POULTRY NOTES

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 19, 17 January 1929, Page 8

POULTRY NOTES

MANAGEMENT OF THE YOUNG STOCK. J T ; C. Brown, Chief Poultry, 'ln- ' structcr, writing in the "Journal of Agriculture','' says :—Now that the '' season for incubating is over and the bulk of thjo chickens reared to ain age when they "have passed the chief danger-period of their development, the poultrY-ke?po r rtiay look forward to a somewhat easier time. There is, however, plenty of work to do if the plant i s t 0 be maintained at a high; standard cvf efficiency. For exj>,mpje, it,must not be concluded that because th/si young stock have passeti tbe breeder stage special care and management are no longer essential. Especially doe's this apply to "the growing pullet. It is to develop into a' vigorous' specimari (and it can be only profitable TT it is, vigorous) it must never receive a set-back from the time of leaving the shell till reaching 1 maturity.-' CLASSIFYING YOUNG BIRDS. One cannot over emphasise the importance o f classifying the youns, birds accfrrr'ing to their size and age, remembering that t-TuV ''more evenly + 1 t> Kirds'are graded the bet ter ivity WieV fthrivoi. f~h\y anplies in the members of flock in particular. Tt is a common practice, but nevertheless n mistaken one, to foed hoth the growing and the adult fctcek lon the same class of food.. T have recently icame across cases where the morning mash' contained a biVh proportion of. forcinemnterial. snch as meat or blood meal, which has been qUppVed t<> nil members rf tho nor©. Si-ir'h fond: "Is soeciallv demjmdfA in thp rase oF the heavv-laving bird, particularly when it is intended to cull T -"" out at ftn te" T) V nation of i, n ,:.i^„:„„ n ; With the ~row. ing bird, however, such a forcing diet i s nuite The f"M snrjplied at this ao-o snrtnhV contain t-fts elements- needed to hjiiV l nw fromoi on/ 3 ! finne. rather fh«>'"i Vi develop the egg organs—in other words, to prematurity a condition that the overfeeding of meat is sure to bfirig about, CEASES TO GROW. It is not "generally known that when a pullet commences to lay she ceases to grow. Obviously' if a bird commences~to"Tay at an early age it will remain" a diminutive specimen of its breed, and) thereby fail to pro duce a good marketable .egg- It is sound practice to give chickens a good supply of food —say, up to eight* weeks old—but between this period and until the pullets are well devel joiped and, nearing. the layingMpoint,, forcing-feed should be sparingly, provided. Indeed, if it is observed., that, the pullets show signs of coming /too early ,tp. maturity, all foreingrfooa such as meat or its, substitutes, or even milk .should be, left cat., of the, ration. ''Unfortunately, many .poul-try-keepers ' W;e been led to forco their pullets owing to incorrect .teaching that early maturity is an indication of egg-laying power, and that- premature laying is a sign of is no greater fallacy. Perhaps the' most important fact disclosed relative to the grading of eggs for export during the past, sea- ! son (and on which more will be said in these notes at a later data) w-.s the excessive undei*-si'<td eggs whjich reached the depots, and which were'next to useless', for the overseas trade. It 'Should he the aim of every utility poultry-keeper to correct tjhis tendency.,,' It will certainly never be corrected—on the, contrary, (it Willi 'be oncouraged—if pullets are to be forced to commence 'laying before they aire thoroughly fitted fqr tne work. Of 'course, ' I am not speaking of the early laying of the well-developed bird 4 but of the pniflet which commences "to lay when 011 ] y a - .little more tlfm half" the Standard' weight for its breed.^ MARKING YOUNG STOCK. ! The importance of maJlTng the young stock as a future grade to separating trie birds according to ago is not appreciated as it should "Be. All birds' hatched this season should be promptly marked without delay. Perhaps the simplest method is to punch a hole in the web of the- foot, reserve a particular section of the web of "each b'ltl particular seasoTT A. suitable punch for the purpose'can bo procured for about 2s.