POULTRY NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 June 1925, Page 11

POULTRY NOTES.

PACKING EGG'S FOR HATCHING. (By “Wyandotte.”) In my notes for this week, I intend dealing chiefly with eggs in general, and although perhaps some of my notes will perhaps be a little premature, they will, I hope, be of use to the beginner. To those poultry keepers who are offering for the first time to sell sittings of eggs a little advice on the best method of packing may be very useful. It is tiiost annoying to the purchaser as well as to the vendor when eggs are broken on the journey. The eggs should be packed in cardboard; or woodgn.. boxes with divisions for each egg These boxes are readily obtainable. This is a safer way to pack than to use a b soap'or cornflour ' b(jk.- ; i The--bottom of the box must be covered wi,'tji coarse bran and each egg must be wrapped in a piece of soft papelr and ,j end downwards in the centre of of its compartment. Put the bran carefully round the egg so that :it is firm and .cannot move. The. lid of the box when closed must not rest on the eggs. It should not be nailed, but screwed down and tied with stou£ t string or cord to facilitate handling.*’’ Tile box must be labelled “Eggs with cafr’e” in very large letters. It should, if possible, be sent by rail and not by parcel post, as the eggs are less rlittblfe tobroken or damaged. ’The isale of newly-hatdied chicks hag to taken the place of thp sale, pf , sittings of eggs. These are advertised. by many poultry breeders, wifi/ sill Sittings at double the . price of eggs. The little birds' are packed in light wooden boxes, the size being re 7 gulated .ac.cqr<ling to. .the. number ■ sent. A suitable size for . a dozen chickens is 14 inches'"by 0 inches by 9 inches ,high| The boxes have holes fbi* “VseritilatiOn iij the lid and at the top of the sides’. Th^.corners are filled with soft hay and .tjie. flppy.ols.j.’then covered., with chaff. A piece .3alyiel is fixed to the lid inside arid tfie’ chiefs have their backs against. Tliey travel best on long joutneys when -Sentin the evening. The Question has often been raised as to, Jt is advisable to rest eggs a journey and. for how long. For her notes’ ori this -subject Mrs. Gaskin, of Sussed, #as awarded a prize. She states:—■* '

“It is certainly necessary to rest eggs after a rail journey for at least 24 hoursbefore they are incubated. The shaking and jostling that they are subjected to on the way quite alters the position of the yolk.-; ' I have proved this by boiling the eggs on the day that they have been received, through, the post. " The yolkrf were found, cither at the side or at onei end, , but very rarely a‘t the centre. To ihcubate eggs in such a condition is toinvite disaster and chicks hatched from thesd would most probably be found dead in the shell. They would be found partly formed and adhering to a portion of the shell.’ 4 EGGS FOR HATCHING.

J would like the beginner to,, read the following very carefully and I believe thaj b.e YFUI Jhfijj Jijmself j>f. thogq

> | J few mongrel fowls that he pjas at ftreseiiL In a few moiitlts many pure breeds will Jje offe’.y.l ’ fdr silp and the amateur fancier will havd ample opportunity to buy ,a sitting of f any breed that’ lie desires.'He irtu . Cnd a pure breed more sati’sfactofry in every my than a nqn-descnFt.,, T'c|y- the amateur who has hi|<| pure bred birds, but now dpfjM>s better specimens, the purchase of some eggs may be useful, • ;, ' f It is generally understood amongst skilled poultry breeders that- male bird transmits the fecundity of- his mother’ to his daughters and that the hen tfain-' mils her fecundity to her yons. Therefore, w*hin endeavouring' to increase tl'e egg average it is important to qse the males that are bred from free laying liens. When considering from which )>reed he would like a sitting, pigs thepoultry keeper is often influenced by the colour of the eggs. Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds,, and Plymouth Rocks, are extremely - good winter layers, a most important point in their favour, but the frequency with

which they become broody in the summer time is most annoying. Amongst tlie layers of whit? eggj arespirits, of pur nibst prolific fowls' an<t non sitt'ets! The White and Black’ ■the Ancona and the Camphie are first rate layers, doing well