THE POULTRY YARD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12280, 12 June 1903, Page 3

THE POULTRY YARD.

under this heading we propose to de vole a column weekly to notes of in ierest and value to poultry-keepers The column will be open to others besides our regular contributor , and' we shall be pleased' to receive notes from those interested. INCUBATION (Continued). The period that may ? elapse between the time whan an egg is laid an|d that when it is placed under a hen, or in an incubator, varies considerably, both in regard to the actual egg itsell and also to the conditions under which it has been< stored. But slight mismfanagenment is &luffi'cieut to destroy the fertility of an egg whose germ is weak, and egg>s laid by hens that are mat^id to a strong, vigorous cock bicd wiJl retail the germ intact for a much longo..:j/xsod &ri those from hens which arc accompanied by a more or less used up bird* Then, too, unless special pi-ecautioijs I are taken to store the eggs in siich a • temperature as I hatve reoorrninendejd, • it will be found that during the ooki weather eggs will retain their fertility much longer tihan in hot weather. B*ut with proper " care anU attention eggs may, if necessary, easily be kept a month, and even more, without i destroying the fertility of the germ, j Not that such a course is desirable", for assuredly the best results are usually obtained from . eggs not more tlian 7 or ten days old. and in the case of an incubator being enuployed they should never exceed the latter age. the wonderfjul iiuEpfroivements that science has made in artificial incubation, stale eggss oanBot thhis be hatched with, anything like the degree of ' certainty that is obtained from the natural proves®, and I feel sure that to a large extent, this' is due to the want of that natural secretion which is iinjparted to the x egg by the hen. But let this be as it may, the fact remains that in order to hatch' sfuccesslfully by artificial means the eggs must be fresjily laid. ' - TBGE BROODY* HEN. "When first a hen is seen, to he&ome broody she should- at once be caught, and^given- a good fclusting with one of the many insect powders" advertised. Then allow her to go, and in couple- of- "days sh» \Vrll-viiot only have cast off all the insects wihidb ijaaayfh&ve.- been'oiF lie*r; btrt^lso Slave got rid of a greater portion of the powder, which maght be injurious to the projects of a successful hatch. If a hen lias set upon eggs witifolut any attempt being tfatts made to get her body freed of insects, these latter during the process of incubation, are liable to breed to an- alarming extent, and hence the reason why so, .many 'hens often- -forsake their ; eggs' after sitting on them for some little time. MOISTURE. J think; it will generally be admitted by those who have had much practical experience in- incubation; that in order to. hatcJh, eggs sraecesirfuUy, rhloisture to the eggs must be provided by some means or other during the period d intubation. 1 Cases nave been quoted where a hen has "solon" her nest, and deposited her eggs ■in some dry, solid rock, or in such a - place that it was utterly impossible for her to draw vp r .,by the beat of her body* any moisture whatsoever, and that still a successful hatch resulted. But there are many ways by which a sufiiciency of darnjpness may have been provided 'to the. eggs. ,-The. hen, in seeking for her foc(d, may have hail her feathers either saturated ' wiih water that had fallen during the night, and which remained in the long grass, or sufficient dew may hayelxeen collected in a similar manner. Again, ,si£pfposing there was no grass or any similar means by which, the hen's feathers ' couM, become wet, yet it might be that the atmfosp'hiere itself t was so healvily charged with water that enough for the purpose descended upon the eggs during the absence of the 'hen 'in' search -of ,foodr ( Lastly, the natural secretion from tJhte hen's foocly may have been so great as to provide sufficient for the purpose, or anyhow to prevent too great evaporation of the eggs. B"ut let this be as it may, -I am. convinced-,; f hat, ,in the majority -of cases,- far' better results are obtainable from eggs that have been incdbated in a in ore or Ie:?s damip at— mp^pheve than would have been possible had a dry- heat been employed. The best way to insure a continual, "and nf,ore <ir less gradual, supjply of moistkire is. to either place ■ the nest of the hen clifectryon to the earth, or to put into the box »&veral inches thick of earth (m&ist), preferably in ihe form of a grass sod. If the grouUjd on which the box is placed is very dry, it is as well to dig it over, and moisten it with water from a garden can and hose. It *is however ndcessary to warn some from going to the extreme by — at all times— giving, a plentifully supply of moisture. During cold weather a very moist nest is by no means desirable, and T believe many err by not discriminating between a very dry external atmosphere and one more or less humid ; though I thrnjk', as a rule, more harm is done by not giving sufficient moisture than by over doing it. " . * Many peojple rfprirfkle- the- egg» with warm water several times during the process of incubation. At times such procedure gives excellent 'results, , at ' others very poor.. Some, people als«o -put the eggs in warm water and allow them "to soa,k for a "short time a day. or two before they are- due to hatch. I believe both of these meth-' ods are too drastic to be regularly - employed. Both undoubtedly answer admirably at times, but the difficulty lies in beinipr unable to know, witih finy degree of certainty, in what state the contents of the eggs- are, whether too m f uch mioist'urc ha« already been BUpplied, or whether tJTere is a lack of it. Probably safest way when the eartn under the egg ie found to

be dried up is to remove the eggs ai^cl hay, and with a watering can sprinkle the earth. Throw a little dry dusfc over it, and replace some fresh hay, and then the eggs. 1 htvve little doubt that certain eggs reqjuire more moisture than others, as well as the matter of atmosphererie changes* playing an iuvportajat part. Without a- doubt however it has been concJusively proved that egga set on the grofund, where a certain amount of vo-oistAire can arise, is in the lonig rua an infinitely better plan than the old fashioned Way of putting- the hens in boxes, with no earth in the bottom. Where any quantity of hens are > an--nUally set it is most desirable that some kind of builtling- sho.uld be devoted solely to the Üb-e of the broody hens. Many farmers allow their hens to choose their own negts, and they may not unfrequently be found sitting in the ordinary hen house anti one or more hens daily adding another egg to the brooder's nest. Thus they are continually disturbing the sitter, which is very detrimental to the prospects of a good hatch. I therefore cannot too strongly recommend that, ; Wherever possible, some outbuilding j should be given up to tho brooders. Once a day is quite sufficient to feed sitting- hens, but it is most desirable to take precaution to observe that they do feed regularly each day. EacJi morning at a certain fixed time, put a plentiful Bttps>]y of food for- her and clean- water into the drinking fountain, ancl if any hens do not come oil" to feed on their own accord gently place your hand underneath them arid lift them oft", for if some hens are not taken off their nes>ts they will remain on for several days. ' BESTFOODS. Although I strongly deprecate the system of giving- maize (Tntlian com) to poultry in the ordinary way on account of its pi-opensity to -create internal fat, yet for exactly the same '•easlon that it does create internal fat I &t<vdcate its use for the broody hem. Afootve all things you must keep up the heat of the body, and the fatter the fowl is the greater amount of heat does she possess. • Two thirds maize with the other one thh<d made up of oats, barley or wheat, is as" good a food for this pairfjose as I know of. j A plentiful supply of good siharp flint grit should always be accessible to the birds. CLEANLIKTCSS. After each feed, carefully remove all excrements, as nothing is so liable to "(make things go wrong" as an impure atmosphere, not to mention the inconvenience that otherwise would be the case to the attendant. (To be Continued.)