POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3347, 8 May 1918, Page 43

POULTRY NOTES.

Mv Tkhrok Economists tell us that what the business man regards as " profit" is from the economic standpoint: " The payment allowed by. the State for services rendered to the community." Many people did not realise how completely they were in the service of the State until the present war taught them their lesson. Some have learned that their pre-war service was not required by the State, and have found themselves compelled to render a service more essential to the well-being of the community, and others, by taxation, have learned that the State considered that their so-called profits were excessive payment for the service they rendered, and have been mulcted accordingly. The State itself, however, has apparently to learn some valuable lessons, and one is that the poultry industry which it, on the one hand, has undertaken to foster at considerable cost to the community, through its Agricultural Department, is in other respects being starved. Sufficient care has not been token to provide grain at a reasonable price for poultry, and the result is that large numbers of people, not satisfied with the payment the State allows for their "essential" service, have been compelled to sell out their feathered stock. Fewer birds mean fewer eggs, and fewer eggs mean dearer eggs and restricted spending power of the whole community. People who never had to buy eggs before, because they produced them profitably at their own homes, have now to buv food which, prior to the-war, they did not require. In 6hort, the community has become less self-supporting. Such a state of things is not pood for the State, and yet those in authority must know that it has only to take one step further in respect to "its regulations for the sale of wheat. —i.e., fix the maximum price of poidtry wheats at the establishment where the poultryman deals to rectify this matter to a great extent. Why does not the State do this? Seemingly, it is because those in authority do not even yet realise what a great asset the poultry industrv actually is. An American paper, in dealing with the egg market, says: "If farmers would realise that the annual value of the country's egg crop is equal to the average value of its annual wheat crop—approximately 600.000.000d0l (£l2o.ooo,ooo),—and that nearly 8 per cent, of the eggs rrau--keted are" lost" through spoilage or breakage, the industry undoubtedly would be put on a more business-like basis. Improper handling between the farm and the market is responsible for a large part of the loss. This lose, it is suggested, could be greatly decreased if farmers would 00-oper-ate more generallv and market their eggs through community egg circles. These organisations take care of the frequent col-

lection and the proper packing and markets ing of the eggs of members, attend to accounting and making collections, establish standards, encourage the raising of better breeds of poultry, the use of improved methods, and the production of infertile eggs."

The president of the New Zealand Poultry Association, in his annual report read at the annual meeting at Easter, said: " The food question is of perpetual interest to poultry-keepers. The exploitation that has taken place during the last year or two should not bo permitted to continue. It has come to my knowledge that licensed buyers in some districts have mopped up second-grade wheat as prime milling and unloading later at exorbitant prices to poultrymen. This should not be: your lot is hard enough without thi3 6ort of business, and I sincerely hope it will be discontinued."

Watch the moulting birds. If they appear to be getting through the business of shedding their old leathers and refitting with new, leave well alone; but if there, seems to be any delay, help them with a little extra meat and a more generous diet generally.

—lt is noteworthy that the 30 Langshans in the last laying competition at Hawkesbury College averaged 217.6 eggs of a net value per hen of 23s 3d. In both number and value averages the Langshans led the breeds. In the previous competition the Langshan, with an averago of 219 eggs, netted 24s lOd per hen; likewise headed the list of breeds in production and value. This is not a flash-in-the-pan performance on the part of the Langshan. It is in keeping with the high position the breed holds in the whole series of these competitions. Thoso who recogniso the merit of the Langshan as a layer are many and steadfast, but it is no disparagement of other breeds to say that this fine dual-ourposo fowl —if not bred as lightweights—has earned even wider popularity than it at present commands. Its value as a winter layer, especially in its second season, is one of its strong points, and there is no breed that excels it in sustained laying in the second and third year. —ln every house there are bones from butcher's joints, and when boiled up with a littlo water they produce a soup which is an excellent egg-producer. Say it is baited, and a day or two later all the meat has been, skinned off it, leaving the bones. Th© careful housewife boils these bones, and makes soup or gravy from them. This doesn't finish the bones, however. There is still some juice in them, and if again boiled with water for a couple of hours a liquid will bo produced which, when seasoned with a pinch of salt and mixed with bran and pollard, will make a good egg-producing agent. Even now the bones are not dono with', as they may be smashed up into small bite and fed to the birds. If the bones are raw when first cooked, they will yield a larger percentage of egg-forming material, but even after boiling they still are able to produce a nutritivo liquid as just stated. Where the ordinary wood fire is going all day, a corner may be found for another sauoepan, so that there is no extra cost_ for cooking. Where a gas stove is used it is another matter, as a fresh jet has to be lit for every pot put on. Even so, the cost is small, and it is outweighed by the benefits accruing from the continuous supply of eggs which is associated with the use of boiled bones.

