POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3489, 25 January 1921, Page 23

POULTRY NOTES.

By

Terror.

“Swelled Foot.” Brighton.—The swelling is known as “bumble-foot.” Perhaps your perches are fixed too high and the birds hurt their feet alighting on the hard ground. Sometimes this trouble arises—at least, I think it does —from a splintered or scratched foot becoming contaminated by foul matter. Bathe the swelling with sodium carbonate (common washing socla), one dessertspoonful in a pint—and when ripe lance the place, express the contents, wash out with the soda solution, and apply a- little boric ointment or Zam-Buk on a piece of clean linen. Secure this to the foot either with a bandage or strips of sticking plaster. Do not allow the bird to use the perch at present; keep it on a soft natural substance. The estimated value of poultry and eggs produced in Victoria last year-- was £3,579,230. Lessons from Orkney.—ln the course of an article by Mr A. S. Galbraith I read that Orkney farmers claim that “the hen pays the rent.” One hundred years and fifteen ago the first contingent of eggs from the island consisted of five cases, and now it runs into millions, and the value of eggs is computed to be almost equal to the valuation of the entire island of Orkney. In the early days the eggs produced in Orkney weighed only 1 l-Boz, yet they wore saleable ; now they average 2oz each, and the prices obtained have risen from a halfpenny per egg to the present rate of fourpence or fivepenee halfpenny. In the “Scottish Journal of Agriculture” it shows that the total value of all the purebred Shorthorns and Aberdeen-Angus cattle sold in Scotland in 1812 was only £2900 more than the value of the eggs produced by the hens of Orkney alone, and the vendors still had the hens to dispose of, so that, leaving cut the the breeding stock in both cases, the value of the poultry of Orkney must be very nearly exactly equal to that of all the purebred cattle sold in Scotland. The climate of Orkney cannot be compared with the climate of New Zealand, and the Orkney hens are not record-breakers; yet the Orcadians claim that “the hen pays the rent.” the cold you imprison the foul air, which is far more harmful to the birds. The surest way to maintain the physical standard of a strain is to weed out every bird that shows signs of weakness during the moult or at any other time. As regards profits from pou’try generally there is ample proof that money can be made, enhanced prices of feeding stuff notwithstanding. When there is failure it may generally be safely attributed to bad management. The man who fails to make poultry pay nowadays would in all probability fail even if prices of foodstuffs wore low. Tt is unwise to spend money for the purpose of producing better chickens and then when you have got them to give them such poor care that they cannot do well. a breeder talks of his 250 or 300-egg strain lie does not mean that all his birds lay or

will lay—in his own hands or anybody eLse’s —those number of eggs per annum. He means that his birds are of the same family as birds which have laid 250 or 300 eggs per annum under competition conditions.

Spme breeders contend it is better for hens to moult early, while others prefer them to keep on laying in the autumn and moult late. Perhaps there is not much in it. Certainly, the sooner they are over the moult the sooner they may be expected to start laying again, and it is a good sign when they get well set to the laying the cold snaps come on, for then there is some assurance of winter eggs. On the, other hand, the bird which keeps on laying whilst the others are moulting is to be valued as a persisent layer, and it is found that such birds often get over the moult quickly once they start, and let the weather be what it may they soon start laying again—seemingly they "cannot help lb Yet it cannot be denied that an early moult generally results in a quick and easy recovery, since the weather conditions are favourable, not merely for the actual period of the changing of plumage, but the restoration of condition. The owner must not, however, expect his hens to start laying again as soon as their feathers look fresh and smooth. He will find the combs are shrunken and the faces pale, due to the low condition to which they have been reduced, and some time must elapse before the normal conditon is regained and the birds get_ back that rosy look about the head which denotes fitness and indicates early productiveness. It all depends upon how birds moult whether they require any particular care afterwards; and if they' do it must be because thev have felt the moult severely, or else thev are of inferior physical character. All that the normal hen requires after moulting gradually and easily is regular feeding and exercise, with a run m the garden once a dav while digging is going on. which is the best thing she can have.. Plentv of green food must be given, and if the birds are looking pale it’ is a good plan to give a teaspoonful of Parrish’s chemical food in a pint of drinking water. But m these cases do not give spices or stimulating foods until the birds have naturally recovered good condition and are in a fit state to be encouraged to start laying again.

