POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 4074, 12 April 1932, Page 29

POULTRY NOTES.

New Zealander.

Dy Terror.

Science and the Poultry Farmer.—ln the course of an address to ;m English poultry society Dr C. Crowther said that the primary task of applied science is to find out the causes of both good and bad results obtained in practice, with a view to eliminating the latter and thus raising the general standard and efficiency of production. Practice without science he said, may be likened to the blind man. who can get along reasonably well so lon-’ as he sticks to the road he'knows; some practitioners unversed in science, like some blind men. are remarkably clever in finding their way about their business, but the average man needs at least one eve, and is better with the full use of both. Science must reveal the why and wherefore of poultry practice so that the poultry keeper may know how to adapt his practice to expanding knowledge and changing economic conditions that bear upon the success of his industrv.

Poultry, it is reported, has replaced the pig in Lister (North Ireland) as moneymakers on Ulster farms. PoultTj- provided those engaged in the industry in 1931 with the best returns for many years. More eggs have been sold, and the number of birds has steadily increased, the total now being more than 8,000.000.

The shows are coming on and novice show-men will do well to note that white or light-coloured birds must not be sent to a show with the plumage dirty or discoloured. If at all soiled, washing will be necessary—a process that requires care. Wash thoroughly with a sponge and good yellow soap, taking care, bv change of water, that all the soap is out of the feathers. The feathers must not be rubbed the wrong way. To assist in drying the bird after the washing a patent drying machine has been invented which causes the fluff of the fowl to stand well out. If the bird is clean and in good condition, the head. face. legs, and feet only will •require attention. The comb, face, earlobes, and wattles should be gently washed with a soft toothbrush, using warm water and soap. If the car-lobes are white it is better to use a sponge. The legs and feet must be well scrubbed with a nailbrush in warm, soapy water, and afterwards dried with a towel. If the face and comb are pale, a small quantity of chopped-up, underdone meat will make them look redder.

At the general committee meeting of the Taieri Poultry Society a good deal of business was transacted in connection with the show to be held on July 2. At the request of Light Sussex breeders, some additional classes were added to the schedule. In connection with the honey classes. Mr J. Friend made a donation of 10s 6d as a special prize for most points in a new section for beginners with 10 hives or under. The prize was accepted with thanks.

If you intend to fatten cockerels for the table, do not forget during the last two weeks to feed them entirely on rice boiled in skim milk, with fat added to the same. The birds so fed will be very plump and the flesh delicious.

Give Your Birds Charcoal.—Fowls require an internal as well as external disinfectant. Disease germs are to be found in the intestinal tract, as well as in the flour feeding trough and sometimes dirty

poultry house. As an internal disinfectant there id nothing to equal charcoal, for it acts invvardly like carbolic acid outwardly. It is also quite harmless, so there is no tear of the birds eating too much. To backyarders and people who keep fowls in confined runs, where disease is probably more prevalent, it is an invaluable article, for it keeps the birds bright and healthy, and must have a good effect upon the egg production. Charcoal can be purchased at a very small cost, so that it comes within the reach of every poultry keeper. If broken into small pieces about the size of a pea, and placed before the towls, it is eaten with avidity, or it may be pulverised and mixed with the soft iood twice a week with equal results. When choosing ducks for breeding purposes, select those with a good long bodv, a good size frame all over, and those that are active in habit.

The open-front house is now most in favour for the housing of poultry. With such a house the fresh air supply is alwavs ample, and so i s the available sunli’dit Given plenty of scratching floor, the birds will lay as well if kept in such a house as they would on range. So far as the breeding pen is concerned, however, the open range gives best results.

?pek for Quality Rather Than Numbers —it is better to begin with a few good nrds or few settings of eggs from good mrds than to collect a number of inwayr<!nt specimens bred iu a haphazard

is a pood indication, i the roo ’ st in tbe morning are the last to retire at night. After oi aging and scratching all day, they go to the perch with full crops. r4 J {eill f 8 ., t.—Supplies of really choice table poultry are short of requirements. Eggs during the week have met an exceptionally keen demand. They are now realising 1 8 8d and Is 9d. Hens — 4 3s 6d ’ 12 38 2d - 33 -X iq l^ 2B 28 8d ’ 40 2s 6d > 57 2s 4(1 - 7« a ( 7 18 oi 2s A Cockerels—B 7s Bd. 6 i 4 A 2d ’ 2 a8 ’ 6 48 10d > 8 4s 6d, 2 4s 2d, 6 4s, o 2 9 8<1; Ducks—2 Bs, 2 6s, -as 6d. 55s 2d, 9 4s; Pullets—6 19s, 10 lls ’ 46s 6d; Bantams—2 3s, ci a u- ; Bigeons—B Is;—all at per pair, otucl birds are now being inquired for, and incubators are meeting a better inquiry. During the week we sold one new 040 incubator, and one secondhand 1-0 machine. Stud cockerels sold at 10s to Us each, and breeding Rhode Island Beds. Orpingtons, and Leghorns trom is 6d to 15s each.

BREEDING FROAf IMMATURE STOCK.

Air D. F. Lauri, formerly Government poultry expert, Adelaide, writes:—“ 1 have had quite a number of leters recently asking whether it is permissible to breed irom pullets. In some cases it is sieges! ed that mating with a two-year-old inale bird would counteract any evil effects. This is not so. It is the female that contributes vitality and vigor, and an immature bird is not in a position io transmit these characters. There are other considerations. One is that vou might say that a 12 months’ old pullet at the beginning of a season is just entering her second year, and many breeders would straight away start breeding from pullets soon after they commenced to lav. From the egg production point of view' a pullet should always be tested after beginnin''’ to lay for at least 12 months to ascertain her egg yield, size of egg, freedom from broodiness, or other undesirable cliaraeters. It is common knowledge that in the day-old chicken trade there are plenty ot chickens sold which are hatched from pullets eggs. This i s going to act as a drag on the progress of the industry. As regards ducks, it is also well known that it is a common practice to breed from j oung ducks. In fact, several correspondents have described a trouble among their ducks which is common in England and is known there as soft bill. This may readily be considered as due to breediw’ from immature stock. All qualified autir. orities on water-fowl breeding agree that the female should at least be two years old, but a strong male bird a”ed 12 months may be used, although a little older is suitable.

THREE ESSENTIALS. Water, Grit, and Feeding.— The Water Supply—As one who has occasion to visit various farm and poultry yards, 1 so often come across peculiar makeshifts for drinking bowls that I have become accustomed now to such receptacles as rustj tins, broken jars, and so forth. It is a pity, though, that the need for clean water for fowls is not better grasped, since its value as a health-giver is considerable. Aloreover, it is no trouble and expense to provide a clean fountain of water and replenish it when necessary, and, in my opinion, it should be carried out to the letter.

Hie Grit Box.—lhe necessity of grit for chickens has so often been poiiited out that one would think it a little superfluous to again mention the subject; but there are many poultry-keepers who do not provide this ’’ aid to egg production,” in spite of the eloquent literature which has “gone before.” All that is necessary is a wooden box with two partitions—one for crushed oyster shell and the other for flint grit—and if this is kept filled and hung up in a convenient quarter of the run, it should provide another rung to the ladder of egg production.

The Feeding Trough.—What a truly astonishing number of people there are who will persist in throwing soft food on the ground, and. generally,' on the same spot day after day. The morning mash should always be fed in a trough, and an effective one can speedily be erected by nailing two pieces of board on an angle, with supports each end. A weekly scrub will keep, the trough in a state of cleanliness, and free from those horrible lice.—J. 11. King.