Notes for the Poultry Farmer

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 66, Issue 1, 15 January 1943, Page 48

Notes for the Poultry Farmer

Management of Pullets up to Laying Stage

By

W. L. JOURDAIN,

Poultry Instructor, Dunedin.

POULTRY

The Poultry Department at Massey Agricultural College is well equipped to supply your requirements in breeding cockerels, stud stock, hatching eggs, and chicks. ' All popular breeds kept. Sittings (15 eggs) posted at 10/-, 20/- and 30/-. Price list from THE POULTRY MANAGER, MASSEY COLLEGE, Box 601, Palmerston North.

IT is the care and attention which pullets receive up to the laying stage, apart from the inherited qualities of health, stamina, and production capability, that will make them into good laying machines. They are eggproducing machines, and, as everyone knows, machines which are working continuously must be given careful attention at all times.

No matter how good the breeding stock may have been, the quality of the subsequent pullets will depend on the rearing during the growing stage. Time and again it has been noticed that although the chicks have been purchased from reliable breeders- the matured birds have been of poor quality, and often the breeding stock is blamed, whereas the fault rests with the rearer of those birds. It is obvious that good stock cannot be reared from poor breeders, but it is possible to rear poor stock from good breeders. In some cases this may be due to lack of knowledge, and it is with this in view that the following points are emphasised.

Housing

It is necessary that good housing should be provided throughout the life of the birds. Any house used must be free from cracks in the back or side walls, well-ventilated, and have a good floor. Cracks in the walls, as well as bad ventilation, are often the cause of colds in a flock. As the young stock grow older, they need more and more fresh air, and it is this point which a great number of poultry-keepers either forget or ignore. Whereas they themselves make sure they do not live or sleep in stuffy quarters, they keep their stock in conditions which somewhat resemble a hot-house, and it is only natural that as a consequence the stock may be lacking in stamina. Ventilation is, of course, controlled by climate to a large extent, but this fact need not prevent the poultrykeeper from having his house well ventilated. The space between the top

plate and the purlin on the back wall should be open, except for wire-net-ting. If the prevailing wind is from the south, •it is quite an easy job to baffle the opening, and thus prevent any wind blowing directly on ■to the birds. If possible, the front of the house should be open for three feet from the roof downwards. In the event of the prevailing wind being from that direction, it should be possible to shelter the front without interfering with the ventilation. If the house is built with the roof sloping from the back to the front, and carried out beyond the front wall for two feet, this will keep out most of the weather.

The best floor is concrete, but many poultry-keepers still use only a dirt floor. While the least desirable type of floor, providing it is kept dry it will probably be satisfactory until such time as some disease is experienced. The control of disease on a dirt floor is a particularly difficult problem. Perching Pullets should be perched soon after they are six weeks of age. It is advisable to use perches which are 3 inches to 4 inches in width, to prevent, as far as possible, breast-bones becoming bent. Overcrowding The majority of poultry-keepers find no difficulty in rearing a few pullets, but it is a different problem when it comes to rearing a large flock. The failure is then, generally caused by overcrowding. A few birds well reared will give better returns than a larger number which have lacked proper attention. When pullets have reached the age of six weeks they will invariably do better if kept in flocks not exceeding one hundred, irrespective of the size of the house provided. Cleanliness This is another point which should receive every attention, since the cleaner the house and surroundings are kept, the better the chance of rearing strong, and healthy stock. A damp or wet floor is an ideal place for certain disease germs to multiply, and

therefore x every endeavour should be made to keep the floor dry. Although some poultry-keepers manage to escape trouble for long periods where their birds live under dirty conditions, once disease occurs losses are greater, and control more difficult to effect as compared with well-managed and clean farms. Feeding It is difficult, and practically impossible, after the first few days, to overfeed young growing stock. They should be given as much food as they will eat without waste, for no matter how much food they are given they will not put on fat. However, do not allow food of any description to lie about the floor, as birds picking up such food may be eating something which will upset them, possibly because the food has become sour. The food fed to young growing stock should be nourishing but not forcing, and therefore very little animal protein in the form of meat, meat-meal, or milk is required after about eight weeks of age until the commencement of laying. No matter what method of feeding is adopted, the food must be good in every way, as it is the food and not the method which counts. Do not make the mistake of buying cheap, poor quality food, as this is a policy of being “penny-wise and pound-fool-ish.” The feeding of poultry has been fully discussed in the “Journal of Agriculture” during the past year, and in consequence it is only necessary to refer to a good mixture for growing stock from eight weeks up to the laying stage. , Mash: 34 lb. pollard. 20 lb. wheat-meal. 25 lb. bran. 15 lb. maize-meal. 2 lb. dried milk. 2 lb. meat-meal. 2 lb. mineral mixture. 100 lb. Grain: 60 lb. wheat. 20 lb. hulled oats. 20 lb. kibbled maize. 100 lb. The mineral mixture may consist of one pound of fine salt and one pound of either steamed bone-flour or oyster shell dust. If the birds are found to be maturing too quickly, it is advisable to eliminate the milk and the meatmeal entirely.

