POULTRY NOTES

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 579, 8 October 1932, Page 27 (Supplement)

POULTRY NOTES

(By

“CROW BLACK.”) Notes.

The United Pigeon Fanciers’ Club will meet in the Christchurch Poultry Club rooms .next Wednesday evening. Nominations for the club’s 1933 Produce Stakes Show will close at this meeting. Schedules and all particulars can be obtained from the secretary. The New Zealand Rhode Island Red and Orpington Club will meet in the Christchurch Poultry Club rooms on October 15, to discuss remits for the annual conference of the South Island Poultry Association and the nomination of officers for 3933. The annual meeting of the South Island Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Association will be held in Rangiora on November 17. ’ The South Island Leghorn and Minorca Club will meet in the Christchurch Poultry Club rooms this evening. The Christchurch Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Club’s next card and social evening will be held next Saturday. Mr G. E. Jeffreys, who has been president of the South Island Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Association for about twenty years, does not intend to seek re-election this year. Mr Jeffreys has so long been connected with the governing of the fancy that he will be greatly missed by fanciers. Mr C. P. Bradford, the well-known fancier, was elected a life-member of the Christchurch Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Club at its annual meeting on Monday evening. Mr Bradford has been a member of the club for well over forty years, and lias taken a very active part in the management. He has met with a good deal of success on the show bench, and has won some of the club’s most valuable trophies, including the Macq'uarrie Shield, Fraser Shield for fancy pigeons, the Spicer Cup and the A If. Walker Memorial Cup for poultry. Mr Bradford, in returning thanks for the honour, donated the Spicer Cup to the club. This cup will in future be known as the Spicer-Bradford Cup, and will be competed for by the Hamburgh classes. Fanciers who intend exhibiting at the Ellesmere (Leeston) Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s show on Thursday, October 20, are reminded that entries close this evening. Mr R. Pearco will be in attendance at the Christchurch Poultry Club. room to receive entries and supply schedules. The Canterbury Bantam Club’s first table show of the season will be held in the Christchurch Poultry Club rooms on October 17/: The schedule caters for Black Pekins, Buff Pekins and any other colour Pekins. This show should have a large entry, as Pekin Bantams have made great strides in popularity during the past few years. The next educational evening to he conducted by the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club will be held on October 18, and will take the form of a question night. All interested in poultry-keeping are urged to attend these meetings as much valuable information is imparted by the experienced poultrymen who lecture. At a meeting of the New Zealand Poultry ClUb last Tuesday evening the following nominations were made for the officers for the new council to be elected at the annual meeting of the South Island Poultry, Pigeon and' Canary Association, which will be held in Rangiora on Novemb'er 17:—President, Mr J. IT Gobbe; councillors, fancy poultry, Nlr W. Cummings; utility poultry, Mr J. D. Gobbe; bantams, Mr C. H. Bull; fancy pigeons, Mr F. W. Chambers; Homing pigeons, Mr H. A. Pearson; canaries, Nlr A. Henry; secretary and treasurer, Mr R. Pearce; auditor. Mr V. Bed well; honorary solicitor, Mr E. J. Ross. A meriting of the United Pigeon Fanciers’ Club will be held in the Christchurch Poultry Club rooms next AVednesday evening. Mr O. H. Bradford will lecture on “Long-faced Tumblers.” All young fanciers should make an effort to attend this meeting. Mr W. Gordon, at one time a noted bantam bre’eder and exhibitor, of Oamaru, lias decided to return to the fancy. He lias made a good start, having several batches of chicks of three colours of the Modern Game variety. This breeder has taken up Buff Leghorns, and his enthusiasm should help to popularise this once favourite breed of the Leghorn family. Judging by the number of large poultry I 1 ?’' y ° U rd ? wtock received by dustry as a. means of livelihood appears to be well maintained. Included in recent orders is one received by Mr M. C. Craig for 600 pullets. Tire majoritv of tlie breeders report good business in both young stock and sitting eggs. At .this week’s meeting of the Christchurch Poultry Club, a motion of sympathy was passed with Miss Lois Kevern in the loss of her father. The Alf Walker Memorial Cup has been allotted .to the fanev pigeon section of the Christchiurch Poultry Club’s 1933 show.

