Poultry Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19443, 31 October 1925, Page 13

Poultry Notes

By

“CHANTICLEER”

DISEASES IN FOWLS. IMPORTANCE OF LIME. CRAVING FOR MORTAR. “If hens have all these diseases, I’d rather not keep them at all,” said the clergyman’s wife, after the poultry lecture. “Hens,” I replied, “have nearly every disease known among human beings, and from the same cause, diet, over-crowding and microbes!” I thought then that I knew a good deal about diet, and that my hens were excellently catered for but they recently gave me a broad hint that they thought otherwise. When well-fed animals tumble over one another in their eagerness to get at some article of food, we may conclude that their system has a very great need for it, and the craving becomes too much for their good manners. We know how quite guileless reindeer will trample down every living thing in the way of their mad rush for the salt lick after a winter diet of bleached-out moss, and when I saw ray hens behaving in much the same way over an old heap of mortar, I began to wonder, writes G.B. in the “New Zealand Herald,” if after all, flint, grit and oyster shell supplied their mineral needs as well as we imagined. After pondering it out I eventually reasoned thus: Where docs the wild bird get all the lime she needs? You would say, but then she does not need a tenth part of eggshell that our hens do. Nor does she cat a tenth part of the carbo-hydrates, nor any at all in the concentrated form of ground meals that hens do. Perhaps in the case of the .hen, as of the human being, the system is so drained of lime in counteracting the acidity produced by excess of carbohydrates, that she needs to eat a large quantity in palatable and eas-ily-assimilated form. That is what my hens appeared to feel, for they cleared a large heap of mortar which had lain since the builders left it some three years before. They have not disdained to eat oyster shell as well, but have taken much less than usual. As the hens cleared the last scrap of mortar, scratching grass and gravel into holes in seeking for every crumb, 1 see that I must take steps to provide more.

Can anyone say how long mortar must lie before being safe for fowls to eat? Some years ago I had a pullet crop-bound from swallowing a rather large lump of a rockery that my good lady constructed from old building stones, with chunks of mortar adhering. I broke it up in the crop but still it did not pass, and upon operating 1 found that the lower opening out of the crop was so inflamed as to be alI most closed. I was quite unable to say 1 whether this was due to the mcchanicentre of the lump being still * ‘quick.” cal irritation or to the lime in the

Plenty of oil and milk soon cured it, but as I had no idea how old that mortar was I cannot say how long it must lie to be safe for use, and one does not care to take risks or experiment with so virulent a stuff as quicklime.

The.passion for mortar is so strong in poultry that we ought to supply it if we arc not in a limestone or chalk district. Possibly a supply of chalk might suffice but it is never certain that one form of mineral may be given in place of another. For instance, iron in lettuce is effective for hens and humans, yet few can tolerate iron pills chemically manufactured, while the substitution of common salt for potassium magnesium and other minerals is not only effective but often leads to absolute disaster. It is a mistake to suppose that when we have boiled out or skimmed off all the precious valuable salts from our food, just heaping on chloride sodium (common table salt) will make good all deficiencies. The system in hens and human beings, too, need all the salts, and not only that, but need them all in the right proportion, and over-dosing with one will not keep animals healthy. Lime is not in quite the same category as salt, but it is necessary to the system, and when we drain the system of available lime wo must find the best way to make good the shortage. That oyster shell does not suffice I think has been very clearly proved. The lack of lime in the human system does not show very quickly, though it does quite certainly in time. Perhaps it is the same with the hens, and while they appear to be healthy enough on these farms where a complete clearance is made before the birds are much more than infants of two or three years old (their normal life being from 10 to 15 years), yet I am inclined to believe that the short life and short productive period of the modern hen is as much due to diet as to rapid egg production. FERTILE AND INFERTILE EGGS. Aj fertilised egg is susceptible to heat as soon as laid, and the germ will begin to grow in the egg while in the nest, or in a room during the hot summer weather. Blood rings appear, and increase in size as the growth advances. It will be readily seen that the market value of such egg declines gradually until they arc valueless as food. On the other hand fertile or sterile eggs will withstand even the most unfavourable marketing conditions, and arrive at their destination in an edible condition. In order to secure the very .best product for market, the nests should be kept clean and comfortable, the eggs gathered frequently, stored in a cofil, dry place, and marketed at least twice a week. All male birds should be disposed of or confined as soon as the hatching season is over.

