POULTRY NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 23372, 15 September 1939, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT.

Constant Reader ” asks the quantity of borac put into water for the purpose of preserving eggs? One of borac to 25 of water is all that the water would hold in solution, so I presume that would bo the solution required. 1 have never heard of borac being used for preserving eggs. The use of borac in • the preservation of other foods is prohibited. THE HUSKLESS OAT.

The hushless oat is expected to be a great asset in general stock and poultry feeding. Experiments have proved it to be a very robust cereal, which stands up well to adverse conditions and has a very wide soil range. The grain is stated to hold well, not shedding or falling easily. A small percentage of this huskless oat has already been sown in New Zealand. Following is an English analysis of the food values of huskless and ordinary oats: — Huskless. Ordinary. Moisture ... ... 13.07 13.3 Protein 16.12 10.3 Oil 4.13 4.8 Corbohydrates ... 64.15 36.2 Fibre 6.75 10. t» Ash 1-28 3.1

“ DEAD IN SHELL” PROBLEM

Some experiments have been carried out with iodine with satisfactory results in relation to that great problem “ dead in shelf.” It has reduced the scourge in certain cases. It would appear that iodine assists growth, fertility, and hatchability. If that is the case it must necessarily follow that it has a beneficial effect on egg production. It builds up and tones the system of the birds so that they have a great resistance to disease. The birds’ ability to absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium depends on the presence of iodine. The majority of the poultry foods on the market to-day do not contain a sufficiency of iodine. It is true that cod liver oil contains a very limited trace of it. It is present in good fish meal, in a better ratio but still not enough to do the work that is expected of it. Minerals are not yet fully understood. Good white fish meal and good alfalfa meal contain practically all the minerals required oy the _ birds and meat and hone meal contain some but not all. The fowls also draw a lot of mineral matter from fresh green food and a liberal supply of this should always be kept before the fowls. The elusive iodine must be supplied to get the most satisfactory results. It assists digestion and it gives the birds a great resistance to bacterial infection and toxins and disease.. There is no doubt that every thinking poultryman must see that a sufficiency of iodine has been added to the mashes. It helps growth, development of the body, and reproductive organs, increases egg production and fertility, prevents to a certain extent dead in shell, and at the same time prevents disease, as it enables the birds to resist them. , , , . , It must not, however, be fed in large quantities as the fowl can only deal with it in very minute quantities, it should be introduced regularly if good results are to be obtained. There is an iodised oyster shell meal on the market which will also assist in introducing iodine.—' Weekly Scotsman. THE DUST BATHS. To maintain and promote the health and comfort of confined fowls, sunshine, good food, exercise, and a dust bath are essential. With regard to the dust bath a good size for six fowls is 2ft 6in wide, 3ft long, Ift 6in high at the eaves, and 2ft 3in to the ridge. If the bath is placed inside the house there need be no coyer to it, consequently only the height of the box and its width and length need be considered.

THICK EGG-WHITE IN EGGS. It is stated in tbe Beltonville, United States, records that it has been shown

Contributions and questions for answering should be addressed to “ Utility-Fancy,” Poultry Editor, ‘ Star ’ Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each week. ” UtilityFancy ” will only answer communications through this column. (Advertisements for this column must bo handed In to the office before 2 p.m. on Thursday.)

By “UTILITY-FANCY”

that the percentage of thick egg white in eggs is inherited. That means that it is claimed to be a distinct heritable character, but there is as yet'no proof that poor white is not due to an hereditary weakness in some strains or even individuals. There is more work to be done, and it is hardly the poultryman’s work, unless he is prepared to look at it from the scientific point and have chick pens or controls. It is of more immediate importance to note that these workers have determined that eggs from five different lines of White Leghorns vary widely in their inherent ability to retain their quality in regard to thick egg white while in storage, although there were no significant differences among them when fresh. Here is a test that is much easier to make. A box or crate of marked eggs could be cold-stored, and later on examine each, and thus find the hens that laid the poor keepers, it would then be proper to test again and note if the same result was obtained. The next step would be by breeding from each lot and testing inheritance perhaps with a second bred-in test to find if there is segregation. Just as well, also, to make careful note of foods and feeding, so that the substance may not be mistaken for the shadow. One has to remember that these points cannot be worked out with any but scientifically “ line ” bred or more accurately selected strains. Where it is a case of batching chickens you can do nothing more than ascertain the facts of these.—D. F. Lauri.

OLIVE OIL FOR DAY-OLD CHICKS.

