POULTRY NOTES

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160725, 11 August 1920, Page 5

POULTRY NOTES

HINTS FOR BREEDERS. Fowls abominate wind and rain unless protected from both. Women have proved themselves most successful as poultry-keepers. The work involved is not too hard for them to do, and they are, if anything, more attentive than men to the small details which bring success. The breeding pen should be mated up at least three weeks before eggs will be required for setting. There is no saving in the use of cheap food which merely maintains life; whereas good food supplies material wherewith to produce eggs. A - busy hen is not at all disappointed if, when scattering the litter in search of a grain of wheat, she finds instead a small piece of charcoal or a bit of grit. What she objects to is having all her work for nothing. A fowl’s feathers protect her from the cold. Artificial heating of houses is unnecessary. Merely provide against draughts, and keep the birds busy.

Those who intend to do any breeding the coming season should see to it that the fertility percentage is good, and, if not satisfactory, change the cockerels. It ie- the greatest mistake possible to imagine that every male is a reliable breeder. He may not be. Each season there is always a chance of a male bird giving trouble. Looks are nothing, as the finest birds are deceiving. Allow for this therefore, and keep a few cockerels in reserve, so that should one prove unreliable he can he removed. This is one way of ensuring successful results at a little extra cost —i.e., the maintenance of a surplus cockerel. The hens or pullets which spend their time standing about, these cold mornings, will not make good • layers. If their inactive habits are due to the owners’ bad methods of feeding, the remedy is plain, hut if the birds are loafers, notwithstanding the management being good, then the sooner they are got rid of the better. Many people who go into poultry farming as a sole occupation fail to make a living, and say ever afterwards “poultry farming does not pay.” Many people go into businesses of other kinds also and fail, hut they do npt say, “sheep do not pay,” “pigs do not pay,” “dairying does not pay,” etc. They know that it is they themselves who fail where others have succeeded. The greatest item of expenditure in poultry raising is (he feeding of the heirs. It lakes about 40 per cent, oj: the money required for the business 1o furnish the feed. So it. is iieoessarj that maximum production ti'roufhf-ut the year be obtained and loafers be disposed of at once. Here are nine things to look for in picking out the loafers: Condition of feathers, colour of beak, colour of legs, colour of ear lobes, colour of vent, condition of comb, size o fcomb, condition of pelvic hones, condition of feathers and colour of vent combined. Birds that have teen laying heavily have pule beaks now and pale legs. Indeed. there is a loss of pigmentation throned;our—i.e., all rich yellow colour will he gone. As regards comb, size of comb, condition of We want the brightest red colour, as indication of good physical condition. Dried up combs covered with a whitish powder indicate poor layers. CROP BOUND. Everyone who keeps fowls is more or less familiar with the ailment known as “crop bound.” The fowl’s crop becomes packed with food that has ceased to pass into the gizzard as it should do. If the contents of the crop consist of grain only, the fowl should not be allowed to eat anything for several days. In addition, the crop should be manipulated with the hands, gently massaging the skin in one direction and then another; this will tend to loosen the grain and start its passage into the gizzard. Sometimes crop bound is caused by feeding cut hay, dried lucerne, or long grass which has lodged or become packed at the point where the food should pass out of the crop. In» cases of this kind, a good plan is to pour sweet oil clown the bird’s throat, which has a tendency to soften the mass. In bad cases the quickest and most certain way of effecting a cure is to cut the crop open and remove the collected food, afterwards sewing up the crop. This does not cause the bird much pain, and if care is taken in the operation there is no danger of the bird dying or being injured thereby. After the operation feed the bird only on milk or other light food for a few days. The’ following is a simple cure for crop binding:—As soon as a bird is found to be suffering, get a good pinch of salt and dissolve it in a cup of warm water. Hold the bird firmly, open the beak and give a couple or more spoonfuls until it appears to vomit, then hold its head downwards for a few minutes, gently working the matter in the crop about. DEAD IN SHELL. It is a debatable point whether the lack of the necessary mineral salts is not sometimes responsible for chicks being found dead in the shell. It is often noticed that the legs, etc., of chicks so found have more the appearance of cartilage than bone. Some people have the idea that the shells are too thick to allow the chicks to break through. This, however, is not likely. if the shells are examined on the 20th day it will be found that they are exceptionally thin and brittle: in fact very 'little thicker than paper The cause of this is that in the white of yolk of the egg there is nothing to provide wholly for the formation of the bone of the chicks. During the process of incubation, with the co-operation of the air, which permeates the shell, the phosphorus in the yolk gradually undergoes oxidation, and is converted into phosphoric acid. This acts upon, and dissolves, the carbonate of lime in the shell, forming phosphate of lime for the bones, and making the exit for the chick comparatively easier. There are. apparently fewer dead in shell from stock which have complete liberty than those kept under intensive, or semi-intensive, conditions. Continuous experiments under varying methods of the above can only fathom the trouble .