POULTRY-KEEPING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XVIII, Issue 6, 20 June 1919, Page 368

POULTRY-KEEPING.

By

F. C. BROWN,

Chief Poultry Instructor.

THE BREEDING-BIRDS AND INCUBATION

An important fact to be remembered by those who keep the heavier breeds of fowls is that if profitable stock is to be produced, and the pullets are to lay during the next dear-egg season, the chicks should be brought out during July or August at the latest. Therefore, when there is not sufficient incubator and brooder capacity to bring out all the chicks at one time, the eggs should be placed in the incubator as soon as possible.

Care should be taken that only eggs from birds possessing outstanding laying-capacity and of sound constitutional vigour are used. The feeding of the breeding-birds is of the greatest importance, as a strong healthy germ cannot be secured from a bird which is poorly fed. Sound and liberal feeding will go a long way towards securing good hatches, healthy chicks, and robust stock. It is always a good plan to give a variation of feed to the breeders, in order to secure the best fertility of the eggs and good hatches. • A mixture of equal parts of wheat,, oats, and maize, fed night and morning, will'usually- give good results if given in a manner that will induce the maximum of exercise—namely, thrown in a • deep litter. The ' chief advantage in feeding all grain in the litter, as compared to feeding mash from a trough, is that the hens are not encouraged to become overfat. The aim should be to keep .the breeders in what might be termed an active healthy condition. Green stuff must be regularly supplied, while clean water, grit, and crushed sea-shell should be constantly before them. Undoubtedly the success or otherwise of the hatching . and rearing operations largely depends on the manner in which the breeding-birds are attended to.

COLDS IN YOUNG STOCK.

At this time of the year young stock are. very apt to catch colds, especially if the weather is at. all changeable and the conditions under which they are kept is not favourable in every respect. Many cases of colds affecting young birds, and in an advanced stage, have been reported to me. Colds are usually the result of allowing birds to sleep in ill-ventilated and dirty quarters, whereby they become overheated by night and are susceptible to chill immediately they go out-of-doors. Probably the greatest weakness in this respect is the keeping of well-grown birds in a small confined coop which in the ordinary way would be only suitable for a hen and a small brood of young chicks. In all cases where I have recently been asked to advise . regarding colds I have found that the want of sufficient air-space was solely responsible for the trouble. At one place I found no less than eight nearly matured pullets housed in a coop 3 ft. by 3 ft. In this no proper means of ventilation was provided, the only opening being a small door by which the birds entered and left the coop. True, they had a free range by day, which helped them to combat the ill effects of. the unfavourable night conditions. Confined quarters, however, are not always responsible for colds. Sometimes they are due to. extremes

in other; respects, such as exposure to wet and cold, or by allowing the birds to sleep in a draughty house, &c. The most common symptoms of colds are sneezing, eyes watering, and a discharge from the nostrils, to which dirt and dust adhere. In severe cases the discharge will usually be found on the feathers under the wing, by reason of the bird sleeping with its head thereunder. When once the trouble has reached this stage the bird rapidly loses weight, and its general appearance presents an unthrifty and feverish condition. For the latter reason it will drink to excess, and will show little inclination for food or exercise. . ....

Colds are the forerunner of roup, and should therefore be checked at the earliest possible moment, for if roup once gets a good foothold there is no telling when it will be stamped opt. The first essential is to find the cause and remove it, for, like most troubles affecting poultry, it is next to useless trying to cure the trouble if the cause is not first removed. During the early stages of colds a little Condy’s fluid or crystals put into the drinking-water, sufficient to give it a rich pink colour, will generally prove effective in checking the trouble'. In cases, however, where the cold is well developed a good plan is to dip the bird’s beak into pure kerosene sufficiently deep only to cover the nostrils, holding the bird in this position until it breathes. This will have the effect of drawing the kerosene to the seat of the trouble. This treatment should be repeated on alternate days until a cure is effected. The beak should be wiped with a dry cloth after each operation. This will prevent the kerosene from getting on the face, &c., which might have an injurious effect. ... .. A correspondent, acting on my advice, tried this cure with several birds which were badly affected with cold —in fact, bordering on roup. Later he advised me that it had the desired effect, but it also burnt the face and combs of the birds as well as took the feathers off from the head and neck. On making inquiries I learned that he did not read carefully the advice as to applying the cure, for instead of dipping only the bird’s beak into the kerosene he plunged the head right in. It is little wonder that the birds suffered as a consequence, and a . greater wonder that they survived such treatment.

THE POOR LAYERS.

This is not the time of year to cull the poor layers it should have been done in the autumn.. These birds have been probably eating their heads off during the past few months and the poultry-keeper is getting tired of them. The natural laying ' season for bird-life is approaching, however, and it will be a very inferior bird that, will not give a profit over the cost of her keep until just before the next moult comes on. Of course, the better the feeding and the management a bird receives the sooner will she come into profit.

LEG-BANDS.

A correspondent who has experienced considerable trouble through the bands, used as a means of age-determination, coming off the legs of his fowls, asks what kind of band I would recommend for this purpose. There are many different styles of rings and bands on the market specially made for marking fowls, but in most cases these are

next to useless for the purpose intended. One of the most effective and cheapest rings that the writer has used is one like that used in a pig’s nose to keep it from rooting. These are obtainable in both the round and flat forms. They may be easily put on the leg of a fowl with a pair of closing-pinchers as used-for ringing a pig, and when once on there is little or no chance of the ring coming off. For pedigree breeding the flat ring may be numbered by means of a small set of steel punches numbering from one to zero. Of course, for marking chickens the best means is to punch a hole in the web of the foot. . A special -punch for this purpose can be purchased from most suppliers of poultry requisites at a cost of about 2s. ■ - '