POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 20132, 23 March 1929, Page 25

POULTRY NOTES

“ S.S.”—No part of a fowlbonse or run may bo within 20ft of ;i dwelling. “ Worried.”—lfc may bo that the fowls have had access to unslaked lime, tainted food, or some poisonous plant, possibly the wild convolvulus. You should smell and taste the wheat, pollard, and bran to ascertain whether it is sour or musty. The symptoms suggest tainted food, or that the fowls have access to something causing inflammation of the intestines- It may be, however, that your fowls aro suffering from dysentery for the pale combs, ruffled plumage; and blood in dropping also indicate that. If so, the cause may bo that the Floor of the fowlhonso is too low ami damp, if so, raise the lloor_at least Gin above the outside level with clean soil, ami cover thickly with chaff. This will make a dry lloor, and the new dry soil will deodorise the droppings. I recommend withholding food for one day and putting Epsom salts in the water. The next morning feed lightly, ami give Parrish’s chemical food (one tcaspooni'ul.to the pint of water). Two drops of chlorodyno in a teaspoonful of water gives speedy relief if any particular case is urgent; for older fowls give three to six drops. Vinally “Worried ” should note that the whole cause of the trouble may be unclean water, or water, however clean, put into unclean vessels. Mr 11. Atkinson. Sidcy street, Caversham, recently landed from Australia a very nice trio of Columbian Wyanrlottos from one of the most successful breeders in Sidney, bred from imported stock. Mr W. Henderson (Dunedin), son of the well-known fancier of Black Langshans, is importing a trio of birds of bis fat tier’s fancy. A breed that has recently made its appearance, in Dunedin are Barncvcklers. These birds are to he seen in the yards of Mr IT. L. Sprosen, Dunedin, and Dir A. E. Poultcr, of St. Kilda. Dir U. Trcgoa, Musselburgh, who this season gut two sittings of eggs from Australia, is importing a trio of Light Sussex from the same source.

[By UTILITY-FINCY.]

Male or female? There is often some doubt until the birds begin to eithei crow or lay eggs whether the different sexes have been properly separated. There are, however, several alleged methods of distinguishing the sex of chickens even at the earliest age. For instance, the male chicks are coarser and heavier, and the scales coarser; the female more frail and delicate. Male chicks, if held up by the back of the neck with two fingers, will, it is said, drop its legs, but the females will draw them up close to the body. Or if the male is held up by the feet, hanging head downwards, it will hang limp and extended, but the females will struggle and draw the body up towards the feet.

Eowl Hospitals.—A contemporary (Australia) says that fowl hospitals are a snare and a delusion. The cost of medicine, he says, and the time spent in fussing with sick’ birds is usually more than they are worth. The best cure is to kill the fowl unless it is it valuable one. A fowl which 1 ; been sick onto is likely to be sick again. What my contemporary says is true enough, and the same thing has been said in these notes repeatedly, but there are exceptions, and so many of them that every poultrykeeper should provide a, “hospital,” ie.—a coop in which a bird can bo placed directly it shows itself to be out of sorts. One or two days’ separation from the flock on special diet, or kept absolutely without food or treated with Epsom salts or Douglas mixture may save many a bird to profit. The coop_ is always handy, too, in case of a bird going broody when a broody is not wanted. Two or three clays in the coop, if placed there at once, will put a bird back to laying. Eggs to Counteract Influenza. —Dr Henderson, the famous authority on food, speaking at a conference, stated that eggs as a basis of diet, counteracted gastric influenza (says the South Wales ‘Evening Express’). Ho added that., although the caloric value of the egg is well known, and its food value generally appreciated, it was surprising that more eggs were not consumed, especially by those who had to take a cheap, nourishing, and economic meal in the middle of the day. The Value of Pedigree.—Poultrymen who strive for improvement through breeding aro in great need of pedigree records. Generations of poultry follow each other in more rapid succession than in the case of most farm animals; so the poultry breeder deals with vastly greater numbers. Whereas a, man’s memory serves him fairly efficiently in the case of a relatively small herd of cattle, it is almost hopeless to try to remember pedigrees for a large.; flock of chickens. A single great performance at the nest or a show bird of unusual excellence means little in the line of breeding progress unless it is known by which mating it was produced. To know the pen from which it came is not enough. To know which particular pair of birds gave it parentage is what is needed most. —-* Poultry World.’

