POULTRY-KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4501, 8 December 1922, Page 1

POULTRY-KEEPING.

(In tiie Journal of; Though hatching is now over for the season, December will prove a busy time for the poultry-keeper,, from the fact that the maximum amount of stock the plant will carry should be on hand. This implies the necessity of taking special care that

the quarters do not become overcrowded. The first thing necessary is the feeding and managing of all surplus cockerels to th;c best advantage, and getting rid of them immediately they attain an age of from four and a.half to five mouths. After this age they commence to produce their second feathers, and, obviously, when I this process commences, they lose ’ weight instead of gaining it, as they : cannot be expected to produce flesh 1 and feathers at the same time. It is surprising how much flesh chickens . will put on prior to the appearance of the second feathers if they have never received a check and are fed well and maintained in a healthy thriving state, and it is equally surprising how rapidly they will lose condition, when the second feathers commence to appear. The check during the development of *h n new covering is due not so much to the sudden and new demand on the bird’s system as to the fact that at this age, and especially in the lighter breeds, it will commence to indicate the propensities of nature’s development, even when the cockerels are running by themselves, by sparring and fighting and generally taking considerable exercise. All this is against flesh production. 'Therefore, if any money is to be. made out of /he cockerel it must be marketed in prime condition before the second-feather period. A point to be remembered in marketing cockerels early is that accommodation and runs' are saved, which is distinctly to the advantage Of the remaining stock, while more time is’ available to attend to the main function of the plant. A Chicken Trouble.—Many poultry keepers are having trouble with their chickens after removal from the heated brooder. The first symptoms are discolouration of the wings and hockjoints, and later the neck and head swell. At the latter stage death is usually not /ar off. Commonly when this trouble makes its appearance poultry-keepers confuse it with some serious epidemic form of disease over which. tjiey have no control. There is no epidemic about it; the cause —in all cases, at anyratc, which have come under my notice —has been mismanagement. It may bo easily brought about by overcrowding, damp quarters, and insufficient ventilation. A most common cause of 1 the trouble is bedding the chickens down with hay, wh’ch heats and brings on a sweated condition. Hay may be Used as bedding-material in a heated brooder, because it is there prevented from becoming damp, but with a tireless brooder it should never be used, or trouble may be expected at any time. Straw, straw-chaff, or even sand or dry earth aie always to bo preferred. There is no euro for the trouble referred to. It is merely a question of prevention. Do not overcrowd. provide ample ventilation, keep the quarters clean and dry, and chock anything that tends to create a moist atmosphere.