THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1629, 21 December 1912, Page 23

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

(By ChantecJer.)

The Auckland Conference. The Auckland Conference, to bo hold next Easter, promises to bo a success. The committee has'secured . the Trades and Labour Hall in which'to. hold the ■eesahuw. This building will'accommodate six hundred people. Tho Mayor of the city,and. (in all likelihood) 'the. Prime. Minister will be present at the opening.. I proceedings., A visit will- be paid. to .the Ruakura 'Poultry Farm,' and Mr, ,J, ,H. M'Lean, of Rotorua, is .to. entertain the. delegates fdr' the round trip at 'Rotorua after the, conference, closes/, j The programme has been drafted, and 'will be. announocd in a few days. .-It provides for educative artioles relating to the industry. A-competition for the beat' designed poultry liouso will be'held, and cash prizes. are offered. The Prico of Foods. In New Zealand poultrymen have nothing to-oompladn of in the prioe of foods. In. some .of the''out-of-way. places,, wheat and sharps may be dear, 'Dut, in the southland at ports in the' north these foods are cheaper than in almost any other part of the-world. The egg cirole at, the . Hutt, 'and representatives of other circles in the Manawatu and Hawke's Bay ore holding a-meeting on December 27 to' arrange to buy on a wholesale basis and in large quantities. With eggs at a - good price and table poultry at their highest' value,' poultrymen should do well during the corning year. Marketing Eggs. While a gTeat deal has been done! to improve the class of eggs put on : the market, there is evidence that much still remains to be done. : Among the farmers little notioe is taken of marketing, and it appears as if heavy losses are experienced during the summ'er. . i Apparently eoine.of the country, people who aro consigning eggs to tho Duiiodin market are more concerned about the .revenue to be derived than about the freshness of the eggs. The "Otagp Daily Times" learns that out of a stock of some six cases hold bv a city grocer a few days ago, no fewer, than four cases, each con? taining twenty-five dopes'- eggs, were condemned as unfit for 'consumption, and had to be destroyed. ' Notes for the Novice; To,', do, well your.; fowls must have vegetables, animal, ./and mineral' food. The. : vegetable is supplied by plants, fresh.'or' dried; the aninial by worms,' bugs, or meat; and the mineral is found in food,' and in the grit and sKell; "Sie that all these things are in constant supply if you want, your fowls to do well. Aim for quality, as against quantity. Which is best? To have hens that will lay 200 eggs average in twelve months, or hens that will, lay 100 in that time. . It is just as easy to keep good fowls aa it is to.keep bad ones. They cost no more, take up no more time or space, and give much better results in. eggs, looks, and satisfaction. • • If you have mongrel hens and want -to do better, sell them out and buy, a few puretareds from some good breeder. This way is quicker and much more satisfactory than to raise the standard of the mongrels by . mating'a purebred cock with. them. There is more than ono reason for the failure of eggs to hatch, but one big cause is the fact that, in. the average'yard, the breeding fowls do n«t get sufficient cxer,ciss. .' \ Lack of exercise causes the birds to become congested with internal fat, and .in this condition' the fertility is noer. - : Loek about, and you will find 'that tho lean, tough animal makes the best breeder. If you are -troubled with rats try this:— Take a deep tub or cask, fill it half-full of water, and cover over the top . .with brown paper pasted down round tho. edges.. Plaoafeed on,tttjj&p,Bii^ and after- the some- time' 'cut"a"'slit,'" Tehape, in the middle of tho paper, and the rates 1 will fall through into the water. The method is said to bo in successful use in England. Don't forget that exeroiw is most neoeseary to young chickens. Give them all the run you can, 60 that they may grow, Adult birds will stand confinement, but it is bad for chickens. If you shut them up, provide as largo a run as possible,; and supply plenty of scratching litter. Get it again. Chickens must have plenty of exercise. , Charcoal is another important item for growing chickens. It is a bowel correc-, tive, improves digestion, and supplies themineral elements needed for the' growth and development of strong healthy frames. Don't delay, if you don't use it i get some at once. - Separate the cockerels from- the' pullets, and they will both come on better. The cockerels because' they won't bo constantly worrying round, and, the pulletsfor the . reason % that'they will get more food with, tho cockerels out of the .way, besides being free from tlieir importunities. ~ The cockerels will oomo on better still if they-are .fixed: so that ' they cannot see.; the pullets... . If yoiir hens are loose, watoh out for the foragera, for they are almost always the bfst layers.,: The poor scratches is usually a poor performer. Don t forget that fowls won't do well if the wind can play on them. Wind, hot. or cold, has a bad effect; as proved by the fact that sheltered hens lay the most eggs. If- you are so. fixed that you*must .have late-natehed chickens, see to .it that they' are kept together, and are not forced to battle among larger and; stronger birds for their , food. Late-hatched chicks are handicapped, anyway, 60 don't make it worse .for them. ■ : '' Remember' that, most insect posts" do not stay on the fowl exoept when hunting for blood. When thoy 'are full they retire to tho cracks and'crevices in the shed.. They may be easily killed by sprayiiier with soapy water .and kerosene (say -one ; part kerosene to 10 of water), and a little : while spent this, way onoe a week will ,im-. prove matters, because the birds I will gainin health and condition.. - When the soil • in. a fowlyard ■ becomes stale or "sick," the fowls running oh it get out of sorts, and go off generally. AH sorts of disease germs, are found in the soil of a'poultry-yard'after, a,-time, and this is why so many .fowls- die'off. The way to right matters; is to tnrn the birds on to a fresh snot, and dig imsr and plant with green stuff the yard that is vacated.