POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 36

POULTRY NOTES.

Br Tebuor.

The showman is now selecting his birds for the show, arid in a iew weeks will be penning Jhe'm for special attention. It is a mistake to coop them -in pairs';, far better to accustom them to conditions as similar as possible to those under which they will be judged. Some, /people, and successful showmen too, prefer to let their birds run at large up to the day or cooping for dispatch to the show, but if you investigate you will find that such persons keep their birds constantly under sight and hand—i.e., in a perfectly tame condition and, generally -speaking, under most favourable circumstances. Once a bird is selected to uphold the reputation, of the owner at a show every care must be taken that no feathers are lost or broken and .that no accident happens to face or comb. .. An accidentally lost feather may be judged ae pulled, and a disfigured comb or face, through fighting or any pure mischance be put down to the use of the knife; so risk nothing. ' ~ « Washing is an important matter in the preparation of wbifce birds for show, and the . following particulars of the method adopted by an English expert for properly effecting this process will, I think, interest many jf my readers. The writer says: "I want a large quantity of hot water, the more tne better, a good fire going, and a room that is at least -90 deg in all parts of it.'

"I-prepare one tub with clean, hot water (about as warm as I would "want to bear my hand in), with a liberal amount of soap well dissolved and put in, so that the first bird gets as thick and heavy a lather as does the last one.

"I grasp the bird in my left-hand, around both legs, put her under the water in-order to soak her up. Once the feathers are well wet,, you can soap and scrub them about as you would a rag. Go clear to the skin, so that the feathers in every part are thoroughly washed. I have added a little borax to the water, but I found ho especial benefit from this.

"The second tub or first rinsing water is clean, the chill just taken off; and the bird, after being thoroughly Washed, is put into this, and as much of the soap as is possible rinsed out. See that there is no smooth feeling to the .feathers in any section, as this would indicate that there is still some soap adhering to them. >."Tbe third: water .is almost bold, with a fair amount of bluing added to it, just about as much as one would v use in washing clothes. Do not get too much, or this will certainly label you as an amateur. "After each washing the bird is as far as possible wrung out with the right hand. Allow the bird to lie on your left arms as you grasp her in the hand, and run your right hand down back from her head to her tail. In this way you will get rid of a good portion of the water,' so that she is in better condition, to change from one to the other.

"In the last rinsing pains should be taken that you do not pinch the tail feathers together, or, if /ou do, they will remain so. and have an appearance that she never had before and that will work against her under the eye of the judge. - - "I like a sponge to use after each washing, or the reason that it can be run down over the back, absorbing a greater portion of the moisture and is easily squeezed out in the hand. I would certainly advise that you have a nice clean one co use after the last rinsing. ... "To'free her from a large portion of the water that still remains in the feathers; I grasp ner by both legs and toss in the air. If done right, when cbming down, she will beat her wings and thus throw off the water in much . the same manner as a dog will in" shaking himself. Now use the sponge oh breast, back,' legs, and hocks. "Administer a teaspoonful of good straight whisky. Set in a coop containing absolutely dry sawdust, close to the stove, and she ought, to dry out with a little attention in the very best "of condition. I have found that if you get them too hot you will scorch the feathers. However, they ought to be near enough to the heat that they will open the plumage and dry off as quickly af possible. "If allowed to remain wet too long you are quite apt to sret cold in them. It is necessary to keep draughts away from them when wet.

"Usually, in washing, I have so many j going along at the same time that I am ! obliged to build coops two storeys high; j but I want the floor of the lower one to j ba at least on a level with the top of tne i stove, for you do not get much heat from the sides, though, of course, you have the oven doors open all the rime. Before being taken from the coop gee that the feathers under the wings are dry, as this is the last place where they will dry. V "I lay a good deal of stress on the matter . of having them thoroughly dried before you reduce the temperature to any great extent in the room. Fot'what is more annoying and heart-breaking than to have a lot of birds that ycu have picked out and are banking on to win to have one or more of them get cold from neglect of this > one point? \

"When well dried, take a clean cloth and lay the' bird across your lap. Drawing this around her, thus confining the wings so that she* can not slap them, clean the legs thoroughly. Every scale must be attended to. If in pretty good condition after the wash, you probably can clean- one which would be satisfactory to me, in about an hour: You won't average better .than. this if you give them, the attention, that is absolutely- necessary.-

