BROODING THE CHICKS

Evening Post, Issue 28, 1 August 1936, Page 25

BROODING THE CHICKS

AVOIDING MISTAKES

Chicken time! No matter if the owner be a novice or an old-timer, the first chicks of the year always produce fres,h heart and. a keener interest. As with the New Year, good resolutions are made that previous mistakes will be avoided, and a better batch of pullets will'be reared than ever before. There is much to learn if artificial brooding is to give the" best results, more particularly when large numbers of chicks must; be reared on a limited area of ground. The novice is usually favoured with fresh ground,,untainted by adult stock, which is the first requirement for successful chicken rearing on the freerange system; the expert with larger numbers to deal with must resort Ib more complicated methods of overcoming disease infection. With the sudden popularity of mammoth electric incubators, it is safe to predict the introduction of battery brooders. Certainly a few are already in use, but? as yet little interest has been displayed by the majority of poultrymen. These brooders are made entirely of metal, and the chicks are kept in trays tiered one above the other so that as many as 5000 can be kept in a comparatively small room. They run on fine wire mesh floors with trays underneath to catch their droppings, and their food and water is placed in troughs situated outside their cages. Once the chief points of management are appreciated labour costs are reduced considerably and excellent results obtained, but expert knowledge is required, and. on large plants this wprk is left to a specialist. As a rule the chicks are kept, in the battery brooders for not longer than two weeks, sometimes less, when they are then moved to cooling-off brooders, not unlike the usual brooding system, in use today on most larger plants. ' .'• One. resolution that every poultrykeeper should make if better profits are to result is that of rearing less chicks, but of rearing them well witha minimum of losses and a minimum of culls.' Chicks are so easy to hatch now that poultrymen are, inclined to neglect them,, particularly after they are weaned from artificial heat. Better breeding stock,, more care in preparation of brooding and rearing accommodation, and : full. attention .-to feeding methods must be considered if improvement is to be made. Feed prices are higher, than ever, .and as yet no scheme for improving the marketing of eggs has been submitted, so that due care must be taken if a profitable livelihood is to result from commercial egg production. It has often been said that the successful poultryman is the man who can rear his chicks, well.- .'■ , ■ . " :, WHERE TO OBTAIN ADVICE. A few novices appear to think that an, experienced poultryman can explain in a few -iyords how to successfully fear chicks, but this is impossible. A knowledge of farm life and plenty of common sense will work wonders in chicken rearing. For large numbers the management of a good type of brooder must be mastered by experience, and constant care is required for the first few weeks. Once weaned all that the chicks will require is good feed, plenty :'of fresh air and exercise, and a chance to-range over ground that is not disease Infected. : Good sanitation is most important; dampness must be avoided at all costs; overcrowding must not be permitted; and each batch of chicks should be reared away-from any others since it is fatal to rear chicks of varying pgesin the same yard. '',',. .„ Small batches of chicks can be successfully reared with a little, care. They should have artificial warmth for the first- three, weeks at least, but as they feather less heat is needed..Many unique devices have been, arranged for brooding purposes, ranging from a sheep's skin and hot water bottle to a special compartment in the range hot water cupboard. . Small brooders are not easy to purchase, since there is only a limited demand, and the price is higher than many consider reasonable. .As with other appliances, however, it pays to purchase a suitable brooder if chicks are,.;to be- reared every year. The:amount- ofikerosene used is negligible, and, feeding costs! for baby chicks for the first month are much lower, than most people consider. By purchasing sexed pullet chicks, the old trouble of having to accommodate a whole batch of cockerels ,is dispensed .; with, to everybody's '■ advantage. If buying a brooder, obtain : the maker's instructions, or, better ; still/ consult someone who -has used the type of brooder before. As a rule chicks do best in small units, though they can be. successfully brooded in batches of 1000.' \ SOUND ADVICE. :*.-': In- a recent' issue '.■of '.the "New-Zea-land Poultry Producer," attention is drawn, to the sale of diseased fowls.' The writer points out .the importance of preventing disease infection as much as'possible, and it is not generally known that there is-a penalty for selling diseased fowls through the public auction marts, ,or: for sending diseased poultry by rail! Sometimes harm is done through ignorance, but in many cases it is fostered by a desire to gain the last penny possible out of a bad job. During the past four months fowl pox has been very common in many Manawatu poultry flocks. One poultryman carrying nearly'looo birds collected only twelve dozen eggs one week when normally he would be getting two hundred dozen. In many cases the epidemic has been light, causing only a temporary slackening in production, but in some cases the mortality rate has.been as high as 25 per cent. If birds from infected flocks are sold, the disease is distributed, not only to the buyer's farm, but to the whole district. Common decency should stop anyone selling sick birds: or even selling stock from a farm where- there is more than the odd case of sickness. If the practice should become at all common, it is fairly certain that drastic action will be taken by the powers that be to stop it. It has been stated that fowl pox'is incurable. "This is correct in that once the disease is established no medicine will effect a sudden cure. The trouble' can belikened to measles, and it usually runs its course." But because there is ,no .complete cure it should not be considered that nothing can be done. With reasonable care a severe epidemic can be avoided by immediately isolating all infected birds to one part of the farm and treating the worst of them daily. By dipping the bird's mouth in a disinfecting solution healing will be promoted, and in the case of valuable birds individual treatment will.undoubtedly pay. Almost complete immunity can be procured by vaccination with a special vaccine procurable from the laboratory at Wallaceyille, but vaccination must be carried out when the pullets are from three to four months old. Often the degree of severity depends upon the general health of the flock concerned. If other parasitic diseases are present, such as intestinal worms or coccidiosis, fowl pox may work havoc in a few weeks. In America and Australia it is not uncommon for large ■ poultry-

