THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1126, 13 May 1911, Page 14

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

~ ." J ' ,wo JU WJHJiSPOXDEXTS. "D-K.r'."— From tlio symptoms, the uim has ptomaine poisoning. 1-Vcd separately in a warm p w , Tnul give a teaspoon!,,l of olive oil. The mil lemovod, but you will nmY )iave to wait -till the poison lias worked through the system. -It is ~o fault ol the breeder. Possibly tlie bird ( "as oaten some decnyed meat, small Eggs."-Tho trouble is ovarian a "« is a sign of sterility. Occasionally a hen will lay one or two ?mnll eggs at t |, o beginning or eml>»g of the cluster, but, where it proves constant, tho hen is valueloss and should* be killed or marKetetl. A good hen may just as well be in }, M j,) IIOC . "Beginner."-There are quite a number o reasons why chicks die in' tho shell. Some of them: Birds with weak constitutions, badh- fed ' want of exercise, stale eS g Sj f all ltv inciibatore, want of turning and cooling absence of moisture, etc ; A flood article on tlio" subject is to be touud in this week's notes. i The Ris3 in Eggs. '. During the past tiro or three weeks ] Jonsumcrs have experienced high prices ' 11 eggs. I his is no great advantage i to poultrymen. At such a price, the ! Mnsumntioii goes/down to a more noth- : ;iig, with the result that egqs a'ccumu- < :ato and prices drop vapidly. The ' trouble is that it will take people a ' iong tinio to.get into tlm way ,of buy- 1 ng eggs again. They will assume that, in■ tlwee or four months, eggs will re- ' iiiaui high. The price drops more quicky through tins cause. Were to ■ remain, say, at Is. 6d. a doswn. the ' consumption would be far greater, and < she low pvica would not set." in for fully 1 two months after it does under prescn't ' conditions. The aim of the egg circle : movement is to equalise prices, so as : :o encourage consumption. Only those '• n-eoders who bave matured pullets can ' :li]> tho high prices that rulo now. As ' the industry grows," it will he found that sufficient, big producers will pro- ! ride ample for winter consumption, and i [>nces will not vary so much as in past 1 roars. Preserved, eggs are hot,- at a ' discount. Very few. pedplo go to the ' trouble of preserving eggs, as the clif- I icrcnco in i>rice between tlieni and fresh j iggs is not very great. The quality of i [ireserved eggs is very uncertain, and ( heavy losses are experienced in their i use. Even though fresh oggs arc at i 2s. a dozen, there are thousands of 1 dozens on the market that cannot find myers. , Why Chicks Dia in Shall. , | Tho liateiiing season presents many I new difficulties together with all our 1 old ones. One of the oldest, most com- j mon, .and discouraging with tho users • ?f incubators is "tho chicks that died ] in the shell." As this is not as serious j i problem with mo now as it has lierii in the. past, perhaps my experience may lielp. somo others-.;, There' havo .beeri 1 many reasons advanced as to" why.'they i lied in tho shell, but none, to my knowledge, that have been entirely sat- ! isfactory. My "experience lias led-me' i to believe the.chicks suffocate or never ; (.-) the. point, wlwro they breathe i at all. On the eighteenth day they iisnalK- make themselves beard i'or the fust time. We can hear thorn peep before the shell is broken. Unless they were breathing they would not bo able to make such a.n.oisr. The incubator furnishes condition's near enough to Nature to develop the chick until it is time- for the. respiratory organs to be : gin work. Then there appears to lie ~ a missing link, for it fails to furnish tho one little element that starts the lungs working, and without that breath the blood cannot continue to circulate, and its existence, stops before it begins. The heat .furnished by the machine- is nil that is required to develop the body of tho chick up to that time, but there is something missing in tho treatment of the shell.. This missing element I bolievo to be insufficient moisture and ventilation. 'When using uon-moistiire machines and. machines that supplied hut Vjttto moisture, ami, apparently, but little ventilation, I had considerable trouble with the chicks dying''in the. sUell ; After arriving at the conclusions herein.' stated, I changed my methods, giving the eggs' considerably move air by leaving them out longer to cool and by using incubators that appeared to me to supply better ventilation. 1 added considerable moisture to machines that came to me with instructions to use none at all, and the same to'machines that did supply'a little. The. percentage, of chicks dead in the shell materially decreased by these methods. I want.to say, though, that.when you add moisture you must add ventilation, and with some machines this cannot be done except by making radical changes,, which is certainly not advisable. Bettor get au incubator that is built as you want it; From printed matter sent out by tho incubator companies, it will appear that they all supply just the proper amount of beat, fresh air, and moisture. ' Somo of them Tv-ill supply you with a hygrometer at a slight additional cost that will measure or register the exact amount of moisture the machine is supplying at all times. This looks good to the averago poultry-man, especially to the breeders who have always used a non-mois-ture machine. Rut to liic it appears rather absurd. It does for this reason: AVhcn I first became- courageous enough (or desperate enough) to add more moisture to my incubators, I covered tho bottoni of the. nursery with sand, and sprinkled, the sand every day with warm water. This produced more live chicks and less cripples than f. had been fortunate enough to hatch before. Knconragcd at this, I continued to uso more water, until now I have largo trays that cover the bottom of tho incubators, and these trays are partly filled with sand, and that sand is not only damp, but it is wet all the time. Somo Best Birds. Tho "Poultry World" for its second referendum asked its readers to say which was the best fowl for confined space, etc. The result of tho voting was as follows :— 1. Best fowl for confined space in towns: Black Minorca 860 Black Leghorn 475 '2. Best fowl for confined space, in country: White Wyandotte 615 Wliito Leghorn 334 3. Best Bantam for town fanciers: Black Rosecomb 1,115 O.E. Black-Bed 223 4. Best Bantam for country fanciers: O.E. Black-Red :... 404 Silver Sebright 340 O.E. Spangled 281 5. Best table fowl, pure;. Indian Game 479 Dark Dorking 332 6. Best table fowl (1 st cross): Indian Game-Dark Dorking 469 Indian Game-Buff Orpington 342 7. Best laying fowl, pure: Whito Yv'yandotte 1,367 White Leghorn 203 8. Best laying fowl (Ist cross): AVhito Dott-p.-Whito Leghorn 462 Houdan-Whito Leghorn .., .218 Fanciers' Motes. Mr. D. H. Rutherford, of Maiiricoville, piid a flying visit to'ChristchnHi

