POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3995, 7 October 1930, Page 31

POULTRY NOTES.

By

Terror

In the Commonwealth and New 7cin" d New tS 7 (h i e,d i in Victor ia) the leading New Zealand scores at the end of he w in ter test of 115 days were as folSmgle birds—Anconas: J W Mathieson, Timaru, 97 emrs Sussex: J R. Griffen, Governor’s Bay, 95 A’ Cornish, Ashburton. 90 eggs. S e.% g T? rn V b R ° acb -. Christchurch, • -Fhe best score m the winter test was made by a Khaki'Campbell duck, which laid the possible. I n P the team class for Indian runners. H. A Dawber, Ouruhia, was second with 414

. The export of eggs to Great Britain is being carried out on extensive lines from V ictoria and New South Wales. It is stated that more than 2,000.000 ego-s wPp l t be Tb» l k Ped fr °i m r Sydney within a week. The big supply from other States <fvd f n«v D f the sgg.5 gg ., Marketin ff Board in Sydney to send the surplus Overseas, lhe export, outlook is not too promising as production both locally and o n the Continent, is fairly heavy. The advantage of rearing chicks intensively till they are a few weeks old are obvious They are out of danger from older birds, also from cats. do<m and should be from rats, weasels etc’ Further, if properly housed, changes in climatic conditions do not affect them When they- are advanced enough to rough it a bit in the open, they should be allowed as much free range as can be contrived. Birds at liberty thrive better in every way provided they run on fresh ground—that is, ground which has not been contaminated by an excess of manure from previous use. On suitable land the chickens find a large amount of natural food—food which is in every way superior to anything which can be provided by the owner. Green stuff from the kitchen garden and meat or meat meal are only, after all, merely substitutes for the green stuff and insects which the birds find .when roaming on fresh ground. Watch chickens when fossicking on bare or dug soil They are continuously picking un things too small for the human eye to detect, and there can be no doubt it represents to a large extent mineral

matter for which their natures crave. One only has to compare the chicks at large with those confined continuously to see where the greater vigour exists. The tightness and lustre of the feathers and the colour of combs, lobes, and faces seen in chicks at large speaks eloquently in favour of range for growing chicks. I'resh Air for Poultry.—Fowls have no svv eat glands—that is to say. they do not perspire through the skin. There is certainly a moisture exuding from the body, as anyone can feel in handling a bird, but such moisture may be found exuding from a brick wall. Minus sweat glands, poisonous waste is expelled through the mouth, consequently without adequate ventilation the air in the poultry house may soon become poisonous.

c - k ' b .vermin in the fowlhouse the following is recommended as a good and cheap spraying mixture:—Boil one gallon of soft (rain) water and dissolve Boz of soft soap in it. Take off the fire and slowly add one gallon of kerosene; stir briskly for 10 minutes till the kerosene is thoroughly mixed with the soapy water and the mixture appears like o cream - Then add, slowly stirring ail ihe time, 10 gallons of soft water. Apply to the woodwork—getting well into the cracks and crevices—with a spray pump or syringe. Get busy—the price of success is eternal vigilance.

The use of glass cloth or similar material has been tried by several breeders as a means of transmitting light and heat to poultry houses and chicken runs. The. results have been very satisfactory. Users should remember that it is advisable to place the preparation on the outside of wire netting. Fowls when being caught or startled in any way are apt to dash into the glass, and the wire netting will prevent them from injuring the glass.

A Masterton resident is very proud of four remarkably fine batches of Rhode island Red chicks (states the Wairarapa Limes). The four hens came off in succession within a period of two weeks with a hatch of 13 chicks each, and all are extremely healthy and hardy. This is considered a very fine achievement, and goes to show that good management and care in the poultry yard is amply rewarded. Objection to the practice of eggs from cool stores being released on the local market as “ fresh ” has been entered by the Auckland Egg Producers’ Association, which advocates that the eggs so stored should be branded “ chilled. The executive contends that, in addition to the unfairness to poultry keepers of stored eggs being allowed to compete with eggs that are actually fresh, the policy is prejudicial to consumers. Eggs removed from cool stores for public sale should carry a uniform indication that they have been stored.

The Black Orpington hen Te Kawau Princess, which broke al] the world’s records in the Normanby egg-laying competitions by laying 361 hard-shelled eggs in 365 days, has been sold to an American fancier. Advice has been received by Mrs M. Waddell that the fancier with whom she has been negotiating has accepted her terms. The price for the hen is £125, and Mrs Waddell has also agreed to sell a cockerel from this hen for £25. Both figures are f.o.b. Auckland next March.

Reilly’s Report.—Practically no poultry coming forward for the market. The few birds that are coming in are eagerly purchased, good birds in killable condition realising full values. Eggs are meeting a steady sale, and we have no difficulty m securing Is 2d for our consignors, and in some instances Is 3d for particularly good eggs. During the week we sold:—Hens—--4 at 10s 2d, 3 7s 6d, 17 7s, 8 6s Bd, 6 6s 6d, 2 5s 4d; cockerels—2 10s 2d, 2 7s 6d, 2 7s, 9 4s Bd. 7 4s 6d; bantams—7 2s Bd. 5 2s, 2 Is 4d; ducks—9 Bs. 2 7s. 3 6s 6d. 4 6s; pullets—s 7s, 5 6s Bd. All at “per pair.”

LATEST DISCOVERIES OF DISEASE. The following are summaries of some of the papers read by scientists at the World’s Poultry Congress:—

—Fowlpox.— By T. M. Doyle, Veterinary Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. London.