JOTTINGS. The indoor dilst bath is not particularly desirable because, as usually arranged, it fills the house with dust and makes as much trouble as it prevents. Fowls will get along without it fairly well through the winter, if they are free from lice at the beginning. By the time the warmer months arrive, however, it is quite probable that even in the best regulated flocks body lice will have multiplied to a point wher%> a dust bath will prove a great comfort to the fowls. As soon as they can go outdoors provide some sort of shelter that will keep the ground dry, and spade up sufficient space to give the birds a chance to wallow to their heart’s content.

Every adult fowl ought to be treated individually for body lice this month. As a home remedy, for cold weather, blue ointment is probably the most readily obtained and most uniformly satisfactory. A particle not larger than a pea is sufficient for each bird. More than that is liable to cause mercurial poisoning.

The average poultry keeper is apt ta pay little attention to mites during the winter and, as a rule, his fowls suffer no serious consequences from this neglect. As the weather gets warm, however, these pests will multiply rapidly and in a short time will become a menace to the well-being of the flock. Early this month every poultry house should be carefully inspected and the perches and perch supports thoroughly sprayed or painted with some good lice-killing preparation. No matter where you are located, you cannot longer neglect this precaution without financial loss.

One of the best green feeds for young chicks is lettuce. As the seed germinates readily in fairly cold weather, a small bed should be seeded just as soon as the ground can be worked. The leaves will be large enough to feed in a few weeks and one planting will last clear through the brooding season. Heavy laying fowls need all the shell material they can assimilate and they never find enough of it on the range. Day after day, in every way, those who neglect to provide oyster shell lose out in egg production. Remember that fowls do not like oyster shell that is stale or full of dirt. Where they are not consuming it freely at this season you can depend upon it that something is wrong. Often the trouble is that the hoppers are so dark that the birds cannot readily see to eat from them.

Fowls should now be working at top and, with fair prices obtaining for this time of the year, it pays to get out of the birds now all that can be reasonably induced and expected. Now there is always more or less a certain number of eggs wasted in the flush season owing to thin shells and some with no shell at all. Heavy laying is principally the cause of this, especially when care is not taken to provide the birds with enough shell-forming material to keep pace with production. Be sure, then, of an ample provision of crushed shell, oyster shell and other lime-giving material. If you have been giving a liberal meat allowance it is advisable to reduce the ration where there is evidence of thinly shelled eggs, or eggs with no shell at all. Losses from these causes can be lessened with proper treatment.

Chickens do not thrive rapidly during very hot weather, and usually it is found that hatches are poor and the progeny weak when left too long. If, therefore, you have not yet secured enough, the advice is to get busy; get them out in time to have the chicks on their feet before the hot days come, otherwise the probability is that you will regret having them at all.

FACTS ABOUT TURKEYS. Turkey eggs hatch in 28 days. Seven eggs is considered a setting. Relationship must be avoided in breeding. The bronze variety is claimed to be the hardest breed. When killing, the turkeys must be freely bled. Forty-eight eggs is the average laying record in a year. The White Holland is more of a stay-at-home than any other variety. Successful turkey raisers change gobblers every year. Constant care must be given ths young for the first eight weeks of their lives.

In market, hen turkeys sell best and medium-sized carcases are preferred. There is 48 per cent, of water, 18 per cent, protein, and 33 per cent, fat in a turkey’s egg. A hilly country is the best location for turkey culture. They prefer woodland, and will roam for miles. To sell off the old birds, and rely on the young ones for breeding, is a good way to get out of business. It requires two years to fully mature the turkey; at three years it is at its best, and almost as good at four years. All the eggs the hen will lay in a season are fertilised at one time. One gobbler is sufficient for twenty hens. There can be no success without good breeding stock. They must not only have good health but must possess good shape, heavy bodies, and not too much legs. The hens should be either one or two years old. What is known as “shooting the red” occurs at about three months of age. After that the young turkeys are hardy, and may be given unlimited range at all times. From that age on they will thrive on two meals a day, as long as the supply of insects lasts. When killing, the feet of the turkey are tied together, and hung on a pole. The throat is then cut and after thorough bleeding the feathers are dry picked—the head and wings allowed to remain. As soon as dressed the carcase is plunged into hot water, and then in cold, to give the skin a fresher look— Poultry Bulletin.