The cups won at the Christchurch Poultry Club’s show were presented last I Monday evening by the president, Mr A. , E. Hounsell, as follows:—Lord Dewar . Cup and Cummings Cup, Mr J. Cum- , tilings; Anderson Cup, Mr R. Drysdale; Walker Memorial Cup, Mr L. Wilshire; > Thompson Cup, Mr J. T. Brice; Biggs Memorial Cup, Mrs E. Collett; Sussex L Cup, Mr C. Sanderson; and a chaiupion- > ship certificate fior Black Minorcas to ; Mr P. Jack. , The following officers were elected at i the annual meeting of the Christchurch , Poultry Club:—Patron, Mr E. J. Ross; sub-patrons, the same as last year with , the addition of Mr A. R. Thompson; r president, Mr A. E. Hounsell; vice-presi-dents, Messrs R. Pearce (Fancy J?oultry), M. C. Craig (Utility), W. Cummings (Bantams) F. AV. Chambers j (Fancy Pigeons), L* Wilshire (Homing Pigeons), R. W. Thompson (Canaries), , Mrs A. W. MacGlllivray (Cats), Mr H. A. Mazey (Rabbits); treasurer, Mr H. A. Pearson; auditor, Mr V. Bedwell. The secretary will be appointed at a later meeting. ; At a meeting of the South Island : Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Association ■ a letter was received from the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association asking the association to appoint judges for the open classes of the poultry section at the coming show. It was decided to recommend Mr J. D. [ Gobbe for the open poultry classes, and the selection of a judge for the Game , section was left in the hands of the . South Island Old English Game Club. , A special meeting of the Canterbury Bantam Club will be held next Thursday in the Christchurch Poultry Club’s rooms. The meeting will discuss the ! South Island Poultry Association’s , agenda paper, and will also select another date for the Pekin Bantam table show, owing to the room being occupied ; on the date previously arranged. The New Zealand Utility Poultry Club met on Tuesday evening, Mr A. G. F. Ross presiding. The South Island Poultry Association notified the club that the annual conference would be held In Rangiora on November 3 7, and | invited nominations for tho executive | and council, also remits for the agenda paper. -It was decided to recommend the present council for re-election, ex--1 cept the Canary representative, for which office Mr. A. Henry was nomin- ’ ated, and Mr J. D. Gobbe for the office, of president. It was decided to move a remit that the conference go into the . question of the election of councillors ! from specialist clubs, and to make it known that birds wearing sealed leg bands would be eligible for competition in shows. Mr A. G. F. Ross, the club president, was appointed delegate. The secretary intimated that the £IOO sub- , sidy received from the Government every year would be discontinued. It . " r as decided to go into this matter, as the club considered that it was doing ' useful work in holding egg-laying com--1 petitions and in fuithering tho interests of the poultry industry. A long discussion took place regarding the egg export. Several members of ttio export . committee were present and explained I what had been done in this matter, and how the shipping space had been ar- • ranged. Large shipments would he 1 sent away on October 12 and 24. The \ thanks of the club and industry were due to the export committee and to Messrs S. F. Marshall (secretary) and C. Cussen (Government grader) for ’ their efforts in getting these consignments away. The management com- ; mittee reported on its visit to the egg- - laying competition, and stated that the birds were looking well. There was an abundance of green feed and the grounds were in good order. The caretaker’s report stated that the birds wore putting up a good lay and there was practically an absence of sickness among them. He also made reference to cleaning part of the grounds. This matter was left in the hands of the management committee. The eggs marketed for the month were 566 dozen first-grade, 57 second grade and 37 dozen duck eggs. The education committee reported that the educational evenings were proving very attractive to poultry-keepers. A committee consisting of Messrs M. C. Craig, W. Turner and S. F. Marshall was set up to wait on the committee dealing with the price of wheat. The secretary reported that the club’s quarterly review was available. Hints for Breeders. In the majority of cases a cross beak in a chick is caused by some fault during incubation. The developing embryo becomes slightly deformed through some fault in operating the incubator. Most often the trouble is noticed in chicks (hat have lacked moisture during incubation, but overheating, underheating and infrequent turning of the eggs have all been held accountable. These are real root causes of cross beaks and other deformities, but the direct cause is usually that the embryo is in the wrong, position in the last three days of the hatching period. This is the cause of much dead in the shell, and if the embryo in a wrong position does manage to hatch there is usually some physical deformity to be seen in the chicks. Splay legs and cross beaks are tho two most common forms of deforniity. Very often the beak is so slightly out of true that the fault is not noticed until the chick js several weeks old. The defect develops as tlie chick grows, and therefore becomes more noticeable. Badly-feathered Chicks.—This fault is more noticeable in heavy breeds than in light breeds. No one vet knows why it should be so. The first cause i is lack of fresh air in the house when i tiie chicks arc at roost. This results i in poor growth in' individual 'members j of the flock. The poor growth is usual- i 1 Y accompanied by poor feathering. An j improvement ift the majority of cases ! effected in a short time if the ! affected chicks are removed from the I brood and reared together. Badly- i leathered chicks that have left the i brooder should be removed to a small j house by themselves. If the house is j well ventilated an improvement will i soon be noticed. Those who rear in i large units will find a small house to : take such chicks of great help. No : preparation for outward application is j likely to have the slightest effect upon j feather growth. In many broods individuals are noticed j

