POULTRY-KEEPING

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4508, 27 December 1922, Page 4

POULTRY-KEEPING

CLEANING UP THE PLANT. CONTROL OF VERMIN. (By F. C. Brown, Chief Poultry Instructor, in the Journal of Agriculture.,) With, all stock hatched .and the young chickens past the real danger period, every opportunity should be taken to clean, up the plant and do any odd jobs which may have been neglected during the busy season of hatching and rearing. Dirt means, encouragement of insect vermin and disease, and when these make their appearance poor returns follow as a matter of course. At no other time of the year will vermin multiply as they will in the warmer months. A fact to be remembered in this connection is that it is natural for a fowl to harbour vermin. To keep them in check continued vigilance is therefore imperative at t'he present time. All dirty litter and nesting material should be removed, and before this i-s renewed give every part, of the interior of the house a thorough spraying with disinfectant. This have the effect of keeping in l:heck red mite and fleas, wibich hide during the day and attack the fowls by night.

Dust baths should also be provided tp enable the birds to free tihemslelves from body lice, which live on 'the fowls at all times. Body lice aire certainly not so harmful .as red. mite, but nevertheless they should be discouraged in ! every possible way. No poultry plant is complete unless a dusting place is available tp the birds at all times. It is really nature’s method qf enabling a bird to free itself from parasitic life, and. it is surprising ihpw few poultry-keepers realise this fact. There is no place a bird delights bettqr to dust in than a spad-ed-up piece of ground on the sunny side of a shrub in the run. Any dust bath should be frequently turned, over, as slightly moist earth, is greatly appreciated by th© birds, especially during hot weather. When a dusting place is provided under cover Lt will not be appreciated by the birds unless it is frequently freshened up by the addition of new material, and kept moist by means of a spray of water.

When a bird’s beak is seen tp be continually working among its feathers the presence of body lice may be regarded as certain. It is not, generally known that in the majority of cases’ .the habit of feather-pulling is due to irritation caused by heavy infestation of lice or mites, especially where the birds are being kept under closely confined conditions. Strict at-

tention to cleanliness, constant warfare against vermin, and giving the birds ample range are among the essentials for preventing the acquisition of this bad habit. Broody hens should not be allowed to r.emaip on the nest day aftei- day. This not only means a loss in eggs, but it encourages the presence of insect pests.. Immediatlyy a bird is found on the nest by night it should be removed to the bloody coop. If this course is taken the desire to sit will probably be broken in two or three days,, whereas if the hen is left on the nest longer it may take at. least a week for the bloody fever to pass. The floor of a broody epop should be made of battens —-say, about lin apart. It should also be raised a few inches above ground level. This allows of a free circulation of cold air under the bi'rd, which rapidly assists towards breaking the desire to sit. CARE OF THE YOUNG STOCK.

It should be needless to remind readers that the present period is’ a very trying one for young stock. This involves the necessity for good feeding and careful managdmenr, in older that there > may be no check in development. Shade is a valuable asset in hot weather; indeted, young stock cannot possibly thrive without it. Upon the treatment a pullet receives during t! he developing period very largely depends her success' as a layer. A common mistake, in thesle days or running a large number of stoek in a confined space, is to keep the young birds under what might be termed hothouse conditions. Tee consequence is that they are overforced, and therefore have not the necessary stamina demanded of the profitable laying bird. All young stock should have as much range as possible, in order that a maximum amount of exercise may be taken, the exception, of course, being birds that are being prepared for market. Another fault in developing <the layer is in ovcrfoiicing it by means of stimulating foods, such as meat, milk, etc., with a view tp bringing it to a laying point at an early age. Early matin ity is all very well in its way, but the poultryman can pay too dear a price for it, as disaster may easily follow in its ,train. Such birds are more susceptible .to disease, z to variation of condition, and generally have not the same strength for heavy egg production as the properly developed bird that comes to lay in a natural way. Besides, the bird forced to maturity will never g)’ow to a desired size, nor can it be depended upon to lay a good marketable-pized egg. By all means’ breed >to secure early-ma-turing stock in season, but let nature take its course as to thte time the laying period should commence. Generally speaking about six months is the proper time for a bird of a laying strain tp start her laying season,

and this may even be extended in the case of hfeavier breeds. PTOMAINE POISONING. In the last October number of the Journal the matter of fo.wls dropping dead from no apparent cause was dealt, with. This is what is usually teirned by poultrymen “limberneck," for the reason that an affected bird loses control of title neck muscles, which sometimes causes, the bird to become bent forward to such an extent that it almost touches the ground. The writer has made, many post-mortem examinations of birds affected in this way, and in almost every case it was observed that the neck had a decided twist. This, however, is merely a symptom, indicating a derangement of the digestive system due to ptomaine poisoning. The eating of putrid meat, decayed vegetables, mouldy bread, etc., are common causes of this trouble. The worst case of the kind that has come under my notice, and where the zmortality was great, was solely due to the birds having access to a hole in the ground where dead fowls, decaying vegetables, etc,, were thrown from time to time. Where the the symptoms mentioned are observed the only safe course is to endeavour to' clear the bird’s system of the poison. For this purpose there is’ nothing better than a dose of Epsom salts. Give about a loz packet for every twelve birds in t,he affected pen, dissolving the salts in the water with which the mash is mixed. Of course, as with most other troubles which affect poultry, prevention is the only safe cours'e o,f dealing with this one, and the first thing necessary is to find the cause and remove it. In particular one should make sure that there are no dead carcases or tainted matter lying about, and that unwholesome foodstuffs are not supplied.