s snow in .uicKianu. jir. juitnorI'ord reports that he has bred several very nice Silver WyamloUe pulluts and a cockerel from the stock he purchased in the South Island last year. IMr. K. L. jrGrrgor, Kairlie, was in Christcluuch on Friday and Saturday. Ho will not be an exhibitor at any of the shows this year, as he lias disposed of most of his stock. 51 _r. (!. Butcher, the well-known Black Orpington fancier, has several very promising birds for the shows. Oil i'riday he sent a very lino cockerel to a southern fancier. Last week Mr. A. Walker, of Woolston, sold two of his Silver Wyandotte cockerel-bred pullets to a northern fancier at a high figure. Mr. J. H. Aiiißor, of Lancashire, and his family, left London on March 30 by the steamer lonic for New Zealand. I understand lie is bringing out a trio of his old favourites, Minorcas, birds which have won many prizes. The Fairlio Poultry Society prize schedule is to hand. Six trophies of £3 each arc offered for points in any one variety of Orpington, Wyandotte, Minorca, Leghorn, pigeon, and canary. Numerous specials have been collected, and tho ordinary prize-money is on a liberal scale.. Twenty-four classes have been provided for utility poultry. In pigeons and canaries tho classification is good. Tho show, the first of the season, will bo held on May 21. Tim club has secured competent' judges, and is deserving of a good entry on Saturday. Christchurcli breeders may mako their entries at tho'Poultry Club rooms. A consignment of feathers of fowls and ducks Was' recently sent Homo'by tho- Agricultural Department, and realised from LHd; to is. 7d. per lb. Thn latter prico was obtained for white duck feathers , . Since the. salo inquiries have been made by buyers as to whether there is a prospect of larger and regular supplies of feathers—especially duck—being obtained from New Zealand. If shipments wero regularly made, there is every prospect that the demand for them would bo good. The first public cock-crowing competition in England will bo held at Dunmow shortly. In Belgium crowing competitions for cockerels are said to bo very popular, and useful. "Tho cockcrowing contest is not only exceedingly good sport," one authority'affirms, "but it has all tho excitement of cock-fight-ing without, the brutality. The young cockerels of a brood which crow first arc strongest, and by using only the first crowcrs the stamina of" a flock "of birds is improved." Tho entries for tho poultry, pigeon, canary, and cat sections of tho show of tho Christchurcli Poultry Club will close at the club room's, Cathedral Square, on ( Thursday. Tho executive lias already received a very large entry for all sections, the entry in tho cat section, which was so popular at tho last exhibition, being exceptionally good. The, first month of tho New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's seventh competition v.'as brought to a close on Sunday, and -some- excellent results have been recorded. Most of the birds arn in the best of fettle, and are ■ laying well enough for summer' months. Tho monthly prize of los. was won by Mr. G. Hobinson's pen, with 142 eggs, and the second prize of 10s. by the-" Here--taunga Poultry Club, with 118 eggs. Mr. T. Kennedy and tho Misses M 4 and M. Bradley wero next, with 115 and 114 respectively. I have to acknowledge, the receipt of the prize, schedule of the Oamaru Poultry,- Pigeon, and Canary Society's twenty-seventh annual show-, to bo held ■on Juno 30 and July 1. The club offers (to members) for competition £2 2s. (cash or trophy) for most points in each of the following:—White or Brown Leghorns, Black Minorcas, Langshans, Black Orpingtons, AVyandottes, -Bantams,, and pigeons. lii addition to tho ordinary prize-money, a long list of specials is offered for competition to members. Tho poultry classes total 22Q(including children's pots), pigeons 45,'' and canaries 15. Mr. l< 1 . Baerc, of Christchurch, will judge, the poultry autl canary section, and >Vr'. R. Tomkins pigeons. Entries close on Juno 15 with Mr. R. H. Watson, honorary secretary.