POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3619, 24 July 1923, Page 42

POULTRY NOTES.

By

Teeror.

Responding to a telephone message, I a few days back, called upon Mr Charles Bills, of George street, to see a pair of white Leghorn cockerels he had just brought over from the Hawkesbury Collego (Government New South Wales) Poultry Farm. Mr Bills had been to both Melbourne and Sydney, and when in Mel bourne he called upon our old friend Mr Fred Rogen, and was taken to his Blaca Rock poultry plant. Mr Bills’s report on this venture of Mr Rogen’s corresponds exactly with the very complimentary one I received from Mr Reilly, and passed on to mv readers about 12 months back, so l need" say nothing further respecting it just now. With regard to the two cockerels Mr Bills had to 'show me, they are certainly very handsome specimens, and reflect great credit on the class of stuff bred at Hawkesbury. One of them I put down as just the thing required to put constitution into the progeny of a played-out high-egg-laying strain. It is a handsome, upstanding bird, well furnished throughout, stands on good, strong legs, has a strong, wellset comb nicely serrated, and is a truly vigorous bird. It is a little too strongly coloured in lobe and leg, and this pigmentation shows slightly in the plumage; but this, I consider, is just what some of our good laying strains want, with their hard white feathers and faded shanks —evidences, to my mind that they are coming to the end of their tether. The second bird is not quite so good in comb, but otherwise is a good show bird, fit to compete in either the open or utility classes. _ Its plumage is hard white, and. though it ha 9 leg colour it is not strong in that respect. The first-mentioned of these birds Is going to Mr R, Rowley, of Malvern street, Wbodhaugh, and the other to Mr P. 8. Georgeson, of the Kaikorai, and I am .satisfied that these fanciers will have cause for satisfaction, in as much that they left the selection to the judgment of Mr Bills. An interesting detail respecting these birds is that they are bred from a pen producing 240 z eggs.