i 1 oultrymen who intend sometime or ! ° ther to import birds from the Old Country or elsewhere abroad should note I the fact disclosed in the following extract { from a letter indited, by the captain of the ship, to_ the Feathered World. He j says, inter alia : —“ln January last I carried on my ship some birds out to the Pacific I coast, and an agent came aboard there, and looking at the fowl, he said to one of the | officers, ‘They are beauties; I will get some i and change them.’ I heard this in my ! cabin, but said nothing till the next day. i When he came aboard he brought three ■ fowls with him to change with those in the pen. I let him go to the pen, and i then if he had never heard a torpedo explode he heard two at once, and he will never forget it. I ordered him off the ship, and then refused giving up the pens until the owner came three days later to claim them. He told me it was a regular thing on that coast, and thanked me. lie also stated that this stopped lots of men from belonging to the Fancy. I have not said a word before, but I have heard of lots of cases, because I go all round the world, and I am a fancier, so I do r.ot like to think that any of our breeders should get a bad name and lose customers when they do not deserve it. In the case I am speaking of I looked after the birds myself, although it was not cay place, but I found a great interest in them, and, I am pleased to say, landed them in as good condition as we received them.” An Old Country poultry-breeder says that a hen produces something like of manure per annum, so that a flock of 40 will give, roughly, a ton. and he asks: “Do poultrvmen ever write an amount on the credit side of their books to compensate for it.” centage when using incubators and hatching large number of chicks will work out at'between 66 and 70 per cent. The small ; poultry-keeper’s percentage will probably be | nearer 80 per cent. Of the above percentage ! of chickens I rear about 85 per cent. The above percentages may seem low; certainly I they should bo much improved upon. Still. 1 they provide a satisfactory profit, and until | science can show more satisfactory results we must be content.” A good sized egg weighs 2oz, and is composed as follows: —64 parts water, 25 parts albumen, 11 parts oil and salts, and 10 parts shell and mineral matter. The shell of a hen’s egg is composed principally of carbonate and phosphate of lime; I the egg itself containing, in addition to j the albumen, sulphur, oil, phosphorus, iron, I etc. The fowl, unless it can obtain an j abundance of natural food, should have plenty of meat included in her daily food. “In fact,” says a contemporary, “whilst I admit grain in moderation will benefit fowls, it will be found that soft food in some form is a necessity for prolific eggproduction and nutritious eggs. Further, there must be a variety of foods to ensure eggs and promote health.” The Mark Lane Express says: —“We read in a daily paper the other day that the hope of egg-production in this country lay with the hack-yard poultry-keeper. We have no intention of arguing the point, because we know something of the capabilities of the allotment-holder and the backyard poultry-keeper in the matter of food production; but, after all, the extent to which this country will ever become selfsupporting—if this is possible of accomplishment—in the matter of eggs and poultry depends on farmers and small holders. After all, the man who keeps ono pen of fowls is thinking more of supplying himself with eggs than selling them to other people, and there remain thousands who must buy what they want in the market. It is up to farmers and small holders to enter for this demand, for thev have the facilities for providing c and poultry at the lowest cost of production, hut if they are to succeed they must mend their ways and apply scientific principles to every-day poult r v-keepin or. ” Papanui Egg-laying Competition, 36th week, ended January 0: — Single bird test: Heavy breeds—R. R. Cbrisiuvfß.O.) 186. E. V. Arthur (B.O.) 143: lirih breeds— Ft. L. Beer (W.L.) 217. A ('. Goodlet (W.L.) 203. W. S. Ward fW.T..) 206. Single bird test (three birds, same owner) : TToavv breds-T. E. Conway (BO) 2'3173- 172, total 548: J. B. Mm-ndt' (B O ’ 162 -147—170, total 431: R. R ChriHh (B.O.) 126- —141—156. total 423. Light breed, —O. TT. Hard (W.L ) 163—184—189. totri 506; Smart Bros (W.L.) 187—175—185, tot::'

547 ; Mrs Gorinski (W.L.) 171—180—193, total 544; S. Dick (W.L.) 185—190—168, total 543; A. E. Phillips (W.L.) 181-179-1 183, total 543. Team test (six birds to pen): Heavy breeds—J. Gunn (B.O.) 794, T. Dowthwaito (S.W.) 770; light breeds —E. E. Marsden (W.L.) 1148, A. C. Goodlet (W.L.) 947, EL Williams (M.) 931. Indian Runner ducks (three birds, Rama owner) : Single bird test—R. W. Hawks (1.R.) 232—193—231, total 656; W. Knighta (1.R.) 188—253—201, total 642. Southland Egg-laying Competition, 39th week, ended January 14 : Single bird test—D. F. M‘D«ugall (W.L.) 243, Mrs Gorinski (W.L.) 239, A. Provatt (W.L.) 233. Team Test (six birds to pen): Heavy breeds—Stevens and Hunter (S.W.) 905, Enterprise P.F. (P.R.) 826: light breeds— A. Love (W.L.) 1193; E. Williams (W.L.) 1142, P. Nelson (W.L.) 1080. Ducks—J. C. Wilson (W.1.R.) 1075, R. J. Clarke (1.R.) 967, W. T. Green (1.R.) 931. Reilly’s Central Produce Mart report:—< A large yarding of poultry was experienced. Buyers were operating somewhat hesitatingly. hut last week’s prices were fully maintained. Eggs.—Stamped and guaran* teed realised to Is lOd, cased to Is Bd. We anticipate _ increased demand and higher prices _ ruling shortly. On Wednesday the following prices were secured :—Hens—nine at os 2d. two at 5s 2d. 12 at 4s 6d seven at 4s 4d, 14 at 4s 2d. 19 at 4s. 29 at 3s 6d. 91 at 3s 4cl, five at 3s; eockerels—two at 6s 6d, two at ss, five at 4s, six at 3s 6d, two at 3s 4d. 15 at 2s 6d. 11 at 2s 2d, 14 at 2s; ducks—five at 9s 6d, 17 at 8s 6d, 15 at Bs, nine at 7s, 21 at 6s, 29 at 5s 6d. 29 at 5s • goslings—three at 9s. three at 8s; chickens—four at Is 2d, eight at Is; all at per pair.