Fowlpox is a contagious disease due to a filter-passing virus, characterised by eruptive lesions on the unfeathered parts of the head, by yellow, cheesy membranes in the mouth, and by an oculo-uasal discharge. One on,any combination of these lesions may be present. It has been definitely proved that the epithelial growths on the comb and the yellow, cheesy membranes in the mouth are caused by the same filterable virus. It is suggested, therefore, in order to eliminate the existing confusion in the nomenclature of the disease, that the use of the terms “ roup ” and “ avian diphtheria ” should be discontinued. Every case of disease determined by fowlpox virus, irrespective of the symptoms manifested or the lesions induced, should be called fowlpox. The disease is very contagious, the principal method of propagation being probably through wound infection. No evidence could be found of existence of “ carrier fowls, and this is in agreement with the clinical history of outbreaks. As fowlpox is a contagious disease, and as individual fowls are of relatively small value, it is advisable to kill all those affected. In spite of the vast amount of work which has been undertaken with the object of finding a safe and reliable vaccine, the results have until quite recently been unsatisfactory. Dead virus confers no protection, and live virus whether modified by physical or chemical means, is too unreliable and dangerous in its action to be of much practical value. The introduction of pigeonpox virus as an immunising agent appears to have solved this problem. Investigations have shown that fowls inoculated with pigeonpox vaccine are solidly immunised against natural infection and partially protected against artificial infection with fowlpox virus. Immunity is fully established about the fourteenth day after inoculation. Susceptible fowls do not contract infection when kept in contact with fowls exhibiting active pigeonpox lesions on the comb, mouth, or skin. The vaccine does not give rise to any constitutional disturbance, loss of condition, or as far as has been ascertained

interfere with egg production. It hag been definitely proved that in pigeonpox virus we possess a valuable agent for the protection of fowls against natural infection with fowlpox; and when employed in conjunction with hygienic measures it should bring about a rapid and marked reduction in the incidence of the disease.

■ —Gapes : Do Wild Birds Cause Them ?—

By E. Leonard Taylor, Veterinary Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, London.

Starlings and rooks frequently carry gapeworms, which are morphologically indistinguishable from Syngamus trachea of chicles. Cross infection can be brought about, but experiments suggest that the strains are different, and that a comparatively large dose of starling gapeworms is required to produce infection in chicks. Gapeworms, in common with other worms, cannot increase in the body of the host, and the succession of generations is slow, so that the sudden appearance of a severe outbreak of gapes' is improbable. On the other hand, severe outbreaks must be gradually built up through the accumulation of infection on the ground. Recent work suggests that the earthworm acts as a facultative intermediate host, the larva: becoming encysted in its muscular tissue; hence it may possibly act as a collecting reservoir, and in time accumulate enough larva: to constitute an infective dose for the chick. A .. si . n S le syngamus cannot establish itself in the trachea, and the only successful parasites are pairs of males and females in copula. The rate of intake of infecetd larva: is therefore of some importance, as. to become united, both male and female larvae must reach the air passages at about the same time. In view of this factor, and taking into account the requirement for a large minimum infective dose, it is probable that wild bird carriers have not the importance at first suggested in connection with losses to the poultry farmer from syngamiasis. —Coceidiosis.— By Professor D. C. Matheson, Roval (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh. Avian coceidiosis is one of the more formidable diseases of chickens associated with a protozoan parasite, and characterised by lesions usually in some portion of the alimentary tract. How may the disease be recognised ? Suspect the existence of coceidiosis when diarrhoea begins to make an appearance among the chickens and when deaths begin to occur. In chickens a week old the trouble vviil very likely be bacilliary white diarrhcea, but in chickens from one to two months old the trouble will possibly be coceidiosis. Nevertheless, as already mentioned, coceidiosis may occur in quite young chickens. There should be no delay in seeking skilled advice. The poultry keeper should not attempt to make a post-mortem examination of the dead chicken. That will simply spread the infection without affording a diagnosis, for, although intense congestion of the intestines and a marked distension of the caeca with whitish or blownish-yellow blood-stained, semi-solid material may suggest coceidiosis, a microscopical examination is necessary to confirm the suspicion. Coceidiosis occurred in 7.5 per cent, of the 1426 fowls (including chickens) examined in the writer’s laboratory during a period of 16 years. Examination of the foices of 1094 fowls surviving from flocks affected with coceidiosis as chickens showed 5.7 per cent, to be carriers of coccidia. With regard to the seasonal distribution of the disease in Great Britain, while an occasional outbreak may occur in January or February, the disease becomes more manifest in March, the number of outbreaks rising steadily thereafter until a maximum is reached in June, after which month a steady decline occurs until October, when the chart shows a rise in the number of recorded outbreaks. With regard to prevention, use only for breeding purposes fowls which have never suffered from coceidiosis and which have been reared free from all contact with the disease. Buy stock guaranteed free from the disease. To reduce the incidence of coceidiosis. a central authority might compile a list of coccidiosis-free flocks, all applicants for the list to be registered. All birds in a registered flock dying, or killed because ailing, to be submitted to post-mortem examination at an approved institution. Post-mortem report to be sent to the central authority, to the owner of the flock, and a copy retained in the institution. At the end of a period the central authority could issue certificates stating that the flock had been examined as above, and coceidiosis had not been reported. Flock then placed on free list, removed if coceidiosis reported. Control examinations to continue. _ Alternative : owner to report coceidiosis to central authority for special guidance in its reduction. Apply scheme to tuberculosis, fowlpox, etc.