POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3201, 21 July 1915, Page 58

POULTRY NOTES.

iiy J ERROR.

A* correspondent writes to tell me something which I cannot recognise as news, but which I may as well hand on to my readers, if only for the sake of the encouragement it may give. He says that last season he had a clucker and a sitting of white Leghorn eggs given to him, and that ho raised six pullets. They wore hatched in September; some began to lay in March, and the lot were laying in April, and' that to the end of June last month they have laid over 1500 eggs. His news is “ that hens pay !” Certainly hens pay if treated fairly. They are generally treated fairly if kept in small lots, because the bran, pollard, and wheat is then supplemented with scraps of meat, vegetables. etc., from the table, and there is so little to do in earing for six birds that that little is done, and done regularly. To my mind, every household having suitable conveniences for keeping poultry should do so, if only to avoid wasting the house scraps. It seems to me to be absolutely sinful to buy eggs for the house whilst throwing into the dust bin scraps which can be turned into eggs fresher than shops can possibly supply. whether “ runner eggs can bo safely given to a hen to hatch. ’ Yes, hens are mere reliable than ducks. As a rule they hatch out more ducklings from a sitting, and care for them longer and better than does the duck. Most poultry-breeders are agreed. I believe, that unless a certain quantity of animal food is given to their poultry every week hens cannot lay as many eggs as they are capable of. It is not advisable to give much meat, however, but a little at a time and regular. A good turkey hen will lay from 25 to 30 eggs before going broody. The period of incubation is 28 days. Nests should be placed in as dark a place as possible. Most breeds like a ■ darkened nest, and it is when the _ nests are not so arranged that the habit of eggeating is generally acquired. The size of the egg has no relation whatever to the size of the fowl when once we get away from the bantams. But the size of those of any particular strain can be influenced by feeding and breeding, and generally the pullet eggs are smaller than those of the hens. Good food adds to the size, and also to the quality. In this respect green food plays quite ns important a. part as does animal food. When birds lack green food their eggs are pale as regards colour of yolk. This is something you can appreciate, because you can see it; but reason should teach that as the egg lacks in richness of colour so it docs in quality generally. The size of the egg is also influenced by trap-nesting—i.c., 'by setting the eggs not only of the hens which lay the most, but by also having regard to size. By this practice you may lose a few eggs per annum, but you obtain eggs which will be generally admired and prove more valuable. Speaking of s'zo, reminds mo that moderation in this respect is as necessary as in most other things. It would be quite a mistake to think that, monster eggs are desirable. They are. if anything, to he avoided. If you find a hen running to large eggs, put her off laying completely, by changing her quarters or diet: otherwise you will be apt, to find her dead in the run from over-straining. Simezing and the choking sounds are generally symptoms of catarrh or common cold, which, however, if neglected, may become serious. Draughty, ill-ventilated houses are the common ca ,i se. and defects In this direction must first of all bo remedied. Snoring, ran id breathing, arid a. sharp cough indicate pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs. If the back of the bird bo held to the ear. fho characteristic creaking sound (crophat-inn) will he a sure confirmation of pneumonia. Rattling in the throat is generally a. sign of bronchitis (inflammation of the bronchi, or main branches of the lungs, or the windpipe). When the comb and face (in red-faced birds) assumes a bluish oast tins ratfling is a sure sign of heart disease—it is not uncommon. Sometimes it is due to air sac mites. In the fowl in addition to the lungs there are air sacs or reservoirs full of air. These are sometimes invaded hv mites (cytodites) and cause rattling. Such cases are incurable. An open beak and a snoring, gasping sound in drawing in air generally indicate that the air passages are infested with a fungoid parasite (aspugillosis), common in damp, mouldy straw, etc.

