POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3509, 14 June 1921, Page 20

POULTRY NOTES.

By

Terror.

A Lady Fancier. —You will find the information you require in tins weens notes. Proper muting and breeding of pure bred fowls cannot be learnt m a day; it is a difficult study, especially when the material we arc using is not well-known to us. In all mating ot birds, we should have knowledge of the qualities, faults, and variations ol the muies and females we use. If we work with birds totally unknown to us — that is, do not know their parents pedigree or qualities, faults, etc., we tune omy tlte i birds themselves to start upon. If tins is , the ease the first thing to do is to compare our birds singly with the standards—let them be either exhibition or utility standard —laid down for the breed, and tins is where experience and sound practical judgment come in. AA'e must criticise each female closely, “book” her good qualities and deficiencies ; and the same with the male. If the cock has the same bad points that the

liens have, it would not be good judgment to mate them. What would be considered a good point in the male is a fault in the liens—namely, erect combs in Leghorn liens, or it may be the distribution of colours. In breeds tiiat show an inclination to produce birds with points that are good in the males and bad in the females, double mating is best —that is, you select a male and a certain number of females to produce pullets (pullet breeding' pen), and a cock and a certain number of females to produce cocks (cockeril pen). In this double mating you get better results, for the simple reason that you are not: asking the birds to produce two fowls opposite in shape aim m most cases colour.

In mating for size, the hens selected for j breeders should be large, as the females | have the greatest influence on size and J shape of the pullets. The cock has the | greatest influence in producing the show t points —comb, colour, lobe, etc. It must | always be remembered that, with all judgment and care, there is a tendency to revert to some previous ancestor ; hence, as i have said above, the necessity of knowing the pedigree of each bird. In mating for fercundity and fertility we should mate up good sound constitutioned birds on both sides- —birds whose ancestors were sound and vigorous and particularly take care that the cock is from a good laying strain. Any bird that has had roup or other bad disease, should not be penned for breeding, for the taint will bo handed down to its progeny. Fertility is diminished when the degree of relationship is too distant. It is a strange fact that in mating birds fertility can be lost or gained. For example—mate a coc-k of A strain with hens of B strain, this mating may be low in fertility; when, if we mate a cock of B

strain with hens of A strain we get high fertility and fercundity too for that matter. So we see what a slight variation will do. Another strange thing: Very often w hen will mate with a cock and 50 per cent, of her eggs prove fertile ; remove her to another pen with a new male and her eggs will bo fertile. At a meeting, convened by Mr John Bourke, held on June 3 —called for the purpose of forming a Utility Poultry Club —thoie was a remarkably good attendance. Mr Sam Devereux occupied the chair. Mr F. C. Brown, Government Poultry Instructor, gave a very excellent address, strongly stressing the importance of forming the proposed club, and he pointed out the great importance to the country of the small poultry holders. Mr C’usseii spoke in a similar strain. The meeting having by motion resolved itself into a c-lub, the following were appointed a Provincial Committee: —Messrs John Bourke, Coombes, Getles, Hanson, and Holloway, also Alcsclames Hazelwood and Hanson. Air AA T . B. Stunner was elected secretary pro tern. “Hardshell” (Adelade) writes:—“The other day a man got on a tramcar, and among many other things—he was a tramcar general’—told me that ‘there was nothing- in fowls.’ Tie was quite sure about it. too. I asked h’tn if he pruned bis fruit trees and vines and lie said: ‘Yes. "Why’? ‘AY el I everybody knows if you don’t prune and attend to them properly, you cannot expect results.’ Then I asked him if he grow flowers and vegetables, and the reply was in the affirmative. He also said (impatiently) that, of course T ought to know that, ho kept only the best blooms ayd tomatoes for seed next year Then 1 got In I he fowls--what wtis their strain? weio they properly filled, and properly attended to. and were the ege's from tile be-t h":i used for raising chickens? He said: ‘lie did not know —the fowls look-d after the fowls.’ Then T told him that if he looked after the fowls in the same wav ho looked after the fruit, vegetables and flowers, he would obtain corresponding good results, lie agreed to that, and said he would speak to the Missus about it. Its funny, isn’t it, the way some men are built?” Two or three weeks before a show, it is often well to give a little special diet to improve the gloss of the plumage. You can give a healthy bird a nice velvety lustre by giving linseed. The linseed is to be stewed into a thin jelly, and, instead of water, use the jellv (with seeds and all) hot to mix the meal with, using enough in the mixing to obtain the proper friable consistency. Light coloured birds should be washed before going to the show. First of all wash the feet and shanks using a hardish brush, then wash the bead using a soft brush. After that immerse the bird in warm water which thoroughly well soaped a_nd thoroughly soak the plumage by the use of a sponge or soft cloth. AA ben sure thru the bird is quite clean, rinse thoroughly m warm, clean’water, and then rinse again m , t.t The addition of a little borax o .md a spoonful of honey to j (! f water is rpeommeded i,.,. |i is said, it makes the .plumage <<„.(,1," belter. .For white fowß a. very lull,, “1,1::” in I It" last walin' ccrlainh 1 on , tj,e n op” rent nitrify of the white hut if b o much' “line” is used 111" result j-idieulons. After washing, place the bin nn ~n ha re- straw in a box or ernti I lie" urn or bef. r- a fire till il U quiff >■ dry. nr old fowls, affer the third month, if we! fed and cared for. can furnish enough hi not to keen about 4Cf> chicken lice, each rnhnand full of life’- If I her bad no lire t. sunnerl: much less food would be require! to keen the fowls itt good condition, it i ’ bad policy to feed lice; they are no use t > .-anybody-—let them starve, but you ran onl do that bv sinning the few's—Hem kill th bee. But’ hew. do you ask? The codes plan is to drown them. Fill a 4g ; d oil ti e two-third- full of warm water, and ad about nn ounce of carbolic acid, Abel:

