POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 103, 25 January 1919, Page 12

POULTRY NOTES

Rcturnod Soldiers. Tito Christchurch "rress" says:—"ln a dlsoussioii at tlio meeting of the iV.Z. Utility Poultry Club 011 Tuesday evening. Mr. J. B. Merrctt urged the suitability of the poultry-raising industry for , disabled sokliorß. The he said, was not of a strenuous nature, and yielded a fair living.- In Australia the Government had allocated returned men who deßired to engage in tho iudu6try. five acres of land oaoli for the purpose. Somo part of tho laud was used for fruit production, and the result to dato had been of a most encouraging nature. Mr. Merrctt said that he was of opinion that a great deal could be done in this direction in Now Zealand. Ho hoped that tho matter would bo fully, considered at the poultry-keepers' conference, which would be held in Ohriatchurch in March." Moulting Points. Kcod. do\vu tho vermin; don't let tho moulting birds have turn petit to contend witn. • Have plenty of dry, looße earth, about for Lhe birds to dust in—a little sulphur inixeU with <ne dust will help to Kill the vermin. Spray tno cracks in the roosting shed with carbolic, kerosene, hot water, or other destructive asent. JJon't overcrowd tho moultera; if you do they ,',ill tako longer over the jufi and come ]«to lay late, and wastea time meanß lyst money. Fowls moult because Nature airects "them to grow a, new coat of fear therß' vvitli whicli to face the cold of winter. Tho old feathers are thin and worn out and inelfeefivo as a covering. Strong birds in the moult need no treatment beyond generous feeding, plenty of green stuff, and a watertight Bhed, faced away froi;i the prevailing wind. With tjio heavy breeds it is «, wise plan to let the broody ones Bit for three or four weeks. The spell from laying and tho Btoppage of the machinery generally affprds them the chance of making a speedy woult. When the birds hang about in the moult a tablespoon of sulphur to'3o hens in tho mash -once a week will materially help. It is reiterated that frreen food is necessary; during tho moult, the properties in it being especially valuable at that time. A fair amount of cooked lean meat is also required, as it contains the elements that cause the growth of the new feathers. Notos for tho Novice. The poultry hrcetlers will find his hens will lay belter when they can get behind something and be out of siglit. Kerosene and. olive oil—equal parte—will cure scaly leg. Hub well in every other day for a week'. Don't keep a lot of breeds. Specialise in one. Look around you. The men i)'ho are best known are generally famed for one breed. < In the writer's experience the pullets that are bred from a quick, active 12 or 15 months cock- bird and snrightly secondyear hena are the best as layers. If your hens are not .laying well they may be whipped up by giving them rooked lean, meat, of whicli a handy form is tho dry meal. To do well, fowl 3 must have green feed, particularly in .the hot weather. Don't feed soft food on the ground. The method is lazy and wasteful, and may easily lead to bowel trpuble, especially in the hot weather. There is 110 better way to sweeten a pen than by turning over the ground and planting with rape which is a quick-grow-ing and gross feeding plant, absorbing theevils in the soilIn fixing a, fo-.vlhoase have tlie floor Cin. higher than the surrounding ground, so that 110 water may run in. Wet clay or still earth rammed hard will last for some time. • ' A packet of Epsom salts to 20 grown Jbirdß is a good thing to give in the hot weather as an internal cleanser and blood cooler. Dissolve in warm water, and add to the mash. Do it once a week. . Separato the male birds from the hens in the moultingi season. Chickens are not wanted at this time, and are no good, oven if you can get them. ■ In the raising of chickens try to givo them either a freo mn or let them out once a day, for the first three or four months, at any rate. If for any reason you have been unable to liatch any chicks tliiß season, and want some, tho best thing to do now would bs to purchase a fevn that will turn into lay in the autumn and early winter months, which is tho time when prices are at their highest., Don't' try to hatch chicks now. It is too late in the season for them to thrive well, and, if you did get them, they wouldn't turn, into lay x. nlil August, say, when pricjs will be beginning the annual run of 10-v rates. In buying pollard, don't forgot that the white, iloury stuff is quite' tho best, be-' cause it contains a liigh fieding value. As a lino to go on remember that the coarse, yellow stuff should be turned down. (Jet it white and floury. The lien.that becomes over-fat is never so good afterwards, and.the cock bird that gets Boundly beaten in a fight is not so good to .breed from as the bird that whips him. • , The All-round Breeds. . There are signs that the all-round breeds are beginning-'tp assume their rightful placo in public estimation. The breeds'tliat will provide broody hens, birds for the table, and pullets to lay, eygs, all in tho same coat of. feathers—self-contained breeds, in . fact—are the breeds that aro best suited to tho requirements of the farmer and the ordinary householder. An all-round breed fhould be good to the farmer. for tho reasons just given.- and particularly lo in . regard to the marketing of table poultry, an in place of the skinny Leghorn, or Leghorn-crossbred cockerels, that he sends in at 1 resent he would have prime young heavy-weights that would bring him better money. Tho householder is in the same position—an allround general purpose breed is what he needs—and, as tho purposes and value of lhe all-rounders are more thorouglUy understood and appreciated, it is probable that they will have a good run.