Poultry Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 71, Issue 291, 8 December 1928, Page 22 (Supplement)

Poultry Notes

PECULIARITIES OF THE MUSCOVY DUCK There arc more ducks for utility purposes to-i!a\ than <‘\t-r before flickers a.e cropping up all over ihj country, and many poultrv farmers are earning good money from th-ir dm ks | (says an En dish writer/. Indian Runners ami Khaki Campbells are the favourite breeds with the majority of utilitarians, especially when' eggs aro the main objective in view. In many districts, however, an exI cellont trade can be done in rearing I ducks for the table. Ducklings can be suld when chicken flesh might be a. glut on the market. Ayjesburys, which! have long been noted fur their size, have held first place as .fa/ as table» properties are concerned, but they aro somewhat slow in gnowih. The\aim» holes good in the case of Pekims and. Buff Orpingtons. The Australian duekeic are ail interested in Muscovies and the interest is spreading to both America and this country. The Mu>cuvy du<k has all along been looked upon as only an oinaniental variety in Britain, but tho Australian poultry man holds he is bv far :h'* mo-t useful variety of the ' whole family. Native of South Amarica Ihe Muscovy duck i > a native of ■-uuth America and was at one lime known us the Peruvian ur Musk Duck. The latter name was given because it- was thought it carried a slightly musk smell, which disappeared, however, when cooked. Muscovies arc to be found in three ur lour colours, although the original : <uloui v.as black and wnit< . They are handsome bird.-, as the black colour is of a wnderful metallic sheen. >huw--1 J’)g up in strikim; cont act again-t th- wb te [iumagc and tho brilliant i’-‘d <•: the l eaf!. . cheeks, and face. ’ I hey are al.-o tu be had in self-white, I blue. UJI'I : ’ll,- iattv; cuijour* are m-t so coaimon. j They differ i’rum tin? op’inarv du-ks jin many ways. The h<*a<l, especially in . I the drake, more massive than *that. ’ i of an ordinary duck, and the cheeks Hr both the sexes are naked, with sea - ]• u fleshy carunculatiuns, which aro more prominent in the male. They alm j differ slightly in their manner of feed- ! xDg, as they graze on gras a ami weds, |nioic after the style of the goo>e. I They also like to tly, and can ruost in i tiees and barns. Thi> latte.- peculiariity, however, can be checked by clipping of the wings. I Five Weeks to Incubate Hie Muscovies like tu build no s t,< for themselvo. and if they are nut allowed to sit will continue to lay. Uthcrwi>e they will hatch uul their I eggs themselvo... They aLu differ frmu jour ducks in the fact that their eggs take fiv e weeks tu incubate. There something materially c.ff<‘ient in man*ways bet .ve n the Mu.muv v ai.-i the u dinary duck, fur although they will interbred, the piugen\ arc usually sterile, being .--or<s or muics "r hybrid.*. They lay a large white ugg. 'and if looked after will produce quite a goo i- / ly number, but they pre!' to steal a nest if they can, when they will come broody and hatch out their ducklings. They very often sclcd a hay slid or barn as a site for their nests, as they appear tu like a site above the ground. They have been found tn i build iu trees, and the ducklings see:/; j i'» take little hurt when they fall io ■ ihe ground. The drake is a handsome ' * g bird, scaling as much as 111 b., whilst the ducks run from 6 to 71b*. <s it is not advisable to croc* them with other varieties, it is best to keep them by themselves. They are aLo ■ H ither inclined to be pugnacious in- | v arde other varieties. The drakes will j jeften indulge in herce battles. SOFT-SHELLED EGGS The causes of hens producing ooMshelled eggs are numerous. Such a rv' suit may be brought about by the fowls not having had sufficient lime •and shell-forming material. They may 1 show an excess of fat, have too much forcing or stimulating food, or the < onditiou is probably chronic, through a defect or malformation of the ovary. In the first case an easy remedy; is to supply plenty of old pulverised mortar or broken shell. If caused by an excess of fat m the ’ birds, their food should be reduced, 1 and a little Epsom salts placed in the ' drinking water. hen too much forcing food ia the trouble, the first thing to do is to eliminate all heating or stimulating parte of the ration. Undue forcing induces the hen to pass the egg before it . complete. Another remedy for soft-shelkeu eggs is to give each bird five drop doaeut’ tincture of iron perchloride in a . tompoonful of sweetened milk onee a| i’iace a piece of lime in the drinkingwater. In cases of chronic production ' <»f this class of egg the bird should be k discarded from the laying flock ► n i y PEDIGREED POULTRY • ' I JAPANESE PURCHASE Pedigreed Wack Orpington white Leghorn pullets were purchased from Central Cumberland poultry U’'t.ders for export to Japan, says a •Sydney pap« r. v Ihc aJparese Government, poultry \ expert Mr Nakamichi, visited most of ihe prominent poultry farms arountf ■ Sydney, and selected 154 birds, valued at £420. This is the second time the Japanese Government has purchased pe.bgreea stock for its experimental poiilrry farms. N.S.W. pedigreed poultry is frequently bought by foreign bu; crs. and recently the Government Poultry Fa ni at. Seven Hills received an order Lt fowls to be sent to India.