Respecting the birds and conditions generally at Hawkesbury College, Mr Bills has nothing but words of praise. Mr L-awrence he describes as a most painstaking and well-informed superintendent of the poultry section of the college farm; but he (Mr Bills) left with the impression than Langshans are at the present moment Mr Lawrence’s especial favourites on account of their being such exceptional winter layers and at the same time grand table birds. At Hawkesbury 1500 birds are singlepenned, each competitor entering six birds. At the close of the competition each exhibitor receives a card showing the weight of the bird on its arrival at the farm, the number and weight of eggs laid during (lie year, and the weight of the bird on its being despatched home. Mr Bills has returned with specimens of these cards and of others used on the farm. One of them shows how the daily records of eggs laid are taken and another how the incubator room conditions are recorded. —An Arrowtown Exchange informs us that on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 6th, 7th and Bth instant, there was 18, 20 and 22 degrees of frost, and on the Monday 34 degrees and twelve inches of snow covered the ground. Possibly the conditions have been even worse since. Great losses in poultry are reported, fowls in some instances being found frozen on the perches. —The frosts have been so severe of late (says the Lake Wakatipu Mail) that hen s eggs have been cracked from point to point, and the contents formed into a solid lump of ice. Mr J. B. Merrctt, secretary of the N.Z. Poultry Association, is going Home on business connected with the Association. Mr Merrett is evidently going to test the Home markets for eggs pulped ami dried, as well as eggs in shell. In his opinion the shipping of eggs in shell is not the best method. Freight, he says, is expensive, and the packing and fillers (which have to be discarded on the arrival of the eges at their destination) cost 3d per dozen on the eggs shipped. His idea is to induce London consumers to take the eggs either m pulp or dried form. Eggs contain 70 per cent of water, so that for every 100 tons shipped 70 tons of water was sent. If reduced to dry form the space required for equal to 100 tons in the shell would be reduced to 3 tons. Freight on chilled eggs —eggs in the shell —was £7 10s per ton, while on dried eggs it would be £4 per ton ; this would effect a saving of Z/800 on a shipment of 42Q,0’00 dozen. Even if dried eggs are not a practical proposition, large users of eggs in London were enquiring for eggs in pulp form, and, under the regulations being' formed by the Aew Zealand Health Department, New Zealand would be able to send a quality second to none. It was his intention to get together a number of the largest users of eggs in London, point out to them the prospects there exist in New*. Zealand for the shipment of eggs, and solicit their sapDort. —The 343 score.—“ Hardshell” writes:— “Some weeks ago a correspondent stated that the world s record for laying by a single hen in 365 days was the score of 343° made bv an English buff Orpington in an American competition in 1920-21. Mr C. B. Bertelsmeier (of S.A.) whose black Orpington ben nrot- 339 at the Geelong (Vic ) 1922-23 competition, and in so doing tied with the 339 made by R. R. Christie s (Vic.) black Orpington at Geelong in 1920-21. in writing to this, paper, declined to believe the 343 score without more evidence. None of the Australian poultry writers seemed to know anything about it. They all thought that Christie’s and Bertelsmeier’s birds jointly held the world s record with 339. Mr V. Kappler. who recently returned from America knew nothing of the 343 score. On page 1,306 of The Reliable Poultry Journal for February, 1923—a world-famed American poultry paper (the page was sent in by Mr Bertelsmeier) appears a. column headed World s High Egg Records to Date’ and the first paragraph reads: —“Highest individual egg record to date was made bv a black Orpmgton at Geelong. Australia, 1919-20, consisting of 339 eggs.” That was Christie s hen and a month after the paragraph appeared in The Reliable Poultry Journal Bertelsmeier’s bird also finished with 339 at Geelong. As the 343 score said to have been made in America in 1920-21 was appare fitly not known to The Reliable Journal in February, 1923. it would not appear to have been officially recorded. Tkt Pappapanui (New Zealand) in the 1922 23 cornpetition conducted by Government orrcials, a black Orpington hen entered by J. P. Drewitt laid 342 eggs in 365 days, which score, in the absence of further information about the 343 figures, would appear to be the world’s record.” , „ , —Mr Edward Brown, F.L.S.. tbe English authoritv on poultrv matters, is this month to attend meetings in the United Sto* - Canada He is to attend the Annual Convention of the Baby Ohiok Association at Washington tbe American Poultry Association at Philadelphia, and tlie International Association of Investigators and Instructors at Ottawa. , „ —lt is a dangerous practice to throw all sorts of slops and table refuse into the yards Much of it is not consumed by the poultry and in time becomes sour Mix such food in the mash in due proportion, so that it is eaten at once. —A motorist writes: — I have just made a discovery of how to get rid of chicken vermin in a chicken house. Just a tarn a rubber hose to the exhaust .pine of your motor and put the other end in the chicken house, with the chickens all out; close the house as tight as you can. let the motor run about 10 minutes and bingo boys. - The motorist in question is an American, and possibly in his country all poultry people have motors. I don t, think motors are quite so conveniently handy in this country, however, I pass, the idea on. —Coccidiosis is a disease in chickens much talked of in Home and American papers and perhaps it accounts for a great deal of trouble in this Dominion. It is described as a disease that appears. in chicks after the fourth week of age. Chicks that survive are usually worthless. Symptoms are noticeable weakness, drowsiness, ruffled feathers. Appetite may remain very good. Growth stops. The disease Involves the two blind guts of the intestines, filling them up with a firm, cheesy plug. Hie germs are hard to kill. As a remedy, put a third teaspoonful of catechu in the gallon of drinking water. Continue this treatment for a week or ten days. —Leg Weakness is Chickens. —Lack of vitamines in the food is said to be a cause of leg-weakness, and that infertile eggs from the incubator are the cheapest and best source of vitamines. . Next are low priced market eggs or ood-liver oil. When we have had leg weakness in. chicks, we have cured it In four days with cod-liver oil—£ to one pint to 500 chicks, mixed in