Linseed meal is comimr into use as a food for fowls. It has given good results with cows and pigs, promoting a greater flow of milk and more and better fleah respectively. Properly used, it is believed that this meal will reduce the cost of feeding, which is an item in these times. The method of use is this. For every 30 fowls, soak lib chaff in boiling water. Allow to stand for a few minutes, add lib of meal, and mix thoroughly. Then add lib of either bran or pollard, which is sufficient to make a crumbly mixture. - K An important thing in a poultry yard is the dust bath. It ie the natural means by which the birds free themselves of external parasites. Tho dust smothers them, and when the fowl shakes itself the dust and the dead lice are thrown off toge'ther. If the ground is at all soft the birds will quickly make a dust bath for themselves; but in open yards the rain spoils it, so that in continued wet weather they have no chance of freeing themselves of vermin. What is wanted is a bath that is always dry and available for use. It may easily be obtained. A simple plan is to board up a corner of the yard about Ift high, and fill the enclosed SDace with sand and loose earth. A roof on top, and -the job is done, and the dust bath is always effective.

You ask what amount of blood relationship there should be. Well, the answer is: really as much or as little as you like, all according to the stamina and general constitution of the stock, and the man's experience and intelligence. As an illustration, take the sparrows. They are here, year after year—always of the same size and colour, and always in a highly effective state of health. Now, no one exercises any supervision over their breeding operations, so it is easy to understand 'that some of the matincrs must be very close. I figure it out this way. The cock sparrow, who is a vigorous fighter, beats off the other aspirants for matrimonial honours by reason of his strength and pluck. He is highly esteemed by the hen sparrows; as a conscqenoe —in the state of nature it is the males which possess the most strength and courage that do all or most of the breeding, and so the cock sparrow mentioned is in demand as a eire for two reasons. The first is that h© has beaten off 'the other male birds; and the second is that the hen sparrows, even if he hadn't downed all tho other male birds, would not allow tho blandishments of any a nhysically perfect malo to have any effect in the way of reproducing the species. Take a lesson from the soarrows. When you get hold of a wonderfully vigorous, handsome cock bird who is full of pluck and fight you may mato him with almost any of his strong, healthy relatives, however close the blood relationship may be, because this ie what would occur in natural, primitive conditions. Where you have great strength and constitution on both sides, it doesn't matter much how closely you breed, provided that you kill every chicken from the union that is not full of health and vigour. But it takes a good man to do it. Messrs Fraser and Co., 146 Crawford street, Dunedin agents for tho Otago Efirt? Circle, report:—Eggs: Market firm. .Fresh 2s 4d. stamped and guaranteed 2s 6d, preserved Is Bd. 0001-s'tore eggs are now coming on the market. The quality is perfect, and a fair quantity havo been sold at 2s 6d per dozen. Poultry: At our auction sale on Wednesday the following prices were realised. Hens: 12 at Is Id. 12 at Is sd, 25 at Is 9d. 30 at 2s, 23 nt 2s 3d. 6 *<•. £<, g r ] Cockerels: 17 at Is 6d, 8 at Is 9d, 20 at

2s. 15 at 2s 3d. 18 at 2s 6d. Ducks: 10 at 3s, 12 at 3s 3d, 13 at 3s 6d. Gccsc: 4 at 3s 6d, 5 at 4s 6d. All at per head. Turkeys: 22 gobblers at lid, 8 hens at lOd, per lb live weight. The Co-operative Fruitgrowers of Otago (Ltd.) report:—Very heavy consignments of lens came forward for our sale on Wednesday. Evidently poultry farmers are limiting their stocks and getting rid of nil unprofitable birds. Some very fine ducklings and young cockerels caino forward, and poultry generally realised fair values. Heavy consignments of preserved eggs continue to arrive on the market, and sales are particularly slow. Fresh eggs aro coming to hand more freely, and the market generally has a weakening tendency. The following prices were secured for our consignors:— Hens: 44 at Is 4d. 69 at is sd, 147 at le 6d, 47 at Is 7d, 51 at is Bd, 74 at Is 9d, 11 at 2s 3d, 3 at 3s. Cockerels: 11 at Is Bd, 12 at 2s, 8 at 2s 6d, 9 at 2s lOd, 17 at 2s lid, 25 at 3s Id, 15 at 3s 2d. Ducks. sat 2a lid, 20 at 3s, 9 at 3s 3d. Pullets: 2 at 4s 6d, 6 at 6s 6d, 10 at 7s 3d.