THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1216, 26 August 1911, Page 13

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

►_— (By Chantecler.)

Fireless Brooders. Considerable interest is being 6bown in fireless brooders and tho writer has pleasure in giving 'the opinions of two wellknown poultrymcn—Mr. Hopkins, o£ Otaki, and Mr. Leger, of Levin. Our own experiments along this lino have been gratifying. For the small producer the fireless brooder cuts out a big expense while, for tho big producer, it doubles the possibilities of bis output. Tho writer commends his readers to tho well-written opinioas of practical men liko Messrs. Hopkins and Leger. They appear elscwhero on tho page. A Gall to Arms. Now that eggs have, dropped to tonpence a dozen—and I believe they will go to, eightpence— perhaps poultrymen will stir themselves to take somo action ,in co-operating for tho purpose of inducing the Government to place a prohibitive price on imported eggs, and will also work up an export trade. Its a thankless task to take in hand for the enthusiast who bikes the initiative He will get more kicks than thanks, but' thai, of course, is the lot of every reformer. It seems an absurd idea that the Government should spend thousands a year in maintaining poultry farms and experts, and yet allow eggs to be imported into the country with a 20 per cent duty. These eggs are landed, all charges paid, at ninepence a dozen, and producers have to compete. So indifferent are the Government that they do not even keep a tab on the number of eggs imported. They are allowed to come in as "provisions," and are, of course, lost count of. The day, of course, will come when poultrymcn will resent this and the sooner the bettor. What is tho use of building up an industry when the two main features are neglecfed—shutting out cheap imported goods, and indifference to export' trade? Apples get the attention of dozens of officials, but no one works for eggs. Who is to blame? If poultrymcn would only make enough "howl" they could soon alter things. "Howl" is the only thing that will move this array of very ordinary middle-aged gentlemen . who are designated "Ministers." German Imports. It is evident that Germany is shipping eggs here in large quantities. They land them here for confectioners, when local eggs are dear. They arrive for ninepance, and Chinese eggs for sixpence. It is reported that cheap and nasty articles are pushed into the public in the wav ot cakes and small goods. What is the result? Confectioners do not trouble to buy in the summer, and hence the fall-mg-ofi of demand. When they preserve eggs for winter ■ use, it keeps up the demand, but no one will do this and stand out oi his money if he can buy the foreign article cheaper. It is time soma move was made unless tho industry is to go to pieces. Why I Like Them.

[By E. Hopkins, Otaki.]

Our present heavy laying strains of fowls have a big task below them when hatched, compared with tho work in lile of their ancestors, and only the strongest may hopo to successiully complete what we expect of them The sconer thoso that are not gifted wtih the necessary physique to take up tniir fair share of the burden are eliminated the bettor for tho pocket of their owner. _ Fireless brooders find out tho weakness 1? a r c ' lic k <m at °nce, and the losses for tho Orst week are much heavier than when artificial heat is used. Mr. Davis, of Hawko's Bay, kindly supplied mo with full instructions for making the brooders last .summer, and I reared a few clusters with them last autumn. I found the system so satisfactory that I determined to rear all my chickens in future by this method. My first spring chicks were hatched on July 1, and I now have 2G brooders with about GO each in them. Tho brooder house is 130 feet long and faces nearly north, with an open front, and the sun shines on every inch of it. I have a stream of water always running right through it, on lop of tho place, and dry-feed hoppers in every pen. From GO to 70 chicks are put into each brooder straight fr,om the incubator when about 30 hours old, always about Men o'clock in tho morning. For some days until they arc educated they are watched constantly, and if found huddling together aro at onco put back under the hover. On sunny days tho hovers aro all taken out and exposed to the sun. I would not advise anyone to try this method unless their climate is a fairly good one. A largo proportion of sunny days is absolutely necessary to rear early chicks. I should think most of the North Island, Marlborough, .Nelson, ond perhaps part of Canterbury, would bo suitable. The dangers to guard against are:—(l) Having the hovers too far off the chicks' backs. They must bo within an inch of tho floor in tho centre for the first ten days, and (2) the risk of chill. If tho chicks get out, and the attendant is not about to put them back, tho wholo clutch may bo lost. Unless the attendant is on duty at daylight, it is better to block them in for a few nights, as thev will all come out to feed early and will not find their way back. There is a laTgc saving of work in cleaning if plenty of sand ,or litter is UEed; my.whole brooder houso can be swept up in a few hours. As to the chicks themselves, they decidedly aro stronger than when artificial heat is used, and they certainly eat more and grow quicker. I do not think the system is suitable for thoso who only rear a few hundred, as the cost of shepherding them for the first wtck would be greater than the amount.that would be saved by supplying artificial heat.

On the Same Subject. [By H. Leger Levin.] Last April we built four tireless brooders and brooder coops, viz., brooder and run 3 x 6, on the Phil) plan, and placed them out in tho open 1 keep chicks in warm brooders for about iour days before placing out. One hundred and fiftytwo chicks havo boon reared in these brooders to July 25, with a loss of about 5 per cent, crushed. They are now in open coops on freo range, end earlier cockerels are crowing. It has been nn eye-opener to note their quick growth, easy feathering, and uniform alertness. Thoy have l>cer> exposed to many hard frosts and to tho moist winter weather we get here, looking quite unconcerned. I have also dispatched to customers, in addition to tho ordinary transfer of chicks, about 35 tireless brooder boxes and chicks, with excellent results. My present summing-up is that this system suits the rearing of n moderate number of first-class stuff' (say, COO), rather than the very large breeder. In my newest attempt at chick-raising I would not spend a penny on brooder house, whether it is better as a self-sufficient system than as a compliment to tho old stylo I cannot yet say. But I am convinced that it ir. a step forward,"