POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 39, 9 November 1918, Page 13

POULTRY NOTES

(By "Ohanticleer.")

AdvlGo to Boglnncrs. Brcedora will do well to cull very closely with a view to feeding and homing only tho most promising birds. ' The cockerels, of course, will bo .disposed of as Boon as they are-large-enough for market; but noviccß may be surprised to learn that experienced breeders destroy surplus male chicks as soon as thoy .recognise the sex. Weakly pullets should also bo disposed of as soon as possible, and in view of tho coßt of grain f6od only the most promising ■ lnyere-or, if showing is the object only.the most : typical-should be kept. Let yourmotto this year be:. Fewer birds and better quality, for nothing but tho best pays these times.- A poor layer eata as much as a Rood layer. She takes up. as much room and gives as much trouble Indeed, it.is the poor layer which is the trouble. It is unalloyed pleasure canng for tho good.layors. It ie. quality that tells every time in poultry-breeding.. Don t in war-time worry over ■sick birds. They are not worth it. Wring their necks and bury them deep. There will, then be no fear of breeding sickly , chicks from them. To tell' wliother an, egg is fresh, place it in' a basin of cold water. If it sinks to the-bottom and stays there it is freeh; if it floats off the.bottom but does not rise much it is doubtful; if it lioate on the surface it is. bad. A day or. two before hatching cess may bo tested to see whether they contain live chickens or not. Place the eggs in a baein of ..warm water. If they sink they are bad; if they float thoy contain a chick, and if after a few moments the floating eggs bobs. Up and down it oontains "tflive chick. _ Those thatsink and thoso that fail to bob may be considered unfit to replace in, the incubator. Certainly don't .put back the. eggs that, sank- for -tjiey are, abp.oln*ely bad. Withregard.to those that float, but dont bob, there may be a doubt for tho movement may have been made- and not OBBarley is always cheaper (says an ex-change)-than wheat, both in and weight, and barley possesses a very fair proportion of ilesh-fGrminE.vfmbstances-about 11 per cent. Wheat is dearer both by weight and. measure than barley, and its capability of putting on-flesh ■Jβ not bo much greater than that of barley, as is usually imagined. Jhr amoiin of fleshforming feed in wheat is about 1Z per cent. The small arid I grains which-are not considered f.a.o. wheat are richer in glutten (flesh-formina.food) than the plump or primo wheat and are therefore more nutritious. Good-quality crushP d oats contain about. 18 per cent, of fleehformine food. It must .be remembered ha? if takes just on 21b. of oats to make lib. of hulled oats and all these things must bo considered. From the above few lines feeders can form a good idea, of the feeding value of barlny. A est which I made with bar ley in 1917 convinced me (says "Feather" in the . Bondigo "Advertiser) that barloy should bo moro largely used aa a noultvy food, both for fattening and'for feeding layem.