A great deal of trouble through fowls going wrong would not occur if utility poultry-keepers realised, as the old-time fanciers did, that iron in some form is necessary to the fowl. In the ordinary dietary provided fowls do not obtain that amount of iron which their systems require. This loss should lie made up in some way. The old-time fanciers did this by means of a few rusty nails in the drinking water or an old horseshoe. The more modern method is to put, into a pint of water a piece of sulphate of iron the size of a bean. After this has been done and the water has been exposed to the air lor a considerable time it will become yellow in colour. If the proper amount of iron sulphate bas been used, this tint will be a light, not a dark, colour. If it is of an orange lute, too largo a crystal bas been used, and this is not desirable. Neither is it desirable always to have the drinking water medicated in this manner. Once at the beginning of the week and again at the cud is sufficient, allowing the water so treated to-remain in the vessel for a whole day on each occasion. There are other ways of medicating drinking water. It is not a bad idea occasionally to pour a little Parrish’s chemical food into it. This is a good tonic for fowls, and also an enricher, though probably it is belter given in capsule form. The empty capsules can be bought from most chemists, and filled with any medicine or oil by the poultry-keeper as required. Water in which quassia chips have been steeped is also valuable. This will tone the birds up, and they grow to like the bitter taste-

Teaching the Chicks to Poosi.—. .Brooder chicks not having mothers to teach them the various things, must he taught by someone. Chicks should be taught to roost after they aro two or three weeks old. The best way is to teach them gradually. Nail a number of laths ou blocks about 2in high, and stand these just at the edge of the hover or underneath it. Put it there in the daytime, and lift a few chicks on to it a few times. The rest will soon follow, and they frill hop up and down it tor a while, and some will remain on it at night. Alter they have all become accustomed to this nail the laths on higher blocks, say about Gin or Gin above the floor. This will bo a little harder for them to get up on, but they will have become accustomed to the laths, and will jump up on it. The Principle of .Regression.—There is a principle or law operating in the direction of throwing back, and that is

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed to Utility-Fancy, Poultry Editor, ‘ Star ’ Office, and received not lator than Tuesday ox each week. “ Utility-Fancy ” will only answer communications through this column. Advertisements for this column mast be banded in to the office before 2 p.m. on Friday.

regression. There will he regression or a decrease in production unless the heeding stock he selected from the highest producers. When no selection of any kind is practised, the tendency is downward. The average of all the ancestry is pulling backward. Selection is necessary if the breeder is to do no more than maintain the standard ol production. He cannot “ rest upon his laurels” without going backward. He must select and continue to select. TWENTY-FOURTH PAPANUI. EGGLAYING COMPETITION. Leading Pens, Forty-ninth Week Ended March 9 (343 days). Test I.—J. H. Shaw Memorial Challenge. Light and Heavy Breeds.

Black Qrpingtous. Week’s Weight. Eggs. oz. drs, Tl.

Test ll.—White Leghorn Single Hen. Owner Enters 3 Birds. Highest Aggregates.

—Single Hen Test.— Owner enters 3 birds. Test 111.—A.0.V. Light Breeds, Except White Leghorns, Highest Aggregate. Anconas.

Test Vl.—Flock Teams, Six Birds. White Leghorns. Week’s Weight. Eggs. oz. drs. Tl.

Test Vll.—Single Ducks. Owner Enters 3 Birds. Elighe.st Aggregate. Pckins.

F. I). Dal/.id ... 4 9 8 900 H. J. .Ballin ... 5 11 11 170 White Leglior ns. L. J. Knowles ... 5 10 10 290 Master Liggins ... 3 6 6 268 E. V. Crouch ... 4 9 10 267 E. J. lloss 5 11 2 267 Green Bros .‘5 7 5 ' 266 A. C. Goodlct ... 6 V2 4 264

i —' Cl ct Is 6 6 6 % y y y. H H. Williams ... 28(3 257 218 — 791 Green Bros, 282 252 250 — 7(34 J. M. Campbell ■ 2G1 24(5 242 — 752 J. W. Thomson 227 285 255 — 747 A. C. Goodlet 223 201 2(53 — 747 II, Harrison 250 258 254 — 742 J. Gold ... ... 200 281 259 — 710

1 — ’ Cl rz 6 ~ 6 O A V. a, S; 11. Mitchell 191 192 109 — 54 G R. Pearce IPS 170 172 — 51G Test IV.—Black Orpingtons Only. ,T. M. Campbell 178 290 270 — 081 A. R. Reekie ... 207 2-1(1 200 — 619 A. M. Espic ... 181) 291 21U — 021 Test V.—A.O.V. Heavy Breeds Thau Black Orpingtons. Other D. P. O'llcrn (W.W.) - 218 17G 202 — 590 J. R. OH (Ten (L.S.) 21)9 122 2L3 — 510 J. Kingslnnd (It. 111.) ■ ... 209 1.-19 21.0 — 5/4 C. Bartlev (R.I.R.) ... 179 171 192 — 5-90

H. Harrison ... 29 Gl ii 1,535 11. W. Beck ... 21 -Hi i 1,122 F Hawes ... ... 2b 00 i 1,421 (* . iSkiirr ... 2!) ()•] u 1,270 J. Bobbitt ... 22 50 4 1.368 A. Wool Icy ... 26 55 1 1,319

r-f Cl cr d ■ k: y y 'o J. AV. Thomson 231 2S5 — 5J 0 Mrs A. Little195 225 — 410 H. A. Diuvbcr — 220 190 — 410 Indian Runners. J. AV. Thomson 222 290 503 — 821 H. A. JJawbtT ’ll) 1. 501 178— 670 A. C. Ad,sett 250 R)9 167 — 596 C. K. Barnett 291 278 — — 572 It. AV. Ilawlco ■ 214 — 290 — 540 F. it. Cotton 155 171 206 — 510