POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3556, 9 May 1922, Page 43

POULTRY NOTES.

By

Terror.

“A. B.”—Give Epsom salts in the proportion of one teaspoonful for each four to six hens. Dissolve the salts in hot water, and use the solution in mixing the mash. One dose is usually sufficient. It ma y be given in the mash for three successive mornings if necessary. - The birds held over to complete the 365 days of the 1921-22 Papanui egg-laying contest finished up with the following totals:—W. 11. West’s white Leghorn, 336 eggs; R. W. Hawke’s I.R. duck, 335; T. Douthwaite’s I.R. duck, 327; P. R. Whitfords white Leghorn, 306; R. W. Coombes’s three white Leghorns, 826. The weight of Mr P. R. Whitford’a 306 eggs was 628 oz 12dr, and Mr W. H. West’s 336 eggs 6790 z 2dr. The 335 eggs laid by Mr R. W. Hawke’s No. 2 duck in the year totalled 806 oz lldr, and Mr T. Dowthwaite’s 327 eggs weighed £69pz lOdr. Mr C. A. Horne, the well-known judge and expert breeder, and who is editor of Poultry World (England), is now in Australia where he intends to visit the big poultry plants and egg-laying competitions, and is under engagement to judge classes at shows in the several States. On leaving Australia he will come to New Zealand. During his stay in Australia Mr Horne has, I understand, been shown great hospitality, and every opportunity is being availed of to benefit by his great experience. So far I have heard nothing of any preparations being made to accord him a fitting welcome to New Zealand, but it is high time some consideration is given to the matter. Size of Eggs.—ln the annual report of the Northern Utility Poultry Society, Lancashire, it is pointed out that when the competitions started 20 years ago the standard size of an egg was fixed at l£oz; but all through those years poultry-keepers had been compelled to study, in their breeding, the increasing of the size of the egg. The laying competitions had compelled them to do that, because the competition committees had been gradually increasing the size of the egg, until to-day a pen of five birds were allowed to produce during the 12 months only 100 eggs below 2oz. The' 2oz egg was now the standard egg as- far as the laying competition was concerned, and if a hen laid more than 100 eggs weighing less than 2oz they ceased to score in the competition. The reason for allowing ICO eggs under 2oz was simply to give tho pullets a chance to get into the sale-, able egg before they began to be penalised. - —The chicken-raising period is not yet, but it will soon be upon ns, and preparation should be already made for it where any number are to be reared. The first two weeks is the most important period in the chick’s life. The first requirement of the baby chick is warmth. If the chicks are hatched in an incubator, have the brooder ready warmed and regulated. One day after the chicks are hatched anoint the head of each hen-hatched chick with olive oil. It will kill the head lice. Many of the hen-hatched chicks are lost by the mother hen. Safeguard the chicks, and prevent this tremendous chick mortality. Nevetr allow the mother hen to range with the chicks until they are at least two weeks old. In the spring the chicks are quickly wet and chilled by the dew on the grass if they are allowed to forage with thd hen.. Brood coops should be constructed for confining the broody hen while her chicks are young. These coops should be built about 2ft square, with board floors. Secure the coops safely at nights to keep out the rats, weasels, and other enemies. Do not feed the chicks for the first 36 hours. Give them a chance to digest the yolk, which they have absorbed into their intestines before hatching. Then feed the chicks five times a day the first two weeks. Feed a little at a time —just what the chicks will eat up clean. Always feed the grain on a clean spot of ground. Feed the soft feed on clean grass or on a clean board. Give the mother hen a handful of wheat each morning, so that she will be contented. For the first chick feed use pin-head or steel-cut oats or oatmeal. Finely-cracked corn is next choice. One or two daily meals of dry bread softened wtli siweet or sour milk is a fine developing food. Keep the drinking water clean. Much bowel trouble comes from the drinking water having been contaminated by the chicks wading in it or by food coming into contact with the droppings. Don’t figure too much on the phenomenal laying of one hen in your flock. Phenomenal layers seldom mother phenomenal layers. In may cases heavy laying is a sign of weakness rather than of health. A, it were, the hen is running to seed! Consumptive mothers, as a rule, ai-e extraordinarily prolific. The Rev. Edgar Warren, a writer on poultry subjects, says in his book: “A hen (the phenomenal layer) that greatly exceeds her family, outclassing her nearest kin, may be a freak, and it seldom pays to use her as a breeder.” Professor Dowell, of the Maine Experimental Station, trapnested his birds for seven years, and bred each time from the highest or phenomenal layers, and, to his surprise, at the end of that time he found his strain had gone backward instead of forward in egg production. Had bo taken his high normal layers and especially those with the vitality to lay a good percentage of their eggs during the winter months, his results would

have probably been more encouraging. To build up a laying strain the first eseential should be vitality. Select high, normal layers, those that keep on laying at least a few eggs right through the moults, and mate them to the sons of such hens. A glance through the list of winners at the egg-laying contests in the Dominion and elsewhere will show you that each contest brings forward'—with few exceptions—a new name. This fact speaks volumes in support of the foregoing remarks. “What do you consider the chief causes of failure in artificial hatching? “Poultry” gave a prize for the following answer to this question : In my opinion, providing the machine MB®d is of a reliable type, the chief causes of failure in artificial hatching are: (1) Incorrect temperature in egg-chamber of f 6 due to faulty thermometers, for while the thermometer may appear to read correctly, the temperature may be several degrees too high or too low. I look upon this as the most, frequent cause of failure, because it is so rarely suspected. I * a .I 6 1 e M crl ' eilc o of instances where even tested thermometers have “gone wrong” in the course of incubation, with disastrous results. ■ rema ming chief causes are: (2) Heating the eggs too rapidly when first put into the machine, thus breaking the yolks. (3) i/n cii t ectlht y embryo too weak to mature, it easing embryo to adhere to the shell. (5) Exposure to frost before setting, another cause of broken yolks. (6) Unsuitable incubator houses or rooms —i.e., draughty, which may cause extremes 'of temperature; or situated where subjected to violent vibration, or a room which is badly ventilated. (7) Machine not level, which would interfere with the even - distribution ot heat m the egg-chainber. (8) Lack of moisture m egg-chambor during incubation a frequent cause of “dead in shell.” (9) Failure to turn and cool as directed. (10) Opening machine during the process of the hatch, which invariably chills the eggs and n J Ji ri enS the membranes, with fatal results. (11) Dirty machines—failure to remove clear and addled eggs when tested, which would cause impurities.” Reilly’s Central Produce Mart, Ltd. report:—A light yarding. All lines met a much better demand than for the past lew weeks. Good bright hens through the moult met a, particularly keen demand. Ducks met- a better demand at improved prices- One hundred very nice pullets sold under keen competition, and good prices were realised. Eggs—The market is steady; stamped and guaranteed 2s 9d. cased 2s 7d. 2s Bd. Preserved are slow of sale at Is 8d per doezn. On Wednesday we received and sold:—Hens—2 at 6s Bd, 2 6s Pullets—6 at 24s 6d, 7 235, 14 21s, 7 19s. 8 18s, 7 16s 6 Bs. Cockerels—- \ at - lo jJ> 38s 6d. 14 Bs, 17 6s, 45s 6d, 42 ss’,5 s ’, 11 * s 4 d. Chickens—6 at 3s 4d, 4 2s, 2ls lOd. Ducks—22 at 7s 6d, 6 7s, 8 6s. Geese 4at 6s 6d; all at per pair. Turkey s—--2 at lid per lb, 8 10id per lb.