MAKING POULTRY PAY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4781, 26 November 1924, Page 4

MAKING POULTRY PAY.

PRACTICAL HINT'S ON TREATMENT (By William H. Cook, of Orpington, England. One of the difficulties met with by poultry keepers in every country is how to detect egg eating in birds, If your birds are red and rosy in their combs; go to their nest frequently, you may be sure they are laying then if no eggs result, where are thev going ? There may be a human thief, or the rats may be carrying them off, oi sucking them and then removing the shells in their entirety , and, thirdly, the' hens and often the cock bird may be eating the egg and shell as fast as they are laid. Now. you want to know how to tell the bird or birds so robbing you. Pay frequent visits to the house or pen between ten and twelve o'clock, catch and examine any bird which has a shiny looking beak, and you will find yolk of egg either on his or her comb, face, or wattles, and the white of egg adhering to the beak. Having caught the culprit, hold her under your left arm, the head in your left hand, and with a sharp penknife pare away the top point of beak until the soft part protrudes l-16th to l-Bth of an Inch, then trim the lower beak across. This makes the beak tender, does not affect the bird in pecking up the food, but does stop her driving her be,ak into the egg. All nests should be as dark as possible with plenty of straw in each. Should the nest face the light part of the house, tack on some strips of dark cloth 2% inches in width, avowing these to hang from the top to the bottom of the front of the nest. The birds push their way through to enter, and this in itself will often prevent egg eating. WEIGHT OF MALE BIRD.

Breeders who have the male bird running in the breeding pen for several weeks should now handle, him to find out his present condition. If he be one of the Leghorn ne should weigh about 51b., and if one of the heavy breed class, such as Sussex. Orpingtons, or Rhode Island Reds, his weight should not be less than 7lbs, while Wyandottes do not scale much more than 61bs.

Carefully examine him around the abdomen for lice, and if a white growth be attached to the feathers below the vent, these are eggs deposited by lice, which with the warmer weather will hatch out. These feathers should be pulled out and burnt, rubbing on to the skin one part paraffin to four parts of olive oil.

The legs or shanks should next ue examined for any roughness under the scale-6, which is the. commencement of scaly leg. The leg should je scrