THE POULTRY RUN

Southland Times, Issue 20111, 23 February 1927, Page 12

THE POULTRY RUN

NEWS AND NOTES.

(By

“leghorn.")

All breeders are familiar with the fact that stock, while of the same blood line, if housed and fed properly in a distant locality, act when brought back, as a change of blood of the most desirable nature. Such a method is not within the reach of every breeder, who must, therefore, endeavour to keep his stock at a high pitch of perfection by using a great variety of food and varying the amount and composition as occasion demands.—D. F. Laurie (B.A. Government Poultry Expert). In buying doubtful “pullets”—about which, by the by, the cleverest may sometimes be deceived, particularly in the case of birds which have done poor laying in their first season and are likely to do still worse in their second year—it is well to note the following points:—The older birds generally have more sappy feathers, easily noticed in all-white birds; they have a more matronly appearance their combs are more shrivelled; and the vent is wider (i.e., more stretched). They are also, as a rule, larger and heavier than the pullets of the same breed and type. The pelvic bones in a hen are thicker than in a pullet, and the gristle at the end of the. breast-bone is no longer pliable. I think the last point is about the most reliable point of the lot. KEEPING POULTRY SWEET A clean, efficient way of keeping poultry sweet is to soak several sheets of brown paper in vinegar, wring out loosely, and stuff inside the birds, then damp a cloth with vinegar and wipe over the outside. This keeps them sweet and cool as well. I have, says an Australian writer, sent large orders of dressed poultry to Sydney (a distance of 500 miles) in the heat of summer, and always pack them in this manner. I have never had one bird “go bad,” although it is often 48 hours or more from the time they are killed until they reach their destination. EXPORT OF SPRING CHICKENS TO ENGLAND. The New’ South Wales Minister of Agriculture, Mr Dunn, states that in order to test further the London market with consignments of spring chickens from that State, his Department last month forwarded a consignment of 500 chickens supplied from its own poultry sections. These chickens were dressed and prepared for shipment by the Department. In January, 1925, the Department made a similar trial shipment of 600 birds to London, the results being fairly satisfactory. Another shipment of 2500 chickens was made in December, 1925. These were principally supplied by poultry farmers and forwarded on their own account, the Department participating to the extent of a. few hundred birds; but this consignment was dressed and handled under entirely different conditions, and the results were not satisfactory. During a recent visit to London, Mr Dunn inquired fully in to the position and found that the prospects of establishing a market in Great Britain for spring chickens from New South Wales were good, provided that the defects in the last consignment could be overcome. With this object in view the poultry expert has carried out a series of experiments for a period of two months, and it is now considered that a solution of the difficulties has been found. The Minister expressed the hope that as a result of the Department’s efforts in this direction a good market would be found for these surplus chickens, the disposal of which is a problem for poultry farmers every year.—Poultry Bulletin (Sydney). GOING ON A JOURNEY. Before packing a bird for a long journey either to a show or purchaser it should be well fed and watered, coaxing them to eat as much as possible by giving them different kinds of food, such as soft food first, followed by grain. The comb should then be thoroughly cleansed and afterwards rubbed with just a suspicion of grease, which gives it a beautiful red colour. The shanks should also be cleaned, and in the case of yellow-shanked birds a little grease may be used, taking care not to soil the plumage. The best time to despatch on a long journey is by a late evening train if there is one. This is contrary to the general practice, but is nevertheless the plan that ought to be adopted where convenient. Birds should never be sent out on. a Saturday; the risk of delay is too great. The buyer should always be notified of the date of despatch two days in advance in country places, as nowadays in some districts postal deliveries frequently only take place twice or thrice a week. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. Hens will lay well during a long, cold spell, but seem to have little power of adjustment to meet the vagaries of constantly changing weather. Lack of constant supply of clear, pure fresh water before the fowls means defeat , in the end. Charcoal is one of the finest intestinal disinfectants known in poultry raising. Its liberal use is a safeguard against loss. Our spring enthusiasm melts away with hot summer days. Mites then multiply by the million before we know it. Get the value of the food consumed by your fowls by making war on the mites so fond of young chick blood. Look closely in all eracks and crevices for this pest. Then look again every week! Anyone who is irregular in feeding his fowls need not be surprised if they are irregular in the production of eggs. A scratch food that has given me excellent satisfaction for autumn and winter us?, consists of equal parts cracked corn, wheat, barley, and oa*i. But owing to the high price of barley and difficulty in getting our corn cracked, I have made wheat and heavy oats our principal feed for some years past, with whole corn added in cold weather, dropping it out as the warm days, come on. If, with your present system of feeding, the stock nuts on too much fat, it is for you to find out, and feed less corn and corn meal. On the other hand, if your hens are of the active breeds and remain thin and ordinary layers with your rations, more corn in some form should be given. Corn is a good poultry food, but plenty of animal food should be fed with it. A variety of mixtures may be made for a dry mash. In most cases bran is the chief ingredient, and meat meal and bone products are indispensable additions. The following mixture is a very satisfactory one for autumn and winter eggs: Four parts bran (by measure), two parts maize meal, one part linseed meal, one part pollard, one part ground oats, one part high-grade meat meal. Mix well and feed from some sort of a box or hopper. My plan is to open the hopper at noon, or just after feeding the green stuff. A poultry-breeder, who is in the business in a big way, was asked: “Do you use any bird as a breeder that has ever been sick?” His answer was “No.” Asked “Do you treat sick birds, or do you kill them?” he replied: “Kill them immediately. Never monkey with a sick chicken.”