An English poultry breeder claims to obtain splendid results by feeding olive oil to chicks purchased from hatcheries. The ration consists of bran and olive oil; one teaspoonful to one handful of bran from the first day. From the second to the fifth day three feeds a day are given of one part bran, one part oatmeal, and two parts kibbled wheat, plus the olive oil. Later feeding consists of two feeds of wet mash and two feeds of grain alternately. This method he found the best way to feed table chickens. MAKING LIME WATER FOR FOWLS. Water at a normal temperature will dissolve 13)gr of lime to the pint only —no more and no less—provided the lump of lime was big enough to provide the quantity stated. _A lump of lime the size of an orange will certainly provide a gallon of lime water. The lime to use is fresh burned, but not slaked, HAVE FLOCK MATED TWO WEEKS. Tbe flock should be mated up 10 days to two weeks before eggs are saved for hatching. While sometimes individual hens will lay all fertile eggs after two days of mating, it is best to play safe on flock mating and wait about two weeks before eggs are set. If a mating is to be changed it is necessary to have a male absent from the flock three weeks before it is safe to put in a new male. By the end of three weeks all eggs _ produced by the flock should be infertile. . REMEDY FOR COLDS. An old-fashioned remedy for colds contracted through draughts and damp premises is used by many poultry keepers, viz., equal parts of aniseed, fenugreek, ginger, and liquorice pulverised and mixed into a powder. You can mix a teaspoonful for every dozen fowls into the wet mash. It appeals to the fowls and will do the nnaffectcd birds no harm. A GOOD TONIC. If the hens have had a long sequence of laying you could give the entire flock a course of Douglas mixture which is an excellent tonic and has been in use for generations. It is quite easily prepared. Dissolve 4oz of

sulphate of iron in one gallon of water. When dissolved, pour in half an ounce of suphuric acid very gradually. This must bo done in an earthenware jar. Let the mixture stand for a day before bottling. It is as well to label the bottles in case of accident. One teaspoonful to each half pint of drinking water is about tho correct way to serve this. Jt should bo given every third or fourth day. If put into the warm water used in mixing the wet mash it ensures all tho birds getting a share. THE BACKYARD HEN. Those people who are inclined to decry the backyard method of poultrykeeping overlook the fact that many a big man in the poultry line has been at” one time a backyarder. It was as such he learned his business, how to manage fowls and how to observe closely. To such a beginner to observe a particular pullet or hen in a flock of 100 or even 60 is too big a task, but he can learn by watching half a dozen birds. Even then it is not too easy; but gradually one gets the habit of picking out first one bird and then another, and as one’s knowledge and observation increase he is able to single out birds with infallible accuracy. And with the exception of the farm flock the backyarder is the most profitable source of eggs. In the first place tho cost of food can be kept low on account of the utilisation of waste, not only from the owner’s table, but all kinds of garden refuse, which would be otherwise, wasted, can be put to good use. The labour cost is nil, for birds kept under such conditions are regarded as a hobby. Usually the flock is a small one, for half a dozen pullets will give all the eggs that most households require. Aim because the flock is small it receives exceptional care, and this results in a higher average egg production than with many larger flocks. Finally, the cost of the house and equipment need not be great, while the land used is often unproductive and not required for crops. SUITABLE DIET. In working out a suitable diet for one’s stock the conditions under which the birds are kept must be taken into consideration. A somewhat modified diet can be given to birds on a tree compared with that for birds kept on large grass runs, or in small runs in a garden or back yard. JNot only must quality be taken into account, but the supply of animal, vegetable, or heat-producing foods must vary under these very different conditions. This applies more particularly to the spring and summer months. During this period the birds with free range require practically no animal or green food, as they should be able to obtain these on free range. On large grass runs a limited amount of animal food will be obtainable during this period, but in the small run it will usually be found necessary to supply the birds with all they require of those two important foods. During the autumn and winter, feeding should be very similar under all conditions} the fowls on the range will be unable to obtain any quantity of their animal or green food. CONSTANT FEEDING FAVOURS WORMS. Interesting evidence as to the danger of continuous feeding of dry mash was advanced by Mr Ernest Gray, poultry pathologist at the East Anglican Institute of Agriculture, at a recent conference on nutrition convened by the British Medical Association. During some recent experiments on fowl paralysis he found it far easier to parasitise birds in whose troughs food was always present than birds fed at only two periods a day—morning and middle of the afternoon. When food is always before the birds, he explained, their intestines ate never empty, and parasites are not moved on by the normal act of excreting the waste.