men to vaccinate their entire flock of pullets early every autumn, since the disease is fairly common. HATCHABILITY AND VIBRATION. There is an old belief that fertile eggs for hatching purposes should be "rested", after a journey. Like some of the ideas for sexing eggs, this is one of the old beliefs handed down from our grandmothers which is not founded on fact. Many years ago the writer tried an experiment to test this theory. Two sittings of eggs 'were saved, all eggs coming from the same birds and each sitting identical in every manner. One sitting was placed under a hen straight from the egg room, whilst the other sitting was packed as usual for posting away and given a very thorough. shaking and twisting. Actually it was tossed between two people standing several yards apart for some minutes, and this after the eggs had been on the floor of a hardtired truck for 30 miles. In due course both sittings produced chicks, and there was no appreciable, difference between the results.. There is also an impression that vibration during incubation will affect hatchability, and as an apprentice the writer was not allowed to lean on or against an incubator "for. fear of shaking the eggs." Those that have operated the new electric incubators -will quickly appreciate that vibration cannot affect results, as with the motor attached to the incubator the vibration in some cases '■ is most noticeable. Again, an incubator has been operated close to an electric railway, where the vibration caused every window in the house to rattle, yet excellent results were obtained. TWO IMPORTANT SALES. Quite recently two prominent poultry breeders have disposed of their flocks. Mrs. J. A. B. Hellaby, probably the Dominion's ...leading lady breeder, has left for England, and all of her- pedigree birds were sold by auction last week. About the same time a clearing sale was held at Totara Poulteries 'at' Upper Hutt, being the property of Mr. G. S. Bates, a producer member of the New Zealand Poultry Board. At both sales good prices - were obtained for selected birds, although it is not the best time of the year for purchasing stock.. Mrs. Hellaby has been one of Auckland's leading breeders for many years, always supporting the egg-laying contests and poultry shows with great success, and her withdrawal from the ranks of breeders will be regretted by many customers. Although only ahbbbyin her case, her breeding operations were of the highest efficiency, and 'her Black Orpingtons are well known all over the country.