POULTRY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1440, 15 May 1912, Page 10

POULTRY NOTES.

4 (By Chanteeler.) Forcing For Eggs. Xovr that eggs are two shillings a dozen thorp will bo every temptation to force the layer?. Extreme care should be used in doing this. The use of condiments is lo be deprecated as they only stimulate the laying of a small cluster, and uulc-s birds are kept fed with them tlie.v will lay fewer eggs than if fed with poorer food. The best way to get eggs is to give full and plenty. It takes considerable food to keep up bodily requirements in winter time and unless birds are fed bountifully there is/nothing left to make eggs. Only the lx'st. of food should be used. Grain should bo of the best and 1;« composed of a mixture of wheat, oats, and cracked grain. Warm mash should be fed either night or morning and contain amnio aiiiriial food. Meat mc-al is best as it.is in a highly concentrated form. The boiling of bones or livers and mixing the soup, in sharps will make an excellent mash and give good results. It is advisable to feed the birds three times daily to make sure they have ample food. The man who keeps his bird ou short rations will not contribute many eggs to the market. The Best Layers. Just now eggs are chiefly supplied by the pullets. It is from them that we get our supplies in winter. The socond-year hens cannot be cspected to lay. They havo just completed a moult and the egg organs are dormant. It will be two months before the, second-year hens get in to lay. The pullets should be brought in gradually and at seven months they should commence to lay good marketable '•'eggs. The man who forces his pullets to lay at five.months does not know his business. They result in small eggs—few in number—and a quick exit from the winter egg market. To get eggs in winter pullets want watching at the right time, li too late they will bo immature for laying, if too early they will moult. The Chick Season. A correspondent sends us the following as his method of'raising chicks: — Some say that a chick well hatched is then half reared, and no doubt this statement. is partly true, as a chick which comes out of the shell strong and healthy will stand a better chance of living than one which hatches weak and lifeless. Therefore, if we hatch a strong lot of birds it is our duty to give Ihem the best attention and care. The art of feeding early chicks on a scientific basis is a matter which is not understood by everybody, and consequently it is not surprising to hear of the great mortality among early chicks. I say early because when one goes in for hatching in February and March different methods of feeding are required than those hatched in June, simply because there is a greater demand upon the system for heatproducing foods. Presuming, however, that the chicks aro hatched, and that twenty-four hours has elapsed since they left the shell, their first feed should consist of some hard, small-grains such as is supplied by the many makers of chickenJ'cou specialities. Hard-boiled egg mixed with stale bread crumbs is not bad, but it must not ba given too often, and the dry feed should predominate. Too much solt food tends to give diarrhoea, but such a complaint as this generally comes' about through the carelessness of noul try-keen-

prs, who nearly always mix the food to a sloppy mess. The groat thing at fir.-t is to give a little and often, and hundreds of chicks dio every searon through kindness, as some fanciers literally force food down the youngster's crop. A Summer Scourge, There is no doubt that the diarrhoea scourge is more prevalent in the summer months than in the early • part of the year, and this is due to the fact that in the hot summer 'time soft food has the effect of producing looseness of the bowels .very soon. At 'uieh times hard grain is best, with very little soft food. Of course, it is agreed that soft food builds up tho body and framo quicker than grain, and to feed regular on the latter food would result in hard and ,short feather, and would not produce bulk arid bone, which is so essential and desirable in most breeds. After the first few days fine biscuit-meal scalded is very good, mixed with oatmeal, and given alternately with the grain food. Boiled rice is also a good change if dried off with sharps or fine-ground oats, and will bo found effective in picking up diarrhoea. The grain which should be given to chicks may consist of canary seed, millet, hemp, groats, and peas, and later on cracked wheat nrtiy bo mixed with the above. Necessity for Cleanliness. Care should be taken to see that all food is clean and free from dust. The

above ilii'l mii.v be giwu until thr- t-liiuk* .ifp three week.- old. when a change i !; ay hi , mfde. Cracked inaixi , in:iv t B . j veti in MiKill quantities with ai1vi1iitaK., ,, ..,,,! fond should mil be omitted from Hie dietary daily. The larger hi.-cuH-ineal may now be given .-naked with milk ami mixed with a little sharp- or ground oat? and a little bran. Hread cnisls'soaked in milk and mixed the same way arc ;i |so excellent , , anil nil scraps of a itjil>]o iiiitnre may be used with advantage, as nearly ;ill form a vry nutritious ration for eiiicks. Green foo'd must not be forgo! ten, and line grass, clover', lettuce, and (liiiulelion are all excellent for the purpose. As the chicks get older nlpiitr of bi-eiiil-meal is essential, and the many ailverti.-cd food- are also very good. ManV do not: re.ili-e that chicks need a foo'd licit ill albiiiiiiiiiiid.s, and for lliis- purpose meat food and fresh green hone inay he given ad libitum. An excellent fond for chicks when thev are two or three months old is well-sc'aldeil bran and Sussex ground oats, the latter bein;,' llio finest food procurable for growing and laying stock alike. Fine grit is very necessary for the chicks even from hatching, awl I am afraid many omit tins important' item. The point which is very often overlooked is that chicks only need, a Hi tie. food during their early life, but it is 'necessary to feed often to replenish the waste which is constantly going on in lbs body.