THE POULTRY KEEPER

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 15185, 10 March 1923, Page 15 (Supplement)

THE POULTRY KEEPER

VARYING SIZE OF EGGS.

By "Moorfowl."

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "Excelsior" (Hamilton East).—No exhaustive experiments have been carried out to ascertain what is the best grass or grass mixture to sow in a poultry yard so that the grass might ' be able to stand a certain amount of scratching and yet remain tender and lucious for the birds to peck. However, you would be well advised to sow a mixture of 251 b. of ryegrass to 51b. of red clover (acre rate).

I am fully aware that immature, undersized birds of any breed rarely lay an egg comparable with those of their well-developed sisters; also that certain strains of most breeds lay larger eggs than other strains of the same breed. But neither of these facts answers the question: Why should A.'s fowls lay larger eggs than B.'s when all are well grown and-of the same strain? I have thought deeply over this matter, and remembered many varied and apparently contradictory instances as to almost preclude the possibility of finding a solution. For instance, certain birds selected from a flock and placed in a breeding pert after the first few weeks never laid any eggs to be compared in size with those from the remainder of Uie flock from which they were taken. It might be supposed that as the flock had entire liberty and the present birds only a small space, that this caused a diminution in size. But against that Uieory I have known of many cases where fowls have been kept" in little bits of pens in a backyard and have laid far larger eggs than their own sisters in large grass runs, and many eases on farm* where a small pen lias bf ' en crci-lcd for the special breeding stock, and in which such birds have maintained a far higher standard in the size o! their eggs than those running at liberty. A one-year-old hen almost invariably lays' a larger egs than she did whilst a pullet, yet 1 have known fowls to lay smaller eggs in their second season than they did on the average in their first. Such facts and others that. I could name are, on the face, of it, very eonfusing, but as nothing'" happens without a cause, I will endeavour to ex. plain what appears to me to be the reason.

Everyone knows that an egg is highly "nutritious, and also thai it would be impossible for a fowl to collect these nutritious constituents unless she were more or less suitably fed. Most poultry-keepers are also aware tha; fowls which have been penned up in small runs for some months rarely lay as rieh-cclourcd yolks as the same birds did when they were al liberty. If the richness is not in Ui" foods that the birds consume the secreting glands cannot supply such to the eggs. Further, we know that at times certain secreting glands do no I even perform their duties at all, such as In cases where we gel shell-less ej;g.i or a yelk passed out

in the same slate as it Icfl Ihe ovary without any covering. Such being so, is it. not reasonable to suppose thai :f llm foods supplied to the iVuvli mv flefieirril in the required nulrunent, not only is • v.? production more cv less. ::hc*ckeii, ou! thai the secreting --land, df Lhe I'M'fiui'.l art; often unau! 1 : 'o i:!othe the >o!'k Junng its passage Ujrougu U»6 oviduct v/:Ui mors IhaM *■

sparse layer of albumen, which of itself, even if other secretins glands found sufficient materials to form a full-sized yolk, would mean that the ultimate egg laid would be undersized compared to what hail been or could be produced from the same fowl if more highly nutritious foods had been supplied and the secreting glands had In consequence ah ample supply of the requisite materials.

CONFINEMENT OF FOWLS. Exercise affects laying only as the lack of it shows in the health and condition of the hjcns, remarks "Poultry," Sydney. Some of the hens in the laying tests, Hawkesbury, for instance, have only a run of about 17ft. by 4ft. and nothing in the way of litter to encourage exercise, yet big records have been made there, and other hens there have proved "duds" possibly through the lack of exercise. A lazy life affects hens in different ways, and the need of exercise is more pronounced at this season of the year than at other times.

What the ultimate result, on all hens continuously confined will be, depends a great deal on what their stamina or power of resistance is, and how they are fed. If there is anyinherent weakness in their strain, or there has been any forced growth, coddling or set backs when young, if there is a tendency to internal fat accumulations, the effects of continuous close confinement will tell quickly. Our parent's rule of "letting the fowls out for a run in the afternoon," will help to combat much evil effects of confinement; it can be done, even on large plants, though it may cause a little trouble and can only be managed with one or ' two yards daily. So far as provision of exercise by medium of scratching for grain in the yard or shed is concrned, pullets have some times to be educated to work in litter, deep litter is useless to birds not accustomed to same, and dirty litter quickly reduces the laying. Fowls at liberty certainly get variety of food, but they fill up their crops with large quantities of green stuff when there is any, small stones and indigestible matter, which do not leave room for the foods of concentrated values which are necessary to secure the best laying. This is the big reason against allowing hens free range when highest laying is desired; the fowls will he perhaps, healthier on free range, but they will not lay as well, all things being equal. Whether exercise is given artificially or secured by natural means, it is in itself of most mportance in relation to nutrition. • Under natural conditions fowls feed slowly and continuously if feed is plentiful, but if supplies are short they would take a great deal of exercise, in looking for same, using up surplus fats and starches while doing so. We can cull out the hens that are putting on internal fat, but why not, by the provision of sufficient exercise, make these hens earn more than their keep? It can not be done by feeding wet mash in troughs, and grain on bare ground, where birds can eat their fill in a few minutes, which would take them some hours to gather at liberty. Exercise is also wanted to preserve vigor. If hens were just machines, it might be possible to put the food in one end and gather the eggs from the other, but we have a very active body to consider, and if there is any tendency not to exercise, which judiciously missing an evening feed sometimes will not cure, cutting out the meat-meal in the mash for one day will frequently make hens more lively. Exercise means eggs, particularly in autumn and winter.

DANGER FROM HOUSE BCRAPS.

A large number of people talk glibly about the economy of using up house scraps by giving them to the fowls, but there is a danger about indiscriminately following this method that it would be well to consider. If such scraps consist largely of bits of bread, potato peelings, etc., they must be balanced by a greater proportion of animal food, as they are much too starchy otherwise. In any case, much fermented bread is not good for fowls. Then again most of us use more salt in our food than is good for the birds, and bacon rind, fat, etc., may be positively dangerous. Salt in any quantity is poison to them. Not half enough interest is taken in food analyses by the small poultry-keeper, who doesn't "want to be worried with that sort of thing." He wonders at the same time why his neighbour's birds do so much better than his. The answer is simple. His neighbour "doesn't mind" the trouble, and studies the values of the different foods. If you ignore analyses you cannot know that certain foods contain much more starchy and heat producing matter than others, or that particular green stuff contains the mineral salts that tone the blood. — Scottish Poultry News.