POULTRY-KEEPING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XV, Issue 4, 20 October 1917, Page 227

POULTRY-KEEPING.

F. C. BROWN,

Chief Poultry Instructor.

The end of October should see this season’s full complement of chicks hatched out. Chicks hatched later, than this' usually make unsatisfactory growth, and the later the hatching .the more disappointing the stock. Not only do they lay in the cheap-egg season, but they are always more prone to disease than the bird brought out at the right time. It is true that when the little ones are placed under the very best conditions possiblefor instance, in an orchard where good shade, shelter, and fresh ground are availablehatching operations may possibly prove .more or less satisfactory even when early-maturing birds are brought out in November. The risk, however, is always there. Of course, ducklings, by reason of their early maturity, can be hatched to advantage up to the end of November, even when required for eggproduction, and much later when table birds are aimed at. With hatching operations practically over it is not to be thought that the present is a good time to take things easy. The maximum number of stock now being carried demands that the work of management be thorough in all respects in order to ensure good results from both the. adult and developing birds. With the plant taxed to its utmost and the advent of warmer weather, vermin will commence to give trouble, and unless every precaution is taken to keep these in check the developing stock especially will seriously suffer. In fighting vermin there must be no half-measuresit should, be taken up in" a vigorous and determined manner. The houses should be first of . all thoroughly cleaned, and then sprayed with - a strong disinfectant or limewash, or given a good coating.of tar. Care must be taken' that the mixture gets into every crack and. crevice. The nests, droppingboards, and perchesthose favourite resorts for vermin—must always be kept in a sanitary state. Spraying and similar measures will check red mite, fleas, &c., but as body vermin live on the fowls it is only by dusting themselves in loose earth (or a mixture of sand, ashes, &c.) that the birds will be able to get rid of these. At this season of the year there is no place where a bird likes so much to dust itself as under a tree where the soil has been newly turned over. Of course, young birds will require these dusting-facilities as well as the old ones. Shade is another matter which must not be overlooked now for birds of all ages, and especially is it necessary for young stock. If shrubs and hedges have not been provided, some rough shelter may easily be made by sinking three or four short posts in the ground, connected with pieces of nailed timber and covered with branches of trees.

MARKING YOUNG STOCK.

It is always a mistake to allow old and young stock together indiscriminately without having a mark to distinguish one from the other. Not only should the different strains be specially toe-marked and registered accordingly, but the bird’s foot should be punched for the sake of age-determination. It is next to useless depending on the eye in this connection, as there is no outward sign by which the age

of an adult bird can be determined. It is not by any means uncommon to see good pullets sent to market simply because they were affected with scaly leg, leading the owner to think that they were old birds. The fact of a bird having scale on its legs gives no indication whatever as to its age. The trouble is caused by a minute parasite which breeds under the scales of the bird's leg, and this is just as apt to attack a young bird as an old one. By having a system of marking the chickens much confusion and annoyance will be avoided, which usually takes place at culling-time in the vain endeavour to pick the one-year-old birds from those that are two years old and upwards and which have become mixed. Chickens may be marked immediately they are hatched. A punch for this purpose can be purchased at at cost of about 2S. For marking ducklings the ordinary chicken-punch is unsuitable, as the holes will invariably grow out. The best way of placing a distinguishing mark on the foot of a duck for the determination of age, &c., is to take a V-shaped piece out of the edge of the web of the foot. This should be done with a very sharp penknife, the foot of the duckling being held on a piece of solid board or leather during the operation.

VERTIGO.

Inquiries have already reached the writer this season as to why hens run round and round and at times fall over. The trouble is a dizziness affecting birds which have no protection from the influence of a strong sun. Especially is the trouble common with highly fed fowls and those carrying heavy combs. Sometimes a cure can be effected by removing the comb with a pair of sharp scissors. As is the case, however, with most troubles affecting poultry, prevention is the best way of dealing with this one, the essential being the provision of good shade, and mating the birds in such a way that heavy combs will not be produced in the progeny.