POULTRY COLUMN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 7, 24 August 1911, Page 8

POULTRY COLUMN.

FARMERS’ FOWLS. (By Mr 1). S. Thompson, New South Wales Poultry Expert.) (Continued.) In connection with location we arc told to' select a high, dry place tor the fowl-runs, that they must lie well drained, and face a certain point of the compass, while for houses, the sort advocated and approved of for English conditions arc, in many instances, copied here, and with disastrous results; an illustration will suffice. Not long since, I visited what was termed an up-to-date poultry farm, devoted solely to the fancy side of the industry. The holding was, perhaps, 20 acres, and embraced a high, dry, cleared paddock, minus even a solitary tree, the soil, or rather earth, being of a hard, clayey nature. This extended clown to a very low ground with trees and much undergrowth, with a magnificent soft surface, composed of the organic remains and other debris washed from the higher ground by the centuries of storms. The reputed model poultry plant was built according to English ideas, on a high, dry, hard hill, the runs extensive enough, but not a leaf of shade, not a blade of grass; while tho expensive and well-built, but ill-ventilated, houses had a temperature on tho day of my visit equal to that of an English hot-house or a gardener’s forcing frame—conditions which wore certainly responsible for tho peculiar noise then being made by many of tho fowls, true symptoms of a cold, and forerunner of the frequently fatal roup. These prize fowls when fed in the morning although having plenty of space, had no occupation or inducement to wander on this selected high and dry place, and just squatted down throughout most of the day waiting for their next meal, and following that, another dreaded night in stuffy sleeping quarters. This was tho week in week out life of those prize fowls in these prize poultry yards, on which one-tenth of the money spent would have given better results. The one and great mistake was tho to faithful adherence to the conditions obtaining in other countries, and particularly to the high, dry, and well drained bogey. I have to add that the farm, as a whole, was an ideal one for the purpose of tho owner, i.e., keeping in health, breeding and rearing prize fowls, which would have obtained had the owner erected the houses half-way down the hill, spent less money on their architecture, and extended tho runs right down into the lowest portion of the ground, enclosing the low land with its deep, black, soft soil, trees, bush, and other growth, loaves, etc., these harbour myriads of insects, and other of nature’s foods, and affording that groat essential to fowl’s health—scratching exercise—and thus prompting a better egg production. Shade, also, would he afforded, an important clement in this country of perpetual sunshine. Had this portion of the farm been given to the fowls, their life would have been a more natural one, for, despite tho fact of supplied foods, centuries of

domestication has not yet deprived fowls of their instinct of scratching for a living, this contributing to their contentment and beneficial to their welfare in many ways. When the above was suggested to the proprietor, ho replied that Lewis Wright said so-and-so, forgetful of the fact that that authority was never in Australia. It was evidently not apparent to tl.ro designer of tho plant that there was nothing to drain, and oven in tho lower portion referred to, a couple of inches of rain in 21 hours, although beneficial would not be visible; indeed, wore there a 6-inch fall in one week on any of our suburban poultry farms, such, although inconvenient at the time, would have other than ill-effect. In relation to the high, dry and well drained theory, such is certainly applicable to England, with its 250 or more wet, sunless days in tho year, and where frequently the roadway is not dry for three autumn and sometimes the •three spring months of the year. The soil, whether of poultry or other farms, is mostly wet and cold; while for houses in a country where wind, rain, sloct, snow, hail, and frost obtain so many days in tho year, and the sun shines on so few, such cannot 1)0 too comfortably constructed. The poultry farmer and poultry keeper in Australia is more highly favoured by natural conditions than in almost any other country in tho world, the simplest possible structure, to keep off the occasional tropical showers, and a break-wind of some sort, being the only requisites for housing in a large portion of tho State; and there arc numerous instances of profitable poultry keeping where the birds are allowed to roost on trees or fences, and sometimes prize-win-ners at that. In a case of my own, at Randwick, three years a hen hatched eleven chickens in a Corner of the garden, no overhead covering whatever, the only protection being a paling fence on two sides and some garden growth in front. During the hatching period over an inch of rain fell in fourteen days; tho eggs were coated with wet soil after rain, still eleven wore hatched out of tho thirteen. The lion had full liberty with the chickens, brooding tliom wherever she liked, but never under any con-

