two hours for the fire* ton daysu and then give them four meals a day until they are a month old; from that time ung til they are six weeks old three meals day will Suffice, and from six weeks tw<g meals should be the rule. The food should} not remain in the pens longer than 2(§ minutes. This Last rule is very as ducklings soon lose their appetites i% food is left lying about in the pens. Ayles* bury ducklings aire generally large enough to fatten when five weeks old, and Peking at seven. Wateir must not be given until at least one hour after meals, and then if must not be left rco long in the pens. 16. is necessary that the utensils in which the) water is placed should be of sumcienij depth to allow the nostrils of the ducklings to be washed by the water. Ducks will not thrive if their nostrils are stopped upy. Gravel and sea shells should be added t<| the drinking water, and a good supply offi luttuco or tender cabbage should be to the birds daily. y. Epsom salts is a good homo remedy for liver disease. Its use is called for when tho fowl becomes purple in oombf mopes, and stands with feathers iivffledj In all cases where the fowl is off its fooS 1 a. dose acts wall. The best way to adminiat ter the remedy is to give half a ful in a little warm water on an ©hiptjfi crop. _ Aloes is another excellent remedy* i and is even better than Eosom salts. jp

[/the more advanced cases of liver disease Fit wjill be found of great service. Its action "era a sluggish liver is marvellous, and in ""all oases of indigestion it will be found one tof tba beet remedies to. employ first. It is also well to give one dose to all birds sufflarimg from roup, .as it helps to clear the 'disease from the system.. Probably the best lend) most convenient way to administer 'the drug is to give it in the lump. Get an ounce of lump aloes from any chemist, and {cut it into little bits about the size of a .hemp seed, and give the fowl one> piece. i ''Rhubarb is an excellent stomachic, and . ,ve;fy useful in cases of severe indigestion, where the food' stops in the crop, and .•Jvhere signs of difficult digestion are- shown. I with a little castor oil, rhubarb is an excellent remedy for crop binding, i [ivihe're a surgical operation is not neeesfeary. The crop must be well kneaded with lithe hand, and a. little warm water poured the throat helps to separate the conJfcenits: then a teiaspoonful of castor oil, I to which has been added as much ground I - J Ejece, should bo gently poured down the ird's throat. Some _ poultrymcn prefer ,©Jive oil to castor oil in very weak birds, lift is probably the safer of the. two. Perinianganate of potash is a very useful drug ■in cases of roup and diphtheria, It is used as a mouth-wash. It is also well to (place a few crystals in the drinking water till a properly-prepared cure can be procured, as it is antisopic in action, and hcjps to kill the germs of the disease. —' Sulphate of iron 'is a very useful drug, and is either given simply by placing a piece, the size of a peai, to every pint of the bird's drinking water, or given ID the form of " Douglas mixture." tt is a capital tonic and appetiser, and' is very useful to young half-grown stock and to birds whilst moulting. Carbonate of iron is another tonic, J?ut *his should be given in the soft food.

It is a capital egg-producer if given with gentian and liquorice roots powdered, and has a remarkable effect in producing a rich glossy plumage. MJake the (mixture of equal parts of carbonate of iron, gentian root, liquoridse powdor, aniseed, and! a quarter part of Peruvian bark. Give one teaspoonful to the soft food of every 10 adult fowls daily for egg-production, and ! when recovering from disea-ses, also, ae a 1 conditioner. This will be found one of the safest a'hd best conditioners, and it will do good to all the external organs and enrich the blood. It will be found a valuable tonic for birds during the show season. Linseed i? a useful remedy for inflamed throat in roup and diphtheria where great difficulty in swallowing is experienced. Put four teaspoonfuls to every pint of boiling water, and then boil for KTminutes. Cool and give it to the fowls to drink. The seed is also useful to put a gloss on the bird's feathers. A small handful every few days of linseed and hempseed a.re excellent for this. i Chemioal food (Parrish's) is a splendid tonic, and is especially valuable for leg weakness and anaemia. It helps to grow strong-framed chickens, as it grows bone very quickly, Give about three teaspoonfuls to a pint of water for full-grown poultry, and two teaspoonfuls to every pint of water for chickens. It is also very useful as an ovary tonic, and' helps to get fertile eggs. Boracic acid Is a very useful drug in all cases of inflamed eyes and swollen heads in poultry. It is used in solution. Add what win Mc on a sixpenny piece of bofooic acid to half a pint of water, to bathe the face, eyes, or throat. The boraoio ointment is also a very useful artiole. Black' sulphur, mixed with sweet oil, is a oapital remedy for scaly legs. It should be applied every other day. On alternate days paint with pa-raftm, after-

wards thoroughly washing tho birds' legs in warm water. Cayenne peppier is ft remedy that should be used with caution, and never given to force laving. A quarter of a gri&in is enough. This can be given in tho soft food in. cases where internal warmth is desired'. Powdered' chalk is one of tho safest remedies for diarrhoea in chickens; a 111,1 In sprinkled on their soft food acln lilui magic. These are jiisi a. lew :<iiiij>Nv lioiim* remedies thai all poultry koopWH hlioiiM ha,vo by them for urgent rurrc.