GENERAL NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1933, Page 13

GENERAL NOTES

Intending purchasers of day-old chicks should not expect the poultrymau to be able to deliver them on command. Orders are best placed well ahead, and delivery must be taken when they are incubated, not when the bloody hen is ready for them. Some breecfers do have hatches coining oft' every, few days and may be'able to supply, at shqut notice. lThef!?"is"'an old'belier that hatching eggs' .should/ he -"rested" for..^2|....JiQ)irs ■iffpr t]}e,y have b,een shaken up,., through tfaVerfinjr. - OTGirelu! u&seVWents' TiAvc sh»V»'tliitt;.thii^b?p|ißfiLhjis,:)ip;f.ojj»diiti^n, arid eggs niay' be set immediately they .are received. Kemember that lrai-ehing- eggs should be as fresh as possbile when set, if the best results are desired.

Poultry, liuve two vermin enemies—body lice, which live on theiv bodies, and red mite, which live near their perches and crawl on them ;it jiight. A good dust bath and frequent dustings with insect powder or sulphur, will destroy body lice. Cleanliness and the regular application of coal tar oil on all wooden fittings in the fowlhouse will keep away reel mite. Old sheds, built of cracked timber which has not been disinfected, are almost certain to bo infested with mite. 'Perches should be removable for ready cleaning and inspection. All heavy breeds should bo hatched as soon as possible, and light breed chicks should be hatched during September or early October. Those hatched later in the season will take longer to mature and will not lay well during the dear egg autumn months. Do not expect pullets to lay earlier than six months of age. If they lay before their bodies are well developed, they will not be able to produce full-sized eggs. Just at present there is a keen demand for table poultry* and this will continue right up to and just after Christmas. Go carefully through your birds and cull out any that yon think are too fat or which will not be required next season. So long Sis eggs remain at their present low price it hardly pays to keep any birds that are not first-class producers. Most people dispose of. their surplus birds about February)'and the market value declines during the autumn months. Dispose of nil'unwonted'-male birds as quickly, as possible. The hens will lay just as well without a, male bird, nnd then1 eggs will keep better. in._the hot weather. Feeding costs must be kept at the lowest level if profits are a consideration. Cock birds over twelve m.onths old are not in keen demand as table birds, their flesh being coarse and dark. As the season advances, watch that the earlier hatched chicks, usually the most valuable ones, are not neglected. October and November are very busy months for every poultrykeeper, and he must work long hours to keep pace with the demands of lijs charges.