druetad covering, and at nine or ten weeks took them into a demon tree to roost, and, wnen at about tiirco months old, over I.V indies of rain foil in one night, without apparent lil-cli’cct. During the period one chicken disappeared; the remaining ten were reared hy the hen, one of those being exhibited at the following Royal Agricultural Show at Moore hark, in the same class as his imported sire, the later highly-pampered oversea aristocrat having to take sec-

oml place to the Australian native, bred and reared under open air conditions, bis only covering being the Australian sky. On two subsequent occasions the native bred distinguished himself in the same way, and several of tho other sex in the same brood grow to bo bigger and better exhibition specimens than their Eng-lish-bred and far-travelled matron.

RED MITES

Mr Worthy, of Hawcra, supplied the following notes to the “New Zealand Times,.” and has given us permission to reprint same. “Recently you had a good article on that curse ‘Red Mites.’ Well, I can relate an interesting fact concerning their vitality under peculiar circumstances. Last year I converted a small case into a spare coop for cockerels used in breeding pens; no birds have been in that case (for it Is wired in) since last December; at the end of last month 1 intended to vise the coop, and before doing so removed the perch and was astonished to find it simply covered with ligiitcolourcd red mites. There was no mistaking the parasite. Now this shows how hard it is to completely eradicate them from any house in which they once get a hold; for if they can live an increase for seven months without a drop of fowl’s blood they must surely live on one another when compelled to. After experimenting I have found that the best exterminator for Ted mites is the Taranaki crude petroleum. In it you get kerosene, vaseline, benzine and other products. When applied with a brush to porches or sides of house it fills up all the cracks, kills the mites by blocking up the holes through which they breathe,' and kills all tho eggs. The crude petroleum remains effective for some months; your perches remain greasy and very little kerosene is required to keep them entirely mite proof, “I have also found out an easy way to prevent cockerels growing spurs — by rubbing the young spurs at the ago of three months with a stick of caustic potash. I have a cockerel now eleven months old with no sign of a spur and not one that I did last year grow any spurs. To remove spurs from old birds one should bake potatoes (not mealy ones) in an oven; when well baked force tho spur well into the potato, hold it there about three minutes, then grip point of spur with ‘wire pliers or pincers, give a slight twist and off it comes without any bleeding. Pare off the point of tho stump. Tho one potato will do the two spurs. “To prevent tho log being burned, make, a protection with a piece of thin leather ‘provided with a small hole through which the spiff is allowed to project.“

N.Z. UTILITY POULTRY CLUB’S /r COMPETITION. Last week’s returns arc as under:— Pullets. r.ii T G. H. Robinson, 8.0. (25) ... 532 Misses M. Bradley (27)A,; ... 522 T. Kennedy, S.W. (38)IE ... 502 A. R. Browne (33) 456 Horetaunga Poultry Co. (26) ... 454 Horetavmga 1 Poultry Co. (24) ... 445 W. Nixon (27) ... ... 443 E. Hall, 'B.O. (30) ... 442 A. R. Browne (31) .1. ... 441 A. E. Wilson, W.W. (26) ... 432 A. Tisch (26) DA.; ... 431 T. Collins (28) ■>... 404 T. Erethcy (30) 404 N. Solomon (26) .... ... ... 399 T. Kennedy, W.W. (30) ... 397 W. .Halpim (30) ... ... 396 Verrall Bros. (28) ... ... 393 J. W. Green (33) ... ... 388 G. Wilson (27) 385 Ranginru Egg Ranch (30) ... 383 Ducks. Heretaunga Poultry Co. (19) ... 526 W. Knight (21) 499 A. R. Browne (37) 487 P. J. Keller (24) ... ... 449 T. Douthwaito (20) 348