POULTRY YARD

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1930, Page 15 (Supplement)

POULTRY YARD

BY

G. H. AMBLER

EGGS FOR SETTING. The d emand for eggs for setting purposes will now be very great, and boxes lor the dispatch of these can be procured very cheaply, and with ordinary care there is very little likelihood of the eggs being damaged. When sending eggs, instructions should be sent in the box that the eggs must remain perfectly qmet for at least 24 hours after being unpacked before being put under a hen or in an incubator. It is best to put eggs undergoing long journeys under a ben lor incubation. The best results are likely to be achieved by such a course. In the case of soft-shelled eggs it is not always through want of grit that birds lay such eggs, for in many eases it is through the birds being' in an abnormally fat condition, want of sufficient lime in the system, or feeding on too heating foods. It will generally be found sufficient to put matters right by, feeding more sparingly and adding Epsom salts to the drinking water or soft foods. THE BROODY HEN.’ Poor old broody somehow or other is not very popular with poultry keepers who are out for full egg baskets. The reason for this is not far to seek, for if the layers were ever going broody’ these egg baskets would be more often ti an not half empty. There are several methods of curing this broodinss, but I find that hens will not. be so long with this fever if they are taken in hand early. Directly the broodiness is noticed the culprits should be separated from the other hens and placed in the broody coop. If this method is adopted the fever should leave the hei/ in a few days. When the broody fever has secured a strong hold only patience- will succeed in enticing the hen to lay again. DISPOSING OF BROODIES. We will now look at the other side of tho question to see two important roles that the broody hen fills successfully’. In the first place, every hen grows old, • and when three or four years old she is naturally not so prolific as in her younger days. No poultry-keper, perhaps, would' require her services even if offerc I him at 2s Gd, -but when she goes broody’ the market fluctuates.' It does not matter how old the hen is if she is lequir-1 for sitting purposes, and so old hens when broody jump from 2s fid to 10s or 12s fid in price. Those who find themselves with old hens should encourage them to go broody by feeding, themon heat-giving foods and dispose of them as broodies. There is another reason why old hens are very necessary whe natural hatching is practised. Young pullets are not always reliable for brooding, and it is disheartening to find a whole setting of eggs, spoiled. It sometimes happens that a pullet will sit, tightly and hatch out a setting of eggs to the entire. satisfaction of the owner, but a hen in seven or eight cases out of ten will give -the better results. It does not always happen that a hen is broody just when wanted, in which case the poultry-keeper may be compelled to use a pullet. THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD. . Although the utility farmer does not realise it to- the full, a, good broody’ hen is ■ worth its weight in gold. On every farm there should be a goodly number of reliable hens for hatching purposes. Their records should be kept, and any that prove unreliable should be disposed of. It matters little what age or breed these hens are, for they are needed only’ for hatching purposes, and so egg production does not enter into the question. The poultry farmer who has a small army of a dozen tried and reliab,. hens ready’ for action when the oroodiness overtakes them should, in my opinion, ba very’ proud of them. CREATING CHICKENS ON ARRIVAL. Many readers will be receiving chickens through the post or by’ rail during this month. It is best to put them by the warm stove on arrival if they look a trifle weak. This process will revive them, when their first feed may be given them, hi feeding chickens little and often should be the motto, and a meal given late at night by lamp light will serve a good purpose. KEEP DUCKLINGS OUT OF SUN. Ducklings do not require much exercise when they are being reared for the table. They should have swimming wat once a day’ and be kept out of the sun. An eight feet six inches square pen will hold thirty to forty youngsters during the fattening stage, or if it be thoroughly ventilated, twice that number. Birds of eight to ten weeks have reached 121 b the couple, and to secure the best prices the birds should be as near these weights as possible. Ducklings are not generally sold by the pound, but in couples. The best food on which to rear them from the shell to killing is milk and ground oats. They will, however, grow well if given barley' meal and sharps, rice (boiled just to bursting the grain), skimmed milk, and as much spinach and lettuce or other young green food as the birds will eat. CARE OF THE FOWLS. In breeding pens where special exercise is to be provided, and in the ordinary laying pen, where litter usually is none too plentiful, it is an excellent plan to rake all the litter up in a pile in the centre of the floor in the morning or in the evening after the fowls have gone on the perches, scattering grain over the litter as it is piled up. The birds will immediately attack the pile when they come down from the perches in the morning and will work at it industriously until they have it. scattered all over the floor. . Take a little time to get acquainted with the individual birds of the flock. M’atch them as they eat and

