POULTRY COLUMN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 49, 12 October 1911, Page 8

POULTRY COLUMN.

(By F. C. Brown, in “Journal or Department of Agriculture.”)

Shelter Necessary

Tiro man has I iron wise win) nas provided shelter-hedges and shadetrees for his stock, and even now it is- not too late, if the time (-an be spared, to do something. Troe-lr.c-erno, or some such rapidly growing hush, should he planted. A\ hatever is used, it should he pruned after it gets a good start, in order to give a thick bottom growth, otherwise it provides merely shade, and is no' protection from the wind.

Yeung Ones should bo Treated Well. Half the breeding goes down the throat. If birds are to develop into good breeding stock, or are to give a maximum yield of eggs they must have the stamina, and this can only 1)0 secured by liberal feeding of the right kind of food. No man ever succeeded at poultry who stinted his young birds. Green food in the growing stage is essential. It is surprising the amount the young ones will cat, to their own great advantage, and to the interests of the owners' packet, as a liberal ration of green food will induce the birds to eat less of more expensive food stuffs. As mentioned before, it is useless relying on grass as green .food at this time of year. Broodies. Immediately a broody hen is seen on the nest at night place her in a •broody-coop (a box with slats on the bottom, or such a strife ture as that illustrated in the June number), for there is nothing which encourages vermin so much as a lien sitting long on the nest. Again, the longer a hen is allowed to sit the longer will he her broody period. A bird in the first stage of hroodiuess does not come olf to feed as she should, and consequently gets run down, and if she undergoes this treatment for any time she is not in a lit condition to lay well whan she is over'the broody fit. It is frequently said that a bird is all the better for a rest. I do not agree with this. As long as a bird is kept in good condition, and is properly fed, she needs no rest for the comparatively short laying life, demanded of her in these days of forced laying conditions. it is a mistake to illtreat or starve a broody lien. You still expect a lot of her, and if you are to get it you should treat her in a liberal manner. Artificial Chicksn-preductisn. In the artificial production of chickens tile greatest success will be achieved where the poultryinan can control temperatures at, all stages of the process ; and the control of temperature is just as important in brooding as in incubating. It is unwise to take any

in this matter. Think of the hen. She hatches her chicks by means of the heat of her body, and when the chicks are hatched she continues the work of supplying the heat of the mother-body till the clucks arc fully fledged, and can take care of themselves. The men who have advanced the work of artificial incubation and rearing most are those who have studied nature and have endeavoured to copy her methods. In tin's connection it has always appealed to me as necessary to successful brooding that while tiio chicken is supplied with artificial heat it should be also able to; secure as much fresh air as possible, just as the chick under the mother’s wing can put out its little head and breathe the outside' atmosphere, To achieve this cud every endeavour has been made on the plants of tho Department to provide tor tho ad -fission of fresh air to the breoder-b The back half of the top has n sloped to encourage the heated air to rise and pass out at the top of tho front, which is absolutely open, a provision which is especially essential in the case of ducklings. Anything which draws upon tho heat generated by the chickens themselves hardly appeals to me as being to the chickens "'present and ultimate advantage, especially in these days when there is such a heavy drain on a bird’s constitution as is entailed by our present method of getting all we can out of a bird in one or two forc-ing-seasons. Tbs Ccskorcd. These who have commenced hatching early will find it necessary this month to separate the sexes; and it is not too early now for those who make a business of supplying stud stock to cull, placing tho selected birds under the most favourable conditions, of which a good range is one of the most important, for the best development. The inferior birds should lie penned for fattening and marketing. Here a common mistake is made. Tho cockerels'for marketing are too often given a cheap bulk food, with the result that they reach tho market in an unsatisfactory condition, being rather stores than fats. It will pay to feed early hatched cockerels well, and market when from four to four and a- half months old, when from 6s to / s a pair should be easily procurable. Brooder !improvements. The brooder at the Ruakura Farm ’of Instruction lias been brought thoroughly up-to-date. A distinct feature is that the whole back of tho brooder is glass, so that when the, chickens are in the brooder-box they can 1)0 observed from tiio alley-way without the necessity of lifting the lid, thereby disturbing the young ones as well as allowing the heat to escape. In order to quieten the chickens when very young a little blind is hung over tho glass on tiio outside, so that tho brooder-box may he darkened. No doubt the placing of glass, for observation and lighting purposes, is "a vast improvement to placing it on top, as is usually done. As on the Department’s other plants, the pipes are brought as close to the hack wall of the brooder-box as passible, there being only six inches from tiio centre of the back pipe to the back wall. This effectively prevents the chickens crowding to tiie hack of the brooder-box—which is the great cause in the ordinary brooder of overheating and consequent chill—and encourages them to move to tho safe space in front of the pipes. ’Flu's space, by the way, is as roomy as

possible. The measurement of the orooder-box from back to front is 2ft. bin., and the front is absolutely open. The hover, which is close on tlio pipers, rests on two supports fastened to the sides of the box, so that it can bo shoved aion.y and does not require to be lifted. flic brooder-box is 2ft. mph. but when it conics in line with tho front of the hover it falls slantwise to the back of the box, which is only Ift. Gin. hiph. Toe hover is ...u, brought close up co the lac k v. all, a a;/.ice of ab'out i in. liciny; allowed between it and the wall. A S-j.itshir«3 ProSsSen:, Probably an incubator will never yot lie rna.de to p,ive as pood a resale as tiio lien, especially when tin re is any weakness In the embryo. for instance, when c , ps liavo travelled any pra-at (lisiaiica it is practically imprasible to pet the same result in a machine as it is i;<;. able io pel; under a hen; and even where tile distance is not no preat, it is always safer wit'is special epps to put them under a reliable* hen. There is much less risk

with the hen than with the macnino ; and it is never safe taking a ris.v with high-priced eggs, or eggs rhe birds from which are intended lor foundation stock. Instances could ho multiplied where men have blame,, eggs for weak chickens and unsatisfactory hatching results, whereas the whole trouble has been in the work of hatching. Local Conditions.

If -there is one thing more necessary than another in the management of poultry it is to consider local conditions in planning operations, and there is no detail where this consideration is more necessary than in earn 1 ling chickens. Where the climate is mild and equable it is sr.T enough to place the chicks direct Horn the brooder to colony houses; hut where changeable weather and late frosts arc. experienced it is often a dangerous procedure. in these conditions it is necessary to provide a cool brooder, where tho chickens can he artificially mothered (with, of course, no applied heat) for a few weeks longer. N.Z. UTILITY POULTRY CLUB’S COMPETITION. Pullats— T. Kennedy, S.W. (38) ... ... 744 G. H. Robinson, 8.0. (20) ... 736 Misers Bradley (3d) ... ... 735 A. R. Browne (35) ... ... 607 Horetaunga Poultry Co. (31) ... 676 Heretaunga Poultry Co. (35) ... 671 A. 11. Browne (34) ... ... 668 W. Nixon (35) ... ... ... 65i A. Tisch (34) 657 Ducks— Heretaunga Poultry Co. (36) ... 756 W. Knight (39) 753 A. 11. Browne (30) ... ... 70S P. J. Keller (33) C 52

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