THE POULTRY RUN

Southland Times, Issue 18975, 23 June 1923, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE POULTRY RUN

(By

“Leghorn.”)

MR CUSSEN AT CLIFDEN. An interesting demonstration was given by Mr Cussen at the Clifden demonstration on Wednesday on utility fowls. In opening his remarks he said there should be no need for New Zealand to import eggs; if farmers took up poultry as a side line there would be no need for this. The poultry world was ahead of the stock world in that it had definite set standards for the various breeds and it was this standard which breeders were endeavouring to attain. The eye for form was bred in many people and that was why few were as breeders. “If you get tlie right type of hen do not be afraid to feed it,” he said, “because you cannot expect a hen to lay if it does not get sufficient nourishment.” It was the same with the dairy cow. If they got the right type there was little danger in over feeding as then would keep down any surplus fat by turning out eggs. The three main points in breeding poultry were:— Purity of blood; vigor and constitution and the capacity to produce and reproduce. A mongrel hed did not pay. When he said a mongrel he did not mean the first cross but the ordinary farm fowl. This hen might be a good layer herself but could not transmit her qualities to her chicks. The pure bred bird had the power to transmit its qualifications as a table or utility bird. They required vigour and constitution if their hens were to lay eggs in any quantity. The first thing to look for in a fowl was a bold prominent eye with ar.y amount of fire, this should be accompanied by a tight hard feather. Many people were of the opinion that early monitors were the earlier layers, but he would advise them to get rid of any fowls that moulted in December as these had been proved to be the worst layers. They should cull their fowls in January and February. Many people rejected a pale legged White Leghorn in January as not being hardy This was a mistake. It was often found that the birds laid the colour out of their legs and early layers would have a tendency to white legs early in the year. They wanted a fowl with a good width between the legs and across the back, as this was one of the indications of a good layer. There were only two ways to prove ?;hich birds were the best layers and they were:— Single pens and trap nests. By yhese methods they would soon find the birds which paid for their keep. A fine flat bone indicated a good layer and a coarse bone the bird fitted for the table. “By attention to detail there was no reason why fowls should not pay and pay well on a farm,” he concluded, “and I would like to see farmers give more attention to this side lino.” The speaker then went on to give the various points of the breeds exhibited.

To prevent colds, provide good ventilation but no drafts. Drafts from cracks in siding back of perches are disastrous. A chicken may roost in a tree all winter and never have a cold, but let it be confined in a house in front of a little crack and it will most certainly become affected with a cold. Provide at least eight inches of perch room per bird. Provide plenty of green food and ensure plenty of exercise. A dose of epsom salts at the rate of one pound per hundred birds fed in a wet may do a great deal to get the affected flock back into condition. t Two hens of the same pedigree and the same egg records may vary greatly in breeding qualities. They may be full sisters, but one may produce good layers and the other poor. One is prepotent; the other is not. To make certain the result, the progeny test is necessary. It means, however, a long series of years before a flock can be bred up in this way. Professor James Dryden, of Oregon Agricultural College, Oregon, U.S.A., says that some hens are highly prepotent and others gignificantly low. The egg record of an individual hen is not a certain index of her breeding qualities, nor is the record of the sire’s dam any more of an indication of the breeding quality of the mate.

Egg-eating Hens.—There is a theory entertained by some people that it is possible for a bird to produce yolks in the usual way, develop them, and charge them with the usual contents, and then “suck them back into the system.” This is described

as the improved method of egg-eating. “I challenge” (says a writer in Poultry) “this yolk-sucking theory as follows:—(1) Yolk absorption is a physical impossibility; (2) a ripened yolk cannot be dropped into the abdominal cavity without a rupture, and such a condition means early death of the subject; (3) if the yolks ripened to excess and burst their cases, a condition of inflammation would intervene, which would jeopardise the life of the subject, unless the released egg matter was quickly expelled from the system through the usual excretory channels. Egg substances can only be absorbed into the system through the alimentary canal.”

The addition of animal food in the form of cooked butcher’s offal is a valuable aid in the raising of ducklings for the table. Good housing does not necessarily entail great expense; as a rule, the best poultry houses are the cheapest in the long run. In anticipation of cold winter weather it is well to remember that if fowls are to produce a good return in egg-yield everything must be in their favour. This is not i to imply that they should be coddled in > warm, ill-ventilated quarters. They should i be intelligently handled, especially as regards being protected from extremes of weather. A necessary provision is that the house should be roomy, with an open or partly open front as a means of admitting sunshine and fresh air, those being great essentials to the well-being of the domesticated fowl. Of course, it must be draughtproof—there must be no cracks in the sides or back walls—or colds, roup, and other troubles may be expected. With such a house the birds can be fed inside during wet weather, and fed early in the evening, so that they will not be moping about with wet plumage waiting for their evening meal to be thrown down in a muddy yard. All whole-grain food should be fed in deep litter as a means of inducing the birds to exercise as much as possible. There should always be odd grains of food in the litter, in order to keep the birds busy scratching for it. Every endeavour should be made to discourage the birds from resting on their perches by day, as this is apt to cause an overfat condition—a state which does not tend towards promoting heavy egg-production. This does not mean that, the ration should be reduced in order to check a production of surplus fat. On the contrary, it means liberal feeding, but by a method which ensures that the birds are made to secure at least a greater part of their food. In the long nights of the winter months the birds have ample time to rest without doing so during the day. The life of the laying hen should be a busy one, and only in this condition will she prove to be really profitable. In dealing with colds (which young birds especially are liable to take at this period of the year), the best advice is to look for the cause and remove it at once. If any birds become affected a simple method of checking the trouble is to place sufficient Condy’s crystals in the drinking water to give it a pink colour. The most commotf causes of colds are exposure to cold and wind, and ill ventilated or draughty houses, while damp, dirty, overcrowded quarters are often responsible. The symptoms arc sneezing, eyes watering, nostrils closed, breathing deep, and offensive breath, while generally a bird thus affected also has an unthrifty appearance.