"Now take the bird, go over it from head to heels, every section, looking, for broken 'feathers. A; far as possible pull them all out- Of course, if you have got enough so that it will .make the bird look sparsely feathered iruany section, you will have to let them stay. "Now take her by the legs, head down,, and strike gently with the right hand alt of the feathers of the fluff, leg, back, rieck and breast cowards her head. Then drop her gently on her feet, and you have loosened her feathers, and-given her a combing which ought to put Jier in the very best, of shape, and. give her a slightly fluffy look, which is. certainly attractive; ;in fact, every time that you have occasion to take ner from the coon, see that her- fluff is stroked as suggested. > "This gives every detail of my method of fittinsr birds for the exhibition. Of course, the male is handled in the very same way: only.'to take a cook bird, you want to trim his spurs nicelv. Extra care will be required in old stock to see that every Scale of the leg from the year before is removed without tearing the new one. "When in the showroom I use hamamelis for the face and. head. This brightens it, although vinegar is verv s:ood, and some use kerosene. But I find this too powerful, and after a" few davs it will leave a light scale, showin?- that it burns the surface of the ""nmb- and fa-"e.. "Where a bird hns Hpen slightly soiled in shipping to the exhibition.' T have used a clei>> -soonw and e *)On™!sd them "all -over with alcohol. If the- flight feather* have become blackened, take a clean clotii, and. with the heln of" an attendant to hold her. you can lay the feathers right out on this, i.nd just brush them right down and tike all colour from them.- " I will caution you that each individual bird mils' go to the show. in a separate coop. . Do. not let -two,females even get togethei-, for if yoa do you will find one or both of them badlv soiled when you come to .put them in the cage. "Remember, it is honours you want.' The prize is worthy of every effort that you ma,ke, even though it is nothing more than a ribbon: and after you have made the effort to show, do not let one thing, "not even your sleep, stand in the way of your winning. 0 ' . "Many will think the -labour altogether" too much cost for the value received. Others will think they are not fitted or in cohcsition to make any such effort. But it'would seem to me that if you had only, one tub in the house, it would be better to take a dollar-or so and buy two .more, in order to get the results that you want; for I am free to state that it is much better not to attempt to wash your bird at all than to half do it, for nothing can look meaner than a dingy, ill-washed bird. And, friends, I will tell you one thing. I believe the coming show season is going to be the warmest one that we have ever witnessed, and it is going to take the hottest kind of goods. All the .' primping'' that you fail to do for your birds you can just w-arrant the other fellow has done to his, and- in- all probability this alone will beat you out. "It is just as fair and just as honest r or you to make every possible .known effort to have your bird in the best possible shape, as it is for yoii to pii? oti your best attire to go to the barber's to. be all shaven and shorn before sitting for your photo."- f A good dry food mixture for chickens can be made as follows:---71b finely-cracked wheat {the flour sifted out), ilb canary seed, a handful- each of linseed, hempseed, and - millet- Mix - all these grains, and add about £lb of fine shell grit. ; This mix-, ture can be used untih the chickens are three weeks old. ' , ....''

COLOUR-FEEDING. Saccharated carbonate of iron is an excellent thing to give to any coloured bird whilst moulting, provided too much is not administered. But there is a. good deal of misconception as to the benefits to be derived from colour-feeding. For instance, take a buff fowl that is naturally of a good sound colour —it would be folly to red-feed such a one, as the result would probably be the bird would moult a reddish, brioky colour, which would entirely spoil, it. Again many imasine they will derive benefit by colour-feeding their chickens, but as it is most difficult to say exactly what a chick will be like until it has attained adult plumage, such a proceeding is most, risky. The only class of bird that is likely to derive material benefit by the process is a bird that when in adult plumage is of an even colour, but a bit too pale in colour for good competition. If the individual bantam that you mention is too light or washed out in colour, then the giving of about three grains of saccharated carbonate of iron every other day during the moult and until the new feathers have lost all blood from the quills will improve him in colour. But if he is naturally too dark in colour, such a treatment will make bad worse. BRAIN DISEASE IN HENS. Hens have some ailments that may be attributed to nervous causes; that is, under certain circumstances they seem to lose control of their muscles or powers of locomotion. The brain and nervous system may be called practically one, the brain being the starting point, or, perhaps one should say, governing point. Some half a. dozen diseases of fowls are mentioned as diseases of the

brain. They include congestion, dizziness, J apoplexy, epilepsy, etc. Congestion may j occur in fat birds because of indigestion or ; extreme fright. .It occurs in male birds during the breeding season, in chickens exposed" to the hot sun unduly, and m birds having the intestines affected with parasitic worms. j FATTENING DUCKS. j Ducks should be hatched early in. the j season and fattened up as qui«kly as possible, so as to weigh a little over 6gib at 12 weeks old. The fattening process should not be continued after the J.2 weeks, for from that time the ducklings begin to lose instead of add weight to their stature. To fatten Avlcsbury ducklings provide them with plenty of food, keeping them in confined but clean quarters, and at the same time providing very little exercise, in order that' they may bo induced to sit or lie down, and allow the tat to settle. The ducklings will fatten much quicker if allowed to remain quiet. i