! - The usual remedy and prevention is to get the chicks out on to the ground, but if a bad spring, cold weather, you can t get them our. J hen feed in the vitamines. When you can get them out, when three days or a week old, if only for a little while, the sunlight will enable the body organism of the chick to build up us own vitamines. That is logical. Where do vitamines come from in the first place? they are built up by sunlight. . —"Dry’’ versus “Wet” Mash.—Mr W. i C. Ku.gg, Government Expert, experimented at the eribee Central Research Farm with two lots of 36 white Leghorns, feeding one lot cf 36 on dry and the other 3-6 on wet mash. Ono pen had mash compound of pollard, bran, oaten pollard, barley pollard and meat meal, all in separate hoppers. " heat, oats, barley and crushed maize were the grains supplied, and green food was alivays available. The second pen received a dry mash composed of equal parts of bran and pollard, with the addition of 101 bof meat meal and 31b of powdered charcoal to every 100!b of meal. Chaffed green food was provided dailv. The first pen of 36 birds during April and May consumed 25jlb of bran, 451 b of pollard. Jib cf oat pollard and lib of barley pollard. None of the meat meal was eaten. The grain consumed was 7341 b of oats, 1681 b of wheat, 4641 b of barley, and 4341 bof maize. From this pen 748 eggs were obtained in the two months. The hens in the dry mash consumed 82ib of mash and 2721 b of grain, and their production was 568 for the two months. - Turkey Rearing.—Every hatching season I am asked how to rear turkey poulets beyond the stage when they should drop the red.” An English writer says:—“During a number of years in which I made the turkey a study, I have read the rural papers from every part of the world, and have never seen good reasons given why young turkeys die. My own theory is: In the first place The gobbler mates with a hen but once during the season of one clutch, which fertilises from 10 to 22 eggs, and an observer not practically interested is liable to make a wrong conclusion. The eggs at the time of the mating are in all stages of development, and necessarily some are larger and in better condition for absorbing a sufficient amount of vital force to ensure life. There can be only two to four eggs sufficiently developed at the time an egg is laid to ensure vitality. It is necessary that mating should take place at each stage of development, for no case is known where fertile eggs were obtained after the sixth egg laid by a tui-key; or, if life came to six or more, no case is recorded where more than four or five lived, and in prost cases only the two eggs that are fully developed at the time of mating will ever bring strong, healthy turkeys. The care a chick receives during its early life has all to do with its future, but if the chick has no vitality to begin with, no ordinary power or care will have any effect. A careful observer will find that if the first two cr three eggs laid after mating are taken and marked these will be the only ones that ever bring a chick to full development of life and health. The others that- do hatch have no vitality, and ;he chicks live only on the supply they receive from the air. They eat nothing, and what they are forced to eat is never digested; this alone will kill them in a day or two. The organs of afcsorhtion have no action, they are powerless to operate, and this is caused by the lack of an electrical connection. The blood is stagnant from a slow and weak circulation, and this is caused by a lack of oxygen. The chick, in fact, is in a deplorable condition so far as anything ever yet done is concerned, and my opinion is that after the chick is hatched in this weak condition it had better be left in peace to die. —lnsect life plays an important part in the dietary of the turkey under natural conditions; therefore, if birds are kept, in more or less confined areas it is necessary to supply the need by giving cooked offal, greaves, or some other animal food substitute. Without it one cannot get the Dest results in rearing and growing turkeys. —Reilly’s Central Produce Mart., Ltd., report : —A fair yarding of poultry forward for our sale on Wednesday; all lines met an improved demand. Hens realised 4s 6d, 4s lOd, ss, 5s 4d, 5s 6d, 5s Bd. 5s lOd, 6s 2d, 6s 6d, 6s Bd. Cockerels realised ss, 5s 6d, Es 4d, 9s. 10s 6d. Ducks realised 6s, 7s. Bs, 8s 6d. Geese realised 11s; all at “per pair.” Eggs are in short supply and urgently wanted. We quote stamped and guaranteed Is 9d, cased Is Bd, preserved Is 6d per dozen.