POULTRY NOTES

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10551, 6 February 1912, Page 6

POULTRY NOTES

(By Utilitarian.) Through the recent death of Mr Rose, late manager of the Government Poultry Farm at Burnham, Momohaki, poultry-men have sustained a loss that will be keenly felt. He Mas a quiet, unassuming gentleman, devoted to his profession, and was particularly well, respected by those who knew'him. Gentle as his manner, was, lie could, when occasion war. ranted, rouse up, when any pet scheme of his was being attacked, .as those who were present at the late conference at Christ church will remember.

A somewhat heated controversy was taking olaco in regard to the ■Utilitv standard, drawn up by Messrs l Brown and Rose, and the_ latter, I doubtless carried away by excitement, interjected, "Let me have a buck at Hiiro," referring to his opponent. ißoars of laughter resounded through

the room. . Mr 1 J. B. uVlerrett, of Christ-church, has been asked to represent New Zealand at a Provisional - Committee meeting of .International Poultry Investigators in London; but, owing to pressure of business, has had to decline, ft is possible Mr Inman-Tod, who is leaving for England shortly, will be appointed. The Utility Egg Circle despatched, last week, to Wellington, one hundred and thirty dozen eggs, not a large number, but of excellent qualitj" and as long as mem'beirs bear in mind the importance of. cleanliness and evenly-sized eggs, complaints will be conspicuous by their absence. The.supply of this commodity'is falling off now, and this Circle's dealer states that "eggs are somewhat up. this week."- • ...* New .members are .steadily rolling in, and it is not surprising, seeing how cheaply the Utility Circle's eggs are marketed. One halfpenny per dozen takes them from the farmer's door, and freights them to Wellington. Certainly there is a slight levy of a farthing per dozen for the us* I of an egg crate, but that will be only {temporary. If the supply diminishes ', no doubt the collecting and despatching will have to he■•■ raised ..another farthing, -on. account of the extra charge for railway freights. If poultrymeu Mould only see the enormou;. benefit to be derived hy a thorough systematic'organisation it.'would not be long before those freights would" be reduced. , ■'. I.am informed on credible authority that cut flowers for exhibition'purposes are railed free for 100 miles up to 56'lbs; and yet eggs, a perishable article, r.r.d an, almost- ever.y-day necessity, \u\\ e to meet the extortionate charge of Is lid for a hundred■ miles for the same weight. Thiij jx*>, .from .a Government which sets put to foster the-poultry industry. - Owing to the. busy time, of year the formation of the' Eketahuna Circle ■has fbeen postponed for a few weeks. The excessively hot. weather we are now experiencing will be detrimental to best results,, owing to the difficulty •" in many,.p , laces of procuring sufficientgreen feed for the birds. '/'ln''.some parts wat-erci-esis l will he available, and-is one of the most ' satisfactory plants we have for,, this purpose. It ' chould be i'un through a chaff-cutter .or. clever-cutter, so that* the-whole of. ,it may be readily -eaten. Failing this," clover should .'be yet fairly plentiful, and can be treated in the same manner, and in- connection with this, spoultrymeh should make it .their particular (business to save as much of it as possible for next winter's 'use, Avhen.u can be chaffed and steamed. .If cut.,and .'saved when green, the steaming wiil-bring it back.to almost its' original condition. Green feed of some description is most essential, ■ and. if everything else fails, supply ■the birols with wallow leaves to peck ■at. There are, some who strongly advocate sucrosine, stating that it is. just as good as any.other green feed, but the v. riter finds considerable difficulty in iwallowing tin's tale. | Another great failing frequently ('noticed, at this season of the year is the lack of attention paid the growing stock, and dry weather is no exj ©use. The fault lies with the owners.- Many make it a common practice, after the Ibreeding season is over, of running, the whole of the flock together,. which, while minimising labour, .also, [next 'winter, will minimise profits. A sheep farmer does not run all his flock in one mob. The ewes, after the lambs are weanted, are paddocked separately,, the wethers likewise have their own pas~ ture and often the rams are turned right away altogether. ' Similar arrangements sliould he .provided for the poultry, especially keeping the young stock away from (the older birds, otherwise the former do not' get their full complement of food and | the latter unnecessarily much. WGiere heavy breeds are kept it is important to feed the hens very carefully if eggs are looked for. Wyandottes and Orpingtons are most prone to lay on fat at this 'seasoh off the year. But the young pullets should he fed all they can, especially the later hatched ones, though very early hatched ones are none the worse for being slightly .cheeked. By checking the latter thay ,will be older, of •course, beiore they lay, but the eggs i will be of a more marketable size, and in these days of iow prices for this j commodity, the utmost care should i fee taken to improve the sizez of the i eggs. While every. care should be j (bestowed upon the later ha toll ed chickens, it-does hot do- to force these little things with meat or condiments or the results will be undersized I