POULTRY NOTES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4446, 28 July 1922, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES.

Breeding for egg production is an art. A hen that does not produce a good percentage of hatchable eggs when young is not likely to be any better later. Brother and sister mating is th? usual form of inbreeding, and is generally looked upon as the most undesirable form’ of inbreeding. Yet it has the advantage of disclosing any weakness quickly.

For some reason or other very large eggs do not produce very large and strong chicks. Very small eggs, nor-mal-sized eggs for hatching purpose:. An egg-bound hen should first of al), have the vent -well oiled with' olive oil. The vent should then be held over a bucket of hot water for some minutes, after which the egg may be gently worked along the egg passage by pressure from the outside and will generally be expelled without much difficulty.

Poultry breeding is gradually becoming more like livestock breeding. It will, not be many years until every buyer of a cockerel to be used in the breeding yard will insist on knowing the sire and dam of. the cockerel before he buys the bird. The buyer will also want to know how many eggs the d,am of the cockerel produced and how many eggs were produced by the dam of; the sire of the cockerel he is buying.

Most persons find it necessary P. tal:e careful precautions against chick enemies during the brooding season. Cats, rats, hawks, and crows take a heavy toll every year. The value of chicks thus lost is greater than the cost of providing suitab'e coops and enclosures for them. It is doubtful if there is any way in which the chick-raiser can spend a little money so profitably as in thus protecting his broods. Coops that arc rat-proof should always be provided ; also reasonably go'dd'-sized covered nuns where cat's and hawks are to be feared. In cases of hawks, crows, etc, it may be necessary to keep the chicks in a comparatively small nursery pen close to the dwelling, so that they can be constantly under the eye of the caretaker. When there is a good dog a practical plan is to enclose the nursery pen in a high fence and keep the dog shut in near the chickens at least during the day.

Dropping boards in the laying house are provided chiefly, if not solely. in order to keep the litter clean and to give the fowls free access to the floor space under the perches. The commercial poultry-keper and the back garden, as a rule, will find that economy in floor space anil saving iin litter are of so much importance that they cannot afford to omit dropping boards, even though keeping them clean forms a serious item of labour cost. Dropping boards that are covered with several days’ accumulations of droppings are objectionable in appearance .and are apt to make the house foul smelling, though tte latter objection hardly applies in warm weather when the droppings dry quickly and form a good absorbant for the moisture in fresh droppings On the farm, where straw litter is comparatively inexpensive and where the fowls usually have access to the barn and other buildings, and therefore do not need the same amount of house room, it-frequently is practical to dispense with, dropp’ng boards, simply closing the space under the perches to form a pit where the droppings can be allowed to accumulate. Where this plan is adopted thw space under the perches should be boarded up to a height of! about two feet, not only to prevent .the droppings from being scratched out and mixed with the litter, but also to make the space dark so as to discou.age picking at .the droppings. In order to keep the house sanitary where this is done it is necessary to provide some good absorbent material, such as road dust, pnd, shavings, sawdust, etc., and <it will be found that so far as moisture or purity of air is concerned a house so handled will be just as sanitary as one equipped with dropping boards and laboriously cleaned every day. If sawdust is used it should be thoroughly dry. Such material taken from outdoor piles and more or less water soaked is not at all suitable for the purpose. It is doubtful if the “ipit” plan is really desirable under ordinary conditions, considering the waste of) floor space involved, but where the care of large flocks presents a serious labour problem it is practical. It, certainly is better than to allow the droppings to pie up indefinitely on platforms or to accumulate in the litter. .

Do not have too many females in the breeding pen. Before you stait Incubating for the seas,on have your thermometer tested. Should it be a degree out the trouble taken will save you pounds worth of eggs. Green feed is scarce at present, but nevertheless an effort should be made to secure a supply, be it even so small, for the fowls. It means money to the man who can supply it.