POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 293, 6 September 1919, Page 12

POULTRY NOTES

(By "Chanticleer.") ; "

Foratelilng the sox. Every now and agaih we hear o£ somo method of foretelling the sex of eggs prior to incubation. They como along, occupy "the stage for a littlo while, and then shuffle oil into the limbo of tilings forgotten. There ia nothing in any of the, theories put forward for the toretelling of sex—there Is no way of telling the sex in an egg until you hatch it, and sec how the chick turns out, and this is the reason why it can't be done. "For the first few days after the incubation process begins, the chicken in euibyro is assexual, and on the seventh day hernia.phroditic, containing -within itself elementary organs pertaining to both kxm. After this stage It verges in one direction or another, one set of organs diminishing as the other increases. It will be seen.that the merest accident determines the future of the bird, the nutritive values obtainable from the pabulum .reaching constitutionally or otherwise. 0:1 the growing organs of sex. Thus since the germ of life can have 110 sexual attributes ,it is obvious that there can be 110 method of foretelling sex in the egg." On Creon Food. Green food is absolutely neccsmry where healthy fowls and strongly fertile eggs are desired. The salino and mineral properties in the green stuff have a marked influenco in the matter of egg production; and particularly so iu regard to strong germs in eggs. CaEes are 011 record -whero the percentage of hatching prcatly improved when greenstuff was liberally fed every day, nnd the chicks came out bright and clean. There is 110 doubt that Fomo part of the "dead-in-shell" trouble is caused by the failure or inability to supply green food liberally and frequently, 'l'hat is to say, in ray experience, the man who is able to feed it every day has fewer dead chicks in the shell than the man who omits, or iB unable to supply it to the birds. TVhy is it? Because the greenstuff keepß the parent stock in Eiich good health that they are able to implant strong germs in tho egga. Nates for the Novice, Feed wheat only to sitting hens. Why? Because it. aoos not sour on the stomach, <ind is more sustaining than soft stuff. A hen cannot count, but she has a good eye for colour and size. If the chicks nre all of tho sayio size nnd colour you can give a broody as many• as you want to; but if they are bigger or of different colour, the litfji will pick them out at onco and may kill them. As the result of experience, I believe that 70 ia the limit of the number of chicks for one brooder, and that 50 will be found a better number for satisfactory growth and general results. The supply of proper food is, of course, n. very important item in the successful roaring of chicks, but don't forget that fresh air, sunshine (at this time of tho year), and plenty of exercise, are also Important. * The hustling, hungry chickens, always on tho move, always looking for grub, arc t-K ones that develop into strong adult birds. The weak chicks—those that are shoved aside in the rush for food, that mope about ivith dropped wings, and turn in at night ivith a puffy, poorly filled cropare the ones that don't grow into strong adult birds, even if they are allowed to live—a thing which no up-to-date thinking poultry keeper would dream of permitting. In no circumstances docs it pay to rear weakly chickens. Kill at once, all thoso that show unmistakable signs of physical weakness. Nature causes lots of chicks t. be hatched that are never intended to grorc into adult birds. In the natural state, a big percentage of youngsters would he killed by enemies, and others would die from all sorts of causes, leaving only tho best—those that win through. Nowadays, the mail with his incubators and his brooders, is able to hatch and roar thousands of chicks, and there aro no natural enemies to polish off tho weak ones, -which means that the man must wipo them out. You see, the natural scheme is just the r-ame as it always was, and the man and his machines are details that don't count, in it. Tho question of canonising might be worth considering as a means of greater profit in tho poultry industry. It might also solve the problem as to how to utiliso tho superfluous cockerels to the best, advantage. A good remedy for scaly leg.-Kerosino two parts, castor oil two parts, borao acid ono part. J[ix and let stand for 24 hours. Well rub into the leg, with two days between each application until cured. When Keeping fowls in small runs, an extra, plot of ground Bhould bo reserved lor the growing of green feed, which is indispensable if tiie birds are to do well and Keep \vell.

J'! ® x '"f a broofly hen always make tlio neat on the ground. Why? Because tho drawn up from it, through tlio eggs, by the "warmth of the hen's body makes for a good hatch. Use crushed charcoal in the yards and 2MM ave , hcalt,iy widE it ia a fDlendid internal cleansing agent. The bowels are the best indicators of condition. When tho droppings are firm and dark colours, and oapped. with -white tho general health Is good and the food is right