scratch and visit the nests, and with a few dainty scraps from the table teach them to eat from your hand. It will help to make the birds gentle and unafraid, and you will learn some things about them that you did not know before. It pays to coax the appetites of the layers a little wherever they appear to be slacking off in feed consumption. If this is not done the egg yield is certain to drop. Study the birds a little and find what it is that they prefer, and then see that they get it. There is quite a good deal of individuality’ in birds as regards their preferences for feed, and the ration that gave best results last year may not necessarily be what this year’s flock wants. No breeding pen has a fair chance to show what it can do unless the birds are kept on the move several hours daily’ while they are in confinement. GENERAL NOTES. So far I have heard nothing regarding' the exportation of eggs from Auckland this season. In spite of the fact that Britain is crying out for eggs and we are obtaining only a little over Is per dozen for eggs locally', with a further fall likely, nothing so' far as Auckland is concerned ■ seems to have been done towards relieving the market of its surplus. New Zealand producers are fortunate in having Mr. Merrett resident in London. Why not make use wf his services? After the many years of hard work he spent in the interest of the industry in New Zealand it must have been galling to him to have to cable to Australia £40,060 when he knew so well that many of . our producers were struggling for an existence. Mr. R. B. Arnott (Point Chevalier) reports having a most successful season for the sale of stock birds and eggs for hatching. During the past week he shipped a valuable trio of utility White Leghorns to Miss Wilson, Siota, South Sea Islands.

Air. George H. Ambler has been appointed judge of poultry classes (fancy and utility) at the Poverty Bay show to be held at Gisborne on October 28 and 29.

Mr. Roscoe, Glen Eden; informs me that owing to his work taking liim away from home for three or four months he will be unable to hatch out his usual quota of chickens. Mrs. Roscoe, who is an enthusiast, has, however, several broodies sitting on eggs. In a letter j’ust t-o hand from Mr. Merrett he tells me business in Australian eggs is good. On the day of writing lie had sold 25,600 cases of, eggs and also cabled credits, to Australia to the amount of £40,000., Mr. Merrett, who attended the World’s Poultry Congress, says that it was a “wonderful affair.” Mr. Hodgkinson, Glen Eden, who recently retired from business, has got together a fine flock of White Leghorns. He has also a grand lot of chickens nearly a month old. Mr. Hodgkinson makes his own brooders and, judging from the condition of his chickens, it is apparent they are satisfactory. Mr. R. D. Whyte, Palmerston North, who for many years has been one of the leading White Leghorn specialists in the Manawatu, has sold his business, vvith the result he is having to dispose of his valuable stud of poultry. Mr. Whyte, who is a stickler for type with a combination of egg production, recently fell a victim to the charms of the Black Minorca and procured some of the best'utility blood in the Dominion, fie 1 is contemplating taking a position ou a poultry farm or returning to the Homeland with a view to going in for poultry farming there. His services will be missed in Palmerston North as he has been a prominent member M the executive of the Manawatu Poultry Association, North Island Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Association and several specialist clubs, as, well as one of the North Island Poultry Association’s judges. I

START YOUR CHICKS RIGHT. It is no use hatching every’ egg if you lose half the chicks the first week. Palmers Baby Chick Starter enables you to rear every chick. It is a scientifically balanced, easily digested food that builds robust strength into the young birds. Hundreds of professional poultry farmers use nothing else. Try it once —you’ll use it always. Ask your storekeeper or merchant for— PALMER’S BABY CHICK STARTER. A. J. Palmer and Go., Ltd., Addington, Christchurch. (2)