IMPORTATION OF EGGS. The Trad® and Navigation returns for 1909 record that the number of eggs imported into the. United Kingdom from ail countries were 17,710.441 gt.- hds.,_ or 2 125 252,920. which was a decrease trom the total of ±903 of 499,629'-gt. lids., or 59,955,580; or 357,460 gt. lids. (102,895,300) less than in 1907.' 'The high-water mark ■in volume of imports-.‘was in 1903; since which .time there has- been a steady: decline. .The figures foi 1909 show a- reduction as compared with 1903 of 2,i38, t fso gt. hds., or 256,661.820, which is more than 16,000 tons. Increases in quantities are reported from Russia (916,152 gt. hds.), France (96,575 gt. hds.), and other countries (602,747 gt. hds.); whilst decreases are shown from Denmark (359,407 gt. hds.), Germany (581,195 gt. hds.), Italy (440,604 gt. hds.), Austria-Hungary (687,425 gt. hds.), and -•Canada (46,409 : gt. hds.). The supplies credited to Germany came from Southern Russia, and Canadian supplies are practically no longer of account. Bejow are given the figures for the respective countries, with percentages of quantities;— EGGS IMPORTED, 1909.

utner countries Totals .. 17,710,441 7,235,302 100.00 Russia has advanced, as compared with 1908, by 7.28 per cent. ; France, 0.64 percent., and other countries, 4.87 per cent. ; 'whilst Denmark has dfecr,eased 2.14 per cent., and Canada 0.26 per cent For 1 several years the declared average values have steadily advanced. - In 1898 these were 5s lOd pet great hundred. The figures since 1900 are; as followsl9oo, 6s syd per gt. hd .; 1902, 6s : 7yd'per gt. hd. ; 1904, 6s 9d per gt. hd.; 1906, 7s 6?d per gt. hd.; 1908, 7s 10-yd per gt. hd.; 1909,8 s 2d per gt. hd.; or an advance in the nine years of Is Byd -per gt_. hd., due -to increased demand and improved methods of marketing. As already stated, there is a slight reduction in imports of poultry, but, as values only are given, we have no means of knowing whether this is in numbers or not. IMPORTS OF POULTRY.

In each case the variations are small. The exports of poultry in 1909 are stated to be, in value, £20,617. and re-exports £36,306, or a total of £56,923, the former of which is principally for breeding stock, but I feel confident it is under-stated. Unfortunately, the poultry and- production census taken in 1908 has not yet been issued, and I am compelled to estimate as in former years, so far as British production is concerned, using the figures of the Irish Department of Agriculture for 1908 as a basis for Ireland. Estimated consumption in United Kingdom:—

The wholesale value of eggs and poultry consumed are, therefore- nearly 21 million pounds sterling, of which 39.2 per cent, are foreign and 60.8 per cent, of native production. My estimate is that the consumption of eggs in the United Kingdom in 1908 was as follows; —Foreign produce, 2.125,252,920: Irish produce, 878,659,325; British produce, 1,440,000,000; total, 4,443.912,245, which is equal to about 280,000 tons —a stupendous quantity. VALUE OF THE ONION. Onions are valuable in the rearing of chickens. They are a good health promoter, and have a high feeding value, be - ing warming to the system, and they are cheap. They are best fed in the raw. state,: after being chopped up or minced, and' may be mixed with soft food or fed separately. Chicken® will eat them greedily, -and their value cannot be overestimated. The above is the opinion of an English expert, and the writer can also testify that onions are good for chickens. CENTRAL PRODUCE MART (LTD.). Reilly, Scott, and Gill, proprietors, report for week ending Saturday, the 25tb On Wednesday last we had a record entry of all classes of poultry —in all some 2000 birds. Unfortunately, quite a number of the birds which came forward were very small ■ and thin. Anticipating the heavy supplies, we made arrangements to have a buyer present who wanted birds for canning purposes, and fortunately for our consignors we were able to clear the whole of our consignments at satisfactory prices. Had we not made this arrangement we should have had a serious glut in all classes of small and unfinished poultry. We would again impress on consignors the necessity of sending only good table birds to this market.

/ ' \ * Percentages Quantities, Values. Clf From— gt. lids. £ Quantities. Russia ,. 8,154,635 2,928.867 46.05, Denmark : ’ ’ .. 3,428,200 1.698,329 19.36 Germany, 612,817 255,003 3.46 Fiance’ .. -1,047,860 ' '475,335 5.91 Italy .. 875,758 409,450 4.94 Austria-Hungary 1.300,246 647,005 7.34 Cunada 3,984 2,182 0.02 Other countr ie.s 2.286.941 -928,141 12.92

1907. 1908. 1999. From.— £ £ £ Russia 277.799 360,362 351,aiS jy ranee 181,942 170,387 156 >035 Austria-Hungary .. United States of 87,335 114,037 108,642 America 203,58? 152,135 149,552 Other countries .. 153,183 136,758 154,603 Totals .. 903,847 934,679 920,699

Eggs. JE Foreign produce 7,235.302 Irish produce, ’08 3,059.000 British produce 6,000,000 Poultry. Totals. £ £ 920,699 8,155,001 850,000 3,900,000 2,750,000 8,760,000 Totals .. 16,285.302 4,520,699 20,806,001