The New Zealand Utility Poultry Club’s eleventh egg-laying competition — April, 1915, to May 31, 1916, six hens t® a pen—completed its fourteenth week o 1 July 13 as follows: Light Breeds; 1. Master Jack Green, St. Albans (W.L.) 3t 2. Glencoe Poultry Ranch, Karori (W.L) 2* 3. A. B. Brailey, Hillmorton (W.L.) .. 28S 4. Yvaikuto Egg Farm, Hamilton (W.L.) 234 5. Dalmnir Poultry Yard, Waltham (W.L.) 280 C. Mr R. Mills, Woodhaugh (W.L.) .. .. 278 7. H. S. Woodnorth, Winton (A .L.) .. 274 Heavy Breeds; 1. E. Willis, New Brighton (B.O.) .. .. 283 2. Cooper & Wainscott, Siireydon (R.1.E.) 274 Indian Runner Ducks: 1. W. Knight, Hutt .. .. .. .. •• 362 2. Glencoe Poultry Ranch, Karori .. .. 313 The 49 pens in the light breeds (294birds) have laid in the 14 weeks a total of 10,181 eggs. It will be noticed that the ducks, thus early, are boat ng the fowls. According to a statement made by the Minister of Agriculture, in reply to a question put by Mr Poole, M.P. (says the- New Zealand limes), inquiries made overseas as to available poultry foods do not warrant the Government in importing them. Experiments are being conducted at Milton poultry station to find a suitable ration not comprising wheat. A report on the first three months’ results will be made available in August. MATINGS AND MARKINGS. (A Study of Sex-linked Inheritance in Poultry. Missouri Station Bulletin 117. 1914.) In the spring of 1913 matings were made as follows: —(i) Barred Plymouth Rock male and black Minorca female; (2) barred Plymouth Rock female and black Minorca male; (3) white Leghorn male and whitecrested black Pobsh female; (4) white Leghorn female and white-crested black Polish male ; (5) silver-spangled Hamburg male and brown Leghorn female; (6) silver-spangled Hamburg female and brown Leghorn male; (7) Sebright bantam male and black bantam female; and (8) Sebright bantam female and black bantam male. .From all of the above matings, except (7), a large number of birds were obtained in the FI 'generation. Matings (1) and (2) gave typical sexlinked results; in (1) both the males and females are barred, while in (2), the rec:procal cross, only the males are barred, the females being entirely black like their father. In matings (3 and (4) no sex-linked characters have boon observed. The FI birds from matings (5) and (6) show a number of points of interest. The spangled pattern of the Hamburg as a unit. In all of the offspring of both is evidently sex-linked, but the pattern is not transmitted for the entire body crosses. The tail is pure black and shows no spangling whatever, but on the rest of the body the pattern is inherited as a sex-linked character. From the matings (5), 'both cccks and hens are spangled, while from matihg (6), the reciprocal cross, only the males are spangled, the females being black with some scattered brown and golden markings. The bantam matings are of unusual importance by reason of the fact that the Sebright male lacks the usual secondary sexual feathers of poultry, and is therefore feathered like the female. The cocks of this breed have no sickle feathers, and the long hackle and saddle feathers.- are also absent. The crosses in question were made in order to determine the mode of inheritance of this peculiarity. It is known furthermore that the Sebright cocks show a greatly reduced fertility, and it is possible that a correlation exists between this condition and the absence of the secondary sexual characters. From the mating (7), in which the Seabright cock was used, only four birds were obtained—one male and three females. The cock has the usual sickle feathers and the hackles and saddle. But in the mating (8), in which the reciprocal cross was made, all of the cocks are henfcathored. A complete analysis of this result will not be possible until the next generation is obtained. RAISING TURKEYS. An ordinary hen will not cover more than nine turkey eggs, so it is advisable to put three hens down at once, and then- at hatching-time you should have two good broods. A turkey hen will cover from .15 to 25 eggs. A quiet place, not too light, should be selected for the hens to sit in. Great care must be taken that the nests are carefully made and kept clean and free from vermin, that the hens have plenty of room, and that they, too, are kept free from vex’min. The period of incubation is 28 days. During hatching-time the hen should be disturbed as little as possible for fear of her trampling on tire chicks, which are exceedingly weak and feeble when first hatched. Remove the empty shells and allow the hen to oome off and feed only if restless. It is best to try to arrange to give her a good feed before the first chick is hatched. Turkey chicks Hatch Very Rapidly and cleanly if the eggs are fresh, a whole hatch coming off in five or six hours. The newly-hatched chicks should be left in the nest 36 hours, after which time they should be quite strong. Remove hen and chicks to a large, dry, well-ventilated coop with wire covered run in front, and the floor covered with dry chaff, if early in the season. The coop and run should be placed in a sheltered corner, where plenty of good grass is obtainable. The chick’s first food should consist of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and dried off with ground oats or oatmeal. The food may bo given for the first four or five days, varying it with an occasional food of bread and milk, and a last feed at night of a reliable dry chicken food. After the first few' days the egg may be replaced by fine pollard, scalded, and dried off with oatmeal, or boiled rice dried off with pollard. Those foods may be continued for the first three weeks. The chicks must be fed Regularly and Sparingly every two hours, and, although it may not be apparent just now, overfeeding, mind, is fatal, and special attention must also bo paid to the regular supply of water, flint, grit, and oyster shell. After three weeks the interval between the feeds may be ’ncreased to three hours; green food in the form or chopped onions or lettuce may he added to the soft food, which may be mixed with skimmed or now milk. Cracked wheat or maize may replace the dry chicken food. Vary the food as much as possible, but do not make any sudden changes. Move the coop and run on to fresh ground daily, and when space and weather will permit, allow the lion to roam about with her chioka

after the first week. The hen and chicks should bo periodically examined to see that they are all quite free from vermin, which are the cause of many fatalities. The System of Feeding should be continued till the chicks have “ shot the red,” which they do when from eight to 10 weeks old. About this time the hen will be thinking of leaving her rapidly-growing chicks, so they should all be moved to a nice dry, well-ventilated, but warm, house, about Bft by Bft, and 6ft high at ridge. No perches should bo allowed, the floor should be covered with clean dry straw, and hero the chicks should be warm enough when the_ hen forsakes them. They will now require only three feeds a day. Do not drop off the onions, which give tone to the system, Their evening food may now bo whole wheat or good heavy white oats, and as soon as a field of corn is cut and carted the turkeys should be moved on to the stubble without delay, when they will only require two, and probably one. feed a day, and their growth will bo amazing. Keep them on the stubble as long as there is any corn for them to pick. When your turkeys’ heads begin to get red you count them raised, and_ begin to spend the money they will bring -in your mind. And I want to help to make the pile as largo as possible. Lot the turkeys range as far as they will, for their size depends so much upon this; and they are as regular as a clock in returning Home for Supper. — They will not miss the time 15 minutes. The" best soft food for the birds, besides that which they obtain for themselves, is a mash composed of ground oats, to which a little pollard or barley meal may be added, or not, as preferred. It should be the aim of every turkey-raiser to keep his birds in thoroughly good condition, as such birds always fatten far better than those in poor fettle. The birds should be penned up for fattening about a month before they are needed for killing. They should be confined to large, open-fronted sheds and fed on crushed oats mixed with skimmed milk, and after the first week melted fat can also be added, and small potatoes may be boiled and mixed with the' meal. If such are available, green food and sharp grit must be provided, and the birds made happy and comfortable, as this goes a very long ■way towards the successful fattening of a turkey.