FANCIERS NOTES.

West Coast Times, Issue 10428, 5 December 1896, Page 4

FANCIERS NOTES.

(By Fancier.)

See that your pigeons have rock salt to peck at. See chat your drinking fountains are scrupulously cleg.p and the wafc-r kept fresh — if a small receptacle it should be refilled twice a day, and kept in a cool place — sunheated water is bad for the birds. See that the floor of your loft is covered with coarse sawdust, or, if you prefer it, sand and sawdust, half and half, and carefully sift onp or rake off droppings every week. See that your loft is not overcrowded. Overcrowding is the source of all pigeon troubles, and is almost, if not quite, as detrimental to their health as bad ventilation. See that you don't overfeed the birds. f Sound, plump wheat in the morning, and good old partridge peas for the evening meal. You can vary this by giving tares in lieu of wheat.. See that all weak or delicate squabs are made away with. It is waste time and trouble to try and rear weeds, unless the bird is some special prize strain you wish to conserve, or a very valuable youngster—even then it is rarely worth the candle. -THE (GROWTH OE YOUNG CJIJICSi ; i - ', ;.l >c ; , • , •■• Mr J.4JT. MfCue in his pew book, the " Australian Poultry Guide, " has the following remarks as to the growth of chicks:— Being curions to find out the growth of young chicks, I experimented some years ago with a few clutches of Langshaus. and found the following results:— The egg weighs nearly 2oz; chick, new hatched weighs If oz; fjhick 1 week old, a little over 2oz; chick, 2 weeks old, 4oz; chick, 3 weeks old, 6£oz ♦ chick, 4 weeks old, lO£ oz; chick, 5 weeks old, 13foz; chick, 8 weeks old, 270z; chick 9 weeks old, 330z; chick, 10 weeks old, 370z; and chick 11 weeks old, 41|oz. These chickens were pure-bred Langshans, and were fed on my usual chicken food, and received no extras of any kind. The only difference was that I kept them apart from the others, and picked the young cockerels and pullets (when old enough to defect them), and struck an average when I weighed them each week. I had 18 chickens penned for this experiment, and had all healthy, never losing one to maturity. Of course, it is needless for me fco say that I picked the largest of the chickens each time I weighed them. Yes ! and very often weighcl four or five to see the difference, but they varied very little, and being all the one age — two clutches — were a nice even lot. There is nothing like regularity in feeding young chicks, and feeding often, to get good weight and growth Of cours e, as I have said bef ore,Tihe food must be of a proper kind, clean, wholesome and fresh Never forget grit for the young chicks; they require it as much as the old fowls do, and what is more, will "go light" and lose appetite if their grit is neglected. Lice first appear on early sitting liens. If no.t destroyed noon, the chicks will be affected and soon die. Have all nests moveable and change the contents froquently. Whitewash the boxes and all the surroundings, putting two or three coats on every part of the building. Let .tne'fowlhouse have a good dust-box. Mix hot ashes with the dust occasionally to dry it £ero«jue aad laid applied to the

lsy fowl is a sure cure, but the effects a frequently disastrous. A little castor [ on the head and under the wiDgs of tting hens is very effective. Do not put brood hen in a little coop without a ist wallow. Keep the fowls' apartment can, change the contents of the nests scasionally, apply plenty of whitewash, id lice will not be, troublesome.