POULTRY-KEEPING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 53, Issue 4, 20 October 1936, Page 247

POULTRY-KEEPING.

The Breeding-pens. At the close of the breeding-season many poultry-farmers are faced with the breaking-up of their breeding-pens and the disposing of all surplus cock birds. Before doing this, it is well to consider the advisability of retaining one or two of the very best for special matings during next season.' Where flock mating has been practised and the leader of the pen is observed to be an outstanding bird, it would be advisable to hold him until at least there has been time to test out his pullets.

Every season some very valuable birds, which should have been retained for further use, are sold for a few pence. This point is mentioned as on several occasions plants have been visited where an extra fine lot of pullets has been raised, and on asking to be shown the sire of these pullets the Instructor has been told that it is a practice each year to sell all cock birds as soon as the hatching season is over, as cockerels are more satisfactory for early breeding. While it is economical and a good plan to get rid, as soon as possible, of all cocks that show any sign of not being of any further use, it is, however, well to remember that a prepotent male, one that leaves stock of extra high quality, is a very valuable asset on any farm, and such birds should be retained for special mating for as long as they will produce that quality of stock so much desired. Birds possessing the characteristics indicated are rare and are not easy to breed, and so every care should be taken to make the very best use of them. Toe-picking amongst Chickens. Each rearing-season information is sought in reference to the cause of and remedy for that annoying cannibalistic habit of chickens toe-picking one another. As the causes may be varied it is very, difficult to advise poultry-keepers without examining the stock and knowing something of the conditions under which the chickens are being reared. Indications at times tend to show that this is a deficiency trouble, perhaps in some cases the result of faulty incubation, or the breeding from pullets or hens that were forced for egg-production and were somewhat exhausted and consequently not in the best condition to produce eggs which in turn would produce perfect chickens. Contributing causes may be overheating of the blood by feeding a deficient diet, or even too much bright light under the hovers. At the first signs of the trouble the chicken that has been attacked should be separated from the rest and the affected parts should be painted with creasote or iodine. Plenty of straw chaff should be provided in the brooder-house, so that the chickens may bury their toes in it. Finelycut succulent green food should be given three times a day, and a trial should be made of giving the last lot after the last feed of broken grain at night. The addition of milk and a little more animal food to the ration should help matters. If this trouble gets really bad it is well to darken the brooderhouse for a few days in order to prevent the sun from shining in on the toes of the chickens, as the trouble is often started by pecking at one another’s toe-nails. Green Food. As nothing does more to keep birds in good healthy producing-condition than a regular supply of a variety of succulent green food, it is well to make provision for a good supply now that the. weather is getting warmer. No poultry-keeper ever regrets giving his young growing stock as much succulent green food as they will eat. A patch of silver-beet is very useful. Stock of all ages are very fond of this green food, and, owing to its freedom from insect pests and disease and the enormous amount of succulent green leaves and stems which it produces, silver-beet is one of the most popular green-food plants. This plant may be sown in the spring or. in the autumn, and it stands transplanting well. Green oats and barley make fine green food, when chaffed, and may be regularly grown during most of the year.' Chou moellier is another plant that supplies a great amount of attractive green food, and could with advantage be more widely grown by poultrykeepers, especially where winter green food is difficult to get. Where a stand of lucerne can be established it proves a valuable asset, and, where insect pests are not troublesome, kale and rape make a very pleasant change. - t • .

When rearing chickens in the natural way with hens, if they have not access to young grass they should be regularly supplied with tender green food.

Stale Ground.

As stale ground is responsible for a. great deal of the unthriftiness amongst young stock, it is well to see, if at all possible, that all young stock are reared on fresh sweet ground. If birds are reared on stale ground their growth is usually checked and they seldom develop well, with the result that when they come into profit their eggs are usually small. It is well to encourage young stock to roost early. Leghorns and other light breeds should be ready to perch at about seven weeks old, and the heavy breeds a couple of weeks later. As Leghorn cockerels are usually very precocious, it is advisable to separate the sexes as soon as possible, as both cockerels and pullets grow better when reared separately. Growing stock should never be stinted ; though a four-months-old cockerel eats as much as an adult bird, it should be given all it will eat. If separated from the pullets and given plenty of good plain food, all surplus cockerels should be ready for the market at from four and a half to five months old. This is the best age to sell cockerels, for as they get older they usually lose condition and are really of less value as table birds. A well-primed four-and-a-half-months-old cockerel usually brings a higher price on the open market than one eight months old, as the latter is what is known to the poulterer as a “ stag.” When it is desired to produce prime cockerels it is advisable to confine them in small clean pens so that they do not get too much exercise. Their food should consist of mash three times a day, as much as they will eat. A mixture of one measure of bran, three of pollard, and one of maize-meal, with from 5 per cent, to 7 per cent, of meat-meal added, the lot being mixed to a fairly crumbly condition with skim-milk, will give good results. Plenty of green food and, where available, milk can be given to drink as well as water. Great care should be taken to avoid the crowding of poultry, especially young growing birds, for more culls are made this way than any other. If one finds that more young stock have been hatched than what there is accommodation for, it is much wiser to get rid of the extra birds as soon as possible and give the remainder every chance to develop into profitable stock than to try and hold on to the lot and thus overcrowd. The Water-supply. A test carried out at this Department’s Wallaceville Poultry Station showed that forty hens drank 3 quarts of water during one day in June, whilst the same birds consumed 6 quarts 1 pint during one day in July, and 6 quarts 3 ounces during one day in August. The test also showed that when hens are laying they drink over twice the quantity of water that they do when they are not producing. When with these facts it is remembered that one dozen of new-laid eggs contains almost 1 lb. of water, and that the flesh of fowls and their eggs contain from 60 per cent, to 70 per cent, of water, the great importance of a good water-supply must be recognized. At times there is a tendency by some poultry-keepers to overlook the great importance of this very necessary item of successful poultry management. As ' nothing reduces egg-production more quickly than leaving hens short of water, it is not only cruel but most uneconomical to deprive hens of a regular supply of clean water. If young growing stock are left short of water they fail to develop properly. . Most large poultryfarmers have spent much time and money in designing a suitable wateringsystem for their birds, and many have arranged gas-taps so that there is a constant drip of water into the drinking vessels. A good wateringsystem is shown in this Department’s Bulletin No. 66, " Utility Poultrykeeping,” copies of which may be obtained from the publisher, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, at a cost of is. each, postage free.

Whatever system is adopted, care should be taken to see that all birds have a plentiful 'supply, and as disease is often transmitted from one bird to another by means of the drinking-water, it is essential to see that water vessels are kept in a clean and sanitary state. Chick-sexing Examination. Chick-sexing examinations were conducted by the Department at the Wallaceville Poultry Station and at Christchurch at the end of August. In all, eight students undertook the examination, and two were successful. Mr. J. C. Jamieson, who sexed 100 chickens in eighteen minutes with an accuracy of 91 per cent., qualified for a second-class certificate. Mr. D. E. Hopkins, who holds a second-class certificate and who sexed 50 chickens in nine minutes and a quarter with an accuracy of 96 per cent., qualified to have his certificate endorsed.

—C. J. C. Cussen,

Chief Poultry Instructor, Wellington.