One' of the most important foods for young growing stock is green-food, as this supplies many of the minerals and vitamins required for good growth. It should be fed liberally, and in a young succulent condition. Silver beet, spinach, chou moellier, cabbage, lettuce, young green oats, lucerne, watercress are all suitable for this purpose. Health The birds should be watched closely at all times so that any , change in health may be attended to immediately, and if possible checked before it goes too far. Generally it is through either ignorance in not being able to identify the trouble or carelessness in not obtaining help that diseases are allowed to get a- hold. If prompt corrective measures were applied immediately, the spread of disease among poultry in the Dominion would be considerably lessened. Apart from disease, the birds should be watched for body lice, which cause irritation, and loss of body condition. The best remedy is full strength nicotine sulphate applied in a small trickle along the centre of the perches just before roosting time. The heat of the bird’s body releases poisonous fumes which kill the lice. Any eggs present, are unaffected, and it is necessary, therefore, to repeat the process after an interval of ten to fourteen days, in order to kill off the lice which have hatched out since the first treatment. It is advisable to wipe off any dust from the perches before applying the nicotine sulphate, as dust will cause the liquid to run off the perches.

tipped straight into the mash and mixed up. If the water is not agitated the nicotine sulphate will float on the top and cause an uneven distribution. . When feeding this mash, use only onequarter of the usual quantity fed, and place it in troughs of sufficient length to allow all the birds to feed at once. Do not be alarmed if the birds appear to be knocked out after eating the mash, as nicotine sulphate is' a powerful drug. Complete recovery occurs shortly after dosing, and no losses need be anticipated. Do not give any other food until all of this special mash has been. eaten. Note. — careful when using nicotine sulphate, as it is a deadly poison, and death will follow an over-dose. Grading and Culling In many instances people do not cull their pullets, either because they cannot be bothered or because they think that a pullet, no matter what she is like, is a good layer. On every farm, no matter how good the management, or how experienced the manager, there are always culls among the pullets, and in cases of poor management these might be as high, or higher than 200 in every 1000 pullets reared. Only birds of good constitution are profitable, and any that are stunted in growth or are deformed in any way should be culled. Strong, healthy Leghorn pullets have bright yellow legs and beaks before coming into lay, while their general appearance is bright and alert. Those with pale legs, and an anaemic appearance are lacking in constitution, and

are unlikely to make profitable layers, and should therefore be culled. Stunted or weedy birds are a menace to the rest of the flock, as they are generally the first to start an epidemic such as colds or worms. Throughout the growing stage, pullets should be continually graded and culled. This is a safeguard against outbreaks of disease, and a flock of un-evenly-grown pullets at the beginning of a new laying season. Free Range Young stock may be reared intensively with satisfactory results, but much depends upon the birds receiving an ample supply of green-food. It is a fact, however, that those raised on free range, or with access to good grass-runs, invariably make the best birds, not only in appearance but in stamina as well. Even under these conditions additional green-food should be supplied. A satisfactory method is to place the birds in small colony houses which can be moved whenever it is considered necessary, or whenever a fresh batch of pullets are put into them. These houses should be built to accommodate not more than 100 pullets at six to eight weeks of age, and should be large enough to house them until it is necessary to shift them to their permanent laying quarters. Close watch should be kept on these birds, as overcrowding often occurs as they get older, and increase in size. This is a common fault, and one that does much harm to pullets every year.

Red mites which may be found during the day in cracks in the wood or under perches where they rest on their supports, also lower both the health and condition of the birds by suckling their blood at night. These may be destroyed with a blow lamp, or by painting infected places with a mixture of two-thirds creosote and onethird paraffin. It may be found that more than one application is necessary, and this point must receive particular attention during the warm summer months. If this is done about once every two months during the summer and every three months during the autumn and winter, it is unlikely that there will be any trouble with these parasites.

Pullets will also do better and be in a better condition to commence the laying season if they are de-wormed about a month before they commence to lay. It is a good plan to treat all the birds regardless of whether they appear to have worms or not. The birds are dosed with nicotine sulphate after they have been starved for 24 hours. The nicotine sulphate is added to a wet mash at the rate of one fluid ounce for every 100 birds, together with half a pound of Epsom salts. The salts should be dissolved in the water used to mix the mash, and then the nicotine sulphate poured into the water, and the whole agitated, and