POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 38

POULTRY NOTES.

By Txkhok.

Particularly now that food is so dear, and the best poultry feed (wheat) practically unobtainable, every poultry-keeper slrould pay close attention to the age of his fowls. It is a waste of money at any time, let alone at the present' time, to keep drones. Mark your birds according to age, and then select them very carefully. Be very sure not to keep any weak or diseased stock on the place, as it is only a source of trouble and loss. Pullets are the . more profitable layers, and yearlings should only' be kept over for breeding purposes. A pullet can be told by the rose-coloured veins on the surface of the skin under the wings and by the silky hairs growing- there. When the ekin is whito and veinlcss and the hairs have disappeared the pullet age is passed. Another point by which a pullet can be recognised is that her claws are supple, and -the scales on the shanks are thin and brilliant. The . skin gets coarser and stronger and the scales harder as the bird ages, and the nail of the last toe, which does most of the work in scratching', gets worn. There is also a difference in the eyelids. These acquire wrinkles as the bird gets older, and there is also a slightly shrivelled look on the face. This with ago becomes more and more pronounced, as does also the hardness of the bone. In young birds the bones are comparatively soft, but by 'the second year they are hard and the end of the keor cannot bo bent.

sweet and clean, for a vermin-infested house or one stinking with ammonia is not conducive to egg4aying. It is hard to beat a good limewash to sweeten and brighten, as well as disinfect, poultry buildings and coops at this season. A good whitewash for inside and outside use may bo made as follows:—Slake one peck of quicklime in scalding water, keeping the lime just covered with the water while slaking. Strain through burlap or coarse cloth. Then add two quarts of fine salt dissolved in warm -water, lib fine rice meal boiled in water to a thin p'aste, onefourth of a pound of whiting, Jib of glue dissolved in warm water. Mix the whole thoroughly, and keep for a few days in a covered barrel, stirring the whitewash now and then to keep it smooth. Heat this

mixture before applying, and put it on evenly with a white wash brash. If properly prepared and applied it 19 equal to and cheaper than paint, and it should not rub off.

Fish for Poultry.—Writing on the "albuminoid ratio," with special reference to fish as food for fowls, a Homo writer says: "I am inclined to think that nino poultrymen out of ten arc too sparing of the albuminoid or meat- portion of their feeding menu. Although the books tell you that one. in four and a-half or one in five is a sufficient proportion of proteins, I rarely feed less than one in four, and at certain seasons of the year I feed one in throe with the best results. Ono correspondent has asked me whether bo large a proportion of fish moal does not taste the egg, to which I reply, ' Never.' I have never yot been able to trace trio presence of ,fish meal in an egg, nor do I think that anyone else has done so. When laying hons or pullets are hanging fire, and aro not laying as they ought to do, I am never afraid to stimulate them with a good dose of fish or meat meal in their food. In feoding for eggs, it is unfortunately impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules. One must observe the fowls closely and feed accordingly. , If your hens are laying ■well on a ono to fivo ration —or even a wider one—leavo well alone ; but if the supply is falling off when it ought, according to the season of the year, to be increasing', do not hesitate to ' ginger them up' wat'rt a more stimulating diet. I have an idea that the poultry industry will hold out against all the difficulies, governmental and otherwise, that beset it, if only wo keep a stout upper lip and remember fowls can thrive without a grain _foed. It is possible that ' soft food only' will be the rallying cry of the poultry-keeper before we are many months older, and I for ono am not at all afraid of the results. I am perfectly certain that good wheat offale, supplemented by nut meals and animal food, are better for 'the health of the fowl than some of the ' mixed poultry grains' I have seen recently, nor is damaged wheat always to be preferred to a good soft feed." —ln view of the foregoing remarks relative to feeding fish to poultry, ft may occur to some poultrymen that there are facilities for obtaining fish offal'from their fishmonger for the asking. If so, a small parcel obtained weekly would certainly be both acceptable to the fowls and profitable to the owner. Many people seem to think that fish causes the egg to taste fishy, but over and over again I have found those who actually feed it to their fowls deny that it does so. . —An authority on breeding says:— "Breeders of pure-breds are often faced with the problem of. selecting from individuals of high lineal descent, but of secondary merit, and from those of less celebrated family or descent, but with marked individual merit. In such cases the choice must be subordinated to the aims of the breeder. If ho wishes to sell his products to breeders or producers of improved animals he should choose animals of individual merit. If he wishes to develop his stock for exhibition or competition purposes he should still- give preference to individual merit. If, on the other hand, he wishes to become a professional breeder of pure-bred stock, according to more distant, or even more difficult, schemes, he cannot ignore celebrated purebreds, especially if he intends to sell his products to breeders working for the same end. In this case, whilst considering individual merits, even the best individuals will be sold at a lower price than birds belonging to celebrated families of purebreds."

—lf a pinch of salt is added fco the softfood given to poultry every day. it will serve to kill intestinal parasites. About loz will be sufficient for 100 fowls. Onions chopped up and fed in the mash have the same effect. Garlic shifts them too. It is recorded that in America, in 1897, a tapeworm 3ft long was taken from a Wyandotte hen. This hen was a "hearty feeder, but lost flesh and gradually weakened. She was kept without food 'for 36 hours, then was given a. full feed of stewed garlic, cut in short lengths. She ate heartily of this, and the next day passed the 3ft worm, and quickly got. well. Ep-=om salts (a packet to "15 • grown birds or 30 half-grown chicks, dissolved in water, and mixed in the soft food) given once a week, will assist the natural resistant power to the development of disease and parasites. The feeding of sweet, sound food is very important as a preventive measure. Crushed charcoal should always be available. What it will do in filters it will do in the internal economy of a fowl. Grit (small, sharp stones) is most necessary so that the gizzard may become filled with it. and be able to pound up the food, for, of course, a fowl does not possess teeth. Green food serves as a blood purifier, and is a very neoessary item in the fowlyard. If the average suburban backyard fowls were handled on the lines indicated the owners would have healthier birds and more eggs. Messrs Eraser and Co., agents Otago Egff Circle and Southern Cross Mcatme.nl, report:—Eggs: Market quiet. Fresh eggs Is 4d to is stl. stamped Is 5d to Is 6d. Poultry: Wanted; cockerels 5s to 5s 6d. hens 3s 3d to 3s od. ducks 5s to 5s od. geese 6s to 7s, turkey goblers 10id, hens 9£d.

The Co-operativ> Fruit-growers of Otago (Ltd.) report:—We h.ive nothing to report this week. As usual during*the holidays the poultry market is nujtc upset. Eggs have been realising Is 6d por dozen for stamped and guaranteed, and there is a fair demand.