POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 152, 16 March 1918, Page 13

POULTRY NOTES

(By Chanticleer.)

ANSWERS TO . COHHESI'ONDENTS. Subscriber:— '■ i\o. L-Tiiu complaint is of :i bronchial nature and the result of it severe- cold. It may .develop into loup, and should be promptly dealt with, jsqual quantities of pyroxide and water may be used to spray the throat and nostrils. Camphor soaked m- sugar and then dissolved in the drinking water is an excellent cure for colds. No. 2-Scaly leg is tho result of neglect. It ■is caused through a paraßitc which quickly reproduces itself and forms a scale. In its early stages it ib easily cured by the application, of kerosene. When the legs are covered with scales they should lie 'painted with warm tar. The scales will then drop on and leavo the legs clean. Tho Conference Programme. The following is the conference programme. The conference will open in the lieehive Chambers, Courteuay Place on Easter Saturday :-Opeu ,9.30 a.m. Easter baturday; 11 a.m., reception by Mayor; IUQ a.m.,. secretary's report and balancesheet; 1 p.m., lunch; 2 p.m., president's address; 3 p.m., Mr. P. Brown (Chief Government Poultry Instructor), subject: "The Progress of tho Poultry Industry"; 8 p m social evening. Easter Monday: 9 am remits (23); general business; notices of motion (4); appointment of next conference; election of officers. Carelessness Disastrous, In-breeding, When carelessly carried on, ib disastrous, and wherever possible, snould be avoided by the utility man, who can in the majority, of cases, do verv well without it. Not only is the percentage ol infertile eggs much higher in the case oi such hens, but the chickens hatched from their eggs are weak and difficult to rear, and addled eggs aro very common, the germs not being sufficiently strong to get through the whole period of incubation when flocks of under-sized, poor-looking chickens are reared, and when the feeding and housing seem on good lines, it is usually found, on inquiry, into the caseE pf such degeneracy that in-breeding ha; been carelessly practised. Selecting the Male Bird, The question of the selection of th( male -bird to head each breeding pen is ol the most importance. In the past it hai been customary to nnder-rate the inttu enco of the male bird upon the economic qualities of his offspring, and to oonßidei that the. chickens inherited their internal qualities from their maternal parent, and their exterior lrom their sire. Poultry keepers of discernment have thought otherwise even before any special invest! gatious had boon made, and by expert menting on their own stock, they have come to quite the opposito conclusion. It is to them that tho general mass of poul-try-keepers to-day owe those splendid laying strains which have been built up on the principle of breeding only from hen's of approved merit, and of using only, those Biros which can themselves claim a good pedigree: ■;,-.