POULTRY-KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4561, 9 May 1923, Page 4

POULTRY-KEEPING.

WINTER MANAGEMENT. (By F. C. Brown Chief Poultry Instructor, Wellington). In anticipation of cold winter weather it is well to remember that if fowls are to produce a good return in egg-yield everything must be in their favour. This is not to imply that they should be coddled in warm, ill-ventilated quarters. They should be intelligently handled, especially as regards being protected from extremes of weather. A necessary provision is that the house should be roomy, with an open or partly open front as a means of admitting sunshine and fresh air, i those great essentials to the wellbeing of the domesticated fowl. Of course, it must be draught-proof — there must be no cracks in the sides or back walls—or colds, roup, and other troubles may be expected. With such a house the birds can be fed inside during wet weather, and fed early in the evening, so that they will not be moping about with wet plumage waiting for their evening meal to be thrown down in a muddy yard. All whole-grain food should be fed in deep litter as a means of inducing the birds to exercise as much as possible. There should always be odd grains of food in the litter, in order to keep the birds busy scratching for tt. Every endeavour should be made to discourage the birds from resting on their perches by day, as this is apt to cause an over fat condition—a state which does not tend towards promoting heavy egg-production. This does not mean that the ration should be reduced in order to check a production of surplus fat. On the conrary, it means liberal feeding, but by a method which ensures that the birds are made to work to secure at least the greater part of their food. In the long nights of the winter months the birds have ample time to rest without doing so during the day. The life of the laying hen should be a busy one, and only in this condition will she prove to be really profitable. In dealing with colds (which young birds especially are liable to take at this period of the year), the best advice is to look for the cause and remove it at once. If any birds become affected a simple method of checking the trouble is to place sufficient Condy’s crystals in the drinking-water to give it a piuk colour. The most common causes of colds are exposure to cold and wind, and ill-ventilated or draughty houses, while damp, dirty, overcrowded quarters aie often responsible. The symptoms are sneezing, eyes • watering, nostrils closed, breathing deep, and offensive breath, while generally a bird thus affected als has an unthrifty appearance. EGG PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY. The fact that fresh eggs were being retailed in Wellington just before Christmas at l/2d. a dozen, and gradually increased in price to 3s. a dozen by the middle of March, has caused considerable comment by the consulting public, and many are asking themselves if this great difference in price over such a short period is justified, and whether the extreme fluctuation in prices was based on the’ law of supply and demand ■or on manipulation of the market. Whatever the answer, the fact remains that the great variation in price during the period mentioned was far too great to be of much real benefit to either the producer or the consumer. What is required is a more uni-

form price throughout the year as an inducement to keep the public eating eggs. This can only be brought about by poultry-men breeding more of. their pullets to produce autumn eggs, or by a proper system of co-operation among producers for the purpose of cool-storing some of the summer surplus in shell for table use during the less productive seasons. It is only when poultrymen realize the necessity of making the best use of the refrigerator (as is done by the dairy-farmer) as a means of holding any summer surplus for use during the scarce season that consumption will materially increase and the market become stabilized.