THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1378, 2 March 1912, Page 14

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 'E.H.W."— 1. Dry mash is certainly a big economise!- of labour, but, iroin my experiments, the best average ot eggs is obtained from feeding wet mashes. As tho number of birds which you keep is small, thero is little to bo gained in dry mash. 2. Do not breed from pullets unless they have laid '10 eggs each. Second year hens aro preferable. They lay bigger and , better eggs and give stronger chickens. 3. Flour of sulphur is good during ~~ the moult, but ordinary sulphur serves the purpose. 'L.R."—The amount of capital jou mention, .£IOO, is not sufficient to start a poultry farm. It would all' bo gone before any returns began to come in. Your want of experience is another drawback. Get on to a good poultry farm for a year, and get experience. Comment is made on this subject in our notes.

I What Capital Can You Start With 7 9 A correspondent asks whether, with his 1 .£IOO capital, ho could start poultry- | farming for a living. He mentions that I ho has no experience in poultry beyond 0 attending a few fowls for home use. I [j commend him for asking advice, and 1 trust that ho will act upon it. I have | constantly warned beginners not to begin | on too large a scale. The chief causes of- | failure are:— (1) No. experience. What would one think of a tailor, baker, or engineer beginning business without training? let so many people think that poultry-keep-ing is an "old lady's job," and easy ot accomplishment. One knows of few things —and certainly nothing in agricultural pursuits—that call for a more intelligent effort than is demanded by poultry-keep-ing. Experience is essential for success. (2) Small capital. A beginner saves.a ; few pounds and thinks that ho can start the business on this and obtain a living from his investment. Tho capital is soon I gone, the returns do not come in, and he 3 is soon in financial trouble and has to abandon his project. • (3) Bad stock. One has seen several I start by buying hens from the auction mart, birds discarded and thrown aside by other breeders. These require ot feeding, and give poor returns, lhe result is that they soon impoverish the owner. , , ~, (1) Cleanliness and detail. In nothing is cleanliness more essential than in poultrykeeping. Disease promptly spreads and works havoc among the stock. Beginners are warned not to rush into poultry-keep-ing. Our advice to the man who is free is to get into a poultry establishment which happens to be in a big way. Learn at tho owner's dictation, and then you will be prepared when you 6tart on your ■ own. To the man who keeps poultry and looks forward to making a livelihood from them we advise him to keep on increasing his stock, and store of knowledge, while, at the same time, attending his usual occupation. A few pounds saved, and three hundred well-bred pullets in hand, and there is not much to fear. There have been many I failures in poultry-keeping, but they can I all be traced to causes that do not reI fleet on the industry itself. The business S- is a good and sound one, and there are $ many who get a living from it tu-day, $}' but it is only those who know and are gj willing to work that have any hope of SB success.

Egg-Shell Skin. 'American surgeons are greatly interested in.the discovery by Dr. Jinx Stnllcr, of Mount Sinai Hospital, Philadelphia, that the white lining or membrane of egg-shells can ho lised as a sufostituto for human skin in grafting operations. Experiments have been proceeding at Mount Sinai Hospital for threo months, and every case treated has been successful. The lining of egg-shells is really tho skin of embryonic chickens, and contains cells similar to those of tho human skin. When placed on a burned surface, tho cells multiply and 'the membrane becomes larger until it joins with other pieces, and eventually the surface is covered with now skin. Tho most important caso treated at tho hospital was that of a woman suffering from severe burns on the lack, neck, and arms. Skin-grafting was the only chance for her recovery, but it was impossible to secure a volunteer ready to part with sufficient skin for transfer to tho patient. Dr. Staller resolved to try the egg-mem-brane treatment as a last resort. Several dozen oggs were obtained, and the whito lining carefully cut into small pieces. These were placed on the burned surface, and a wet dressing was applied. When, somo time later, the dressing was removed, it was found that tho larger number of pieces had started to grow. In the coarse of tho next few weeks the cells grew larger, and tho membrane covered the entire surface. The new skin is a trifle finer than the human skin, but appears to be 6trong and healthy.

New Way of Sprouting Oats. Having' hoard of the oat sprouting for fowls, I will .give my way for the benefit of your readers. First procure a box about 12in. by 18in. and'tin. deep; knock off the top and bottom, have ready two pieces of giiuzo to fit the box you get, secure one to the bottom, then fill with oats; afterwards placo tho other piece of gauze on the top; soak in water, then hang up in a dark place; the heating of the oats, will cause them to swell, and the green growth will come through the gauze, and if you. hang it in 'a fowl run, your fowls will bo busy picking tho green food. After all the 'green has disappeared, shake the box ami soak again in water; hang up as before, and you will be able to repeat four or five times, thereby having plenty of green food. Useful Disinfectant. Having kept exhibition fowls for a number of years, I have this last year or so found a good way of using a disinfectant, and a preventive of disease. Soak a rag twice a week in carbolic and hang on a string about 2ft. 6in. from the roof of the fowlnouscs; by this means the houses will always keep 6weot.

Self-Filling Grit Box. Light box, 12 inches by 10 inches, take out fronts and replaoe strips across the bottom, 3 inches in depth. At the top, fix strip of wood, one inch in depth, across. Between space fix three pieces of. galvanised wire with equal distances apart, sufficient for hens to peck in comfort. Inset in box wood fitting across from ride to side, slanting down from top of box to the back, leaving space half an inch for grit to come through, the same wood to be i inches up at" tho bottom of box. Fix cover that can be opened, so as to fill up with grits, and the hens can help themselves through wire front, a. constant supply coming down at the back, as thoy require it. Hang up in scratching-shed one foot from ground. Anyone trying this will find a perfect boon, as wo have dono.

Bronchitis In Fowls. Take a teaspoonful of honey and mix into a stiff paste with ground, oats or middlings. Break in small pieces. The bird will quickly cat theso. If given last thing at night, the bird will usually recover by morning; if not, repeat at night. This ismuch more easily administered than a liquid "cure," and with me has never failed.'

Using Up the.Feathers, Anyone having soveral lots of feathers about, and wishing to make, the most of thorn, can make lovely eiderdowns at email cost and trouble. Sovon yards of zephyr or less, and make it into a large nag, shake in the soft feathers that have been previously baked in the oven, regulate and tack just as those 6ccn in shops are done (pack well), then stitch with machine. These can be covered with sateen, according to means. I have made two, and my people say they can't get up in the morning, they aro bo comfy.

Simple Hygienic Nest Box. Knock the top and bottom out of a box about a foot square by seven or eight inches deep, cover the top with a piece of sacking, allowing it to sag somewhat, and lnavo about three, inches overlap round tfio edges. Next make a wood frame about threo or four inches deep, just the size to slide over the box, and overlapping sticking, fitting tightly enough to keep the latter in position. JUno with straw or hay, and cut a V on two out of tho eidos from tli« bottom foe xft-tiUttoa. 'Xae

, (By Omntsckr.)

finished arliclo has the appearance tf a square sieve, forms a comfortablo and hygienic nest, as Iho sacking can be sprinkled with disinfectant, dries quickly, and tho vapour permeates tho straw. Afternoon Feed. Poultry-keepers alt understand that the morning feed for laying hens should bo a warm ono; but all do not think that tho afternoon ono would also be to their advantage if given warm. I get an old pail, put the grain into it, and pour over it a kettle of boiling water, let it btand for ten minutes, then go round and feed. I find that since adopting this method my hens lay better and often after the afternoon feed. When I go round to shut up, I find eggs which havo been laid after that meal.