-lJ o ciock any cit-ai' morning uip eaen Lira into tins uitn, ju-uU and in re ; cold it acuat Halt a iiimuio to unp, aim turn it I' l ■ Go through tin- Ho k thus. in an JUour they will all be dry and lice Hum living lice. Then you can tat tell them ill eignt or 10 uu\.~. lull can't latum uieiu v.nu lice on tiioiu—that much is ocri-ain. ITc-\fc-htiiih, however, is better than cure. if you provide cluct-buvlis lststiii" oi eatail and sU.j jii.ncie.- iigunc- a.-.e r jrur e rus v, ill not suffer from lice, red lime, or any other parasite. Pel dies : iioulcl be placed .-a that foals are not compelled to do much jumj ing. Jumping io usd iroiu high pci -us on. n results in serious injury to louis. A p eat mistake' many people make is to place tiiepeiviies one above another, ladder lusl.um. ibis tends to much squabbling at i-uostnig lime, as all me biros try lor the lop perch, and only take lo the lower ones alter several failures to reach those lughei up. ixvery failure means a drop to the ground after a tussle and much flapping ol "i g>. anel very often not one, but tiircG or tour birds, have lo tall in each skirmish. bo much effort and so many fulis each roosting time does not conduce to good laving. Eighteen inches to 2ft troth the ground is quite high enough for any perch. Vilen perches are ranged one betiind the other on the same ievei tare should be taken that they (tiie perches) are far enougn apart to give plenty of room for the birds. rite country with the largest stocks of poultry is the L idled States oi America. When the last figures were obtained there were 250,350,039 fowls, 3,688,000 turkeys, 2,906,0Ud ducks, 4,431,000 geese, 1,765,000 guinea fowls, 2,73d,b0J pigeons, 6468 pea. lewis, and 5361 ostriches. t hese were distributed on 5,5/8.528 farms. At the time of counting (1916) the total value of these j birds was set down at £36,050,000. llietr | value would, of course, be much greater I now. In Great Britain in ISO 3 tiie poultry I included 32,356,000 fowls, 2,263,000 ducks, r iT2jflSM geese, and 697,000 turkeys. Th© figures, however, have greatly increase?!. Fraser and L’o., auctioneers, produce merchants commission agents, and agents for the (Itago Egg Circle, 146 Crawford street, Dunedin, report: —Eggs: Market o*etsupplied, and sales slow at 2s 3d per dozen for Egg Circle, plain 2s Id, preserved 2-s. Poultry: AA’e held our usual weekly sale on Wednesday, when the following prices were realised : Hens —16 at 4s 6d, 22 at 4s bet, 22 at 4s lUd. 27 at ss, 12 at 5s 2d, 28 at 5s 4d, 18 at 6s, 13 al 6s 4d; roosters to 4s lOd; cockerels front 5s to 7s —all at per pair. Turkeys—gobblers Is ljd, liens Is i per lb live weight.