POULTRY KEEPING
(By Fancier.) ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. II L Bromley—Tho starling has no natural song- but niay bo taught tunes and even to epeak. as ho is a great m.raif. Stailings' nests are more inaccessible than some oi the others, but. set youngsters if possible. The eggs are four to six and of'a delicato bluey-green. Ihe diet is verv varied—scraped beef, mutton, hardboiled egg, grain, fruit and insects. Watpr to bathe in and a big cage ait needed. KS _Your birds "eem to have developed a vice common in chickens hut seldom in adults. Isolate them and -paint koic ini'ts with carbolic ointment, and K.ve plenty of ereen food, and ail occasional dose of salts. Once «»•?**» of blood tl'.e ha!"t <s rare > rutuh .nd will spread to otlici-a. Tin* pot is the fic»t remedy.
NOTES.
The United Pigeon Fanciers' Club will meet this evening-.
The different clubs in Christehurch mav be expected te do little until aftei the New Year.
The moult will commence about the Xew Year, and old birds should _ be "potted" or sold before the New Year, as the hot weather and moult together are often too much for them. An American writer has much to say in favour of the Khode Island AVhite, and without doubt it is of much merit There arc so many white varieties oi the same stamp that they will keep the Rhode Island White back in popular favour.
A Melbourne paper says egg prices have seriously declined, and of the export trade it says eggs in London as a rule slump after December. Both in Britain and Australia wheat is much cheaper than in New Zealand. With cheap foodstuffs here one could stand the eggs being cheap. The "Scottish Farmer" gives an illustration of a gander 4-t years old. Geese, if allowed, live to a great age, but it is safe to say 44 years is seldom reached. The picture of the gander shows it to be one of the knobbed variety, so called because there is a knob at the base of the bill. The females are much more prolific than the common varieties seen 011 farms. An American poultry farmer has boys selling eggs in cartons in the streets. They are paid five cents per dozen ou sales. The boys also make a house-to-house canvass of their territory. .Most writers advocate private custom, but. after some years of production of eggs i fowls, and "fruit I prefer the open market. , A well-known fancier complains that eggs sold as seconds in the open market aro often mixed with tin; firsts by shop-keepers; also that, with large stocks of eggs, some shopkeepers just offer what they choose to tanners bringing in eggs. I don't know lor certain of the latter, but have OHOII fvccii 'where the mixing of the grades has been clone. Pet birds are to be found 111 many hollies. The variety is great, but the canary takes pride of place both as regards numbers and musical ability. At the song contests in older lands the Hartz mountain roller is most conspicuous, whether in solos, duets, trios, quartets, or big choruses. Iho judges who decide are musicians ot repute. These fine singers or roller canaries are trained and their music lias been notated. The trained birds have, of course, an advantage over our wild songsters. It is not necessary to cram jioiiltry to fit a fowl for the table, but when sent to the market for that purpose, as many will during the next few weeks, a little effort ought to bo made to present the birds in fair condition. T»vo to three weeks will suffice to top them off, so there is yet plenty of time for some advice
The young stock birds are now well ' on, and one should cull a hit, for full—ing is both a room-saver and a foodsaver. There is nothing to ho tjainecl by keeping birds with blemishes, which militate against sales to fanciers. TJaekwnrd birds may he cut out, also those that show bad defects in colour, shape, comb, face, and style. Lye for Cleaning. Cleaning poultry-houses, particularly range and brooder houses, is something more than just "sweeping tlieni cut," says "American Poultry Journal." These houses have a larger number of animals hi them than do laying houses; they are continually running around, tramping down the litter and droppings; they are voiding droppings themselves; with each increase in individual, there is an increase in the possibility of disease, for there is one more agency to carry and spread infection and to be, infected. That is why the cleaning of thesu houses is so important. Many poultrymen have found this out and arc taking especial pains in the cleaning of their brooder houses and range-houses. After giving a thorough sweeping, they scrub the floors of these houses with a hot lye solution, using one pound of lye to 40 gallons of water. Lye is one of the best cleansing agents we have for this purpose, being a caustic alkaline solution when dissolved in water.
Cure of Coccidiosis. English papers to hand devoted to poultry enthuse over the discovery of a cure for coccidiosis; and they have good reason, for it is a world poultry scourge, not to speak of the havoc among the other kinds of feathered stock, and in some animals. The discovery was made by Mr W. It. Kerr, who told it at the annual poultry conference held recently at Harper Adams College, where Mr Kerr is one of the scientists on the. staff of the National Institute of Poultry Husbandry, which has been established within the precincts of the college. Of coccidiosis the "Feathered World" says: "This is primarily a disease affecting the young members of the bird family, and also many of the animals—cattle, sheep, rabbits, goats, ete. The life-history of coccidiosis need not be mentioned here. It is enough to say it is a parasite which resists the usual disinfectants. Post mortems havo shown that tlio parasite finds a breeding place in the caeca or blind gut, and, then spreads through the intestines. Great heat kills it, so hot water and sunshine are beneficial. Some time ago American authorities claimed that milk controlled coccidiosis and allied diseases, but Mr Kerr uses more than milk. His remedy is as follows:—lodine crystals one part by weight, potassium iodide two parts, water 50 parts. To a quart of fresh or separated milk add three ounces of the iodine solution, and heat it until it becomes white in any vessel. This is the stock solution, and one pint is advised to be added to the gallon of drinking water. The iodine solution, as indicated above, differs only slightly in proportion from that advocated in "Poultry" (Sydney), by a local scientist, Mr N. D. Kay, P.lnst. T.C., and in a lesser degree by others. Gape Worms. In previous notes I have pointed out the danger of digging tlio ground to let fowls have a feed of earth worms, which aro the Hosts of that poultiv pest, gape worms. What has been said is supported by experiments made byProfessor Hoy H. Waite, Maryland Experimental Station : 1. No chick contracted gapes, from gapc-infected ehicka of the same age
even when closely confined with them. 2. Chicks that were fed gape worms taken from other chicks which died from tho disease did not become infooted. 3. None of the twenty-four chicks allowed to partake freely of earth direct from the infected yard contracted the disease. 4. One hundred per cent, infection was' obtained in all chicks fed earthworms taken direct from the original infected foil. 5. It seems improbable that under practical conditions water cont-nmi-nated with gape-worm embryos would be a source of infection except in iare instances. 6. Adult fowls 'were infected with gapes by feeding thein "arth-worms taken from infected chick runs. It is pointed out that the important point in control is prevention by kfepjtig the young chicks from obtaining infected enrth-worms. This can utuully be done by growing the chick* on "new" land or confining them when the ground is wet with rain or dew, at 'which time earth-worms aie at the surface. Chicks grown on wire floored runs, and thus having r.o opportunity to eat earth-worms, should be entirely free from gapes re long as tbey aro so confined.
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Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20095, 26 November 1930, Page 6
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1,388POULTRY KEEPING Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20095, 26 November 1930, Page 6
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