that grow to a great size, but lack strength in the legs to support the body. These are simple cases of chicks outgrowing their strength. As a rule it is the cockerels that suffer from this trouble. It can be rectified in time, but it is as well to dispose of these weaklings as soon as it is seen that they are weak in the legs. If kept the trouble may recur later in life. If it is desired tx> cure tho bird, he must be removed to a small pen where he can be kept by himself. See that he can bask in the sun. Feed the usual mash with 3 per cent of cod liver oil added. An extra feed ol' bread and milk each day will prove a help. i’rooked breast-bones are said to be inheritable, but no actual proof that this is so has ever been produced. Crooked-breasted birds have been bred from without finding a single case in the progeny. More often crooked breast bones are due to faulty incubation, and, as in the case of cross beaks, the defect is not noticed until the chicks are well grown. It is then attributed to early perching or, in flat contradiction of that theory, to allowing the birds to roost on the floor. Both perches and lack of perches can cause forms of crooked breasts, but in the vast majority of cases, the trouble has been caused during the development of the embryo.—H. Strong. Common salt, given in the right quantity and in the right way, is as highly beneficial to poultry as it is to the larger animals, but the susceptibility of poultry to poisoning by salt is very marked—by raw salt in particular. Most of the cases of salt poisoning coming under notice, states a departmental publication, are from grains of raw salt, notably out of dry mash. There is considerable danger in dry mash hoppers where salt is mixed in the mash, particularly where the hoppers are filled up to last two or three weeks. Dry mash hoppers should be emptied and filled each week. Where that is not done there is danger, especially in damp weather, of the grains of salt clinging together and forming a mass of over-salt material, which, when eaten by the birds, results in salt poisoning. The same danger lurks in brine in which meat has been pickled* whether it is mixed with the food, or even thrown on the ground

where poultry have access to it. Scraps from the kitchen containing salt are still another source of the same trouble, up is the addition of salt to mixed mashes which may already contain sufficient. The quantity of salt used in the morning wet mash should not exceed 220 z to 1001 b of food, calculated on dry weight, and the salt should first be completely dissolved In the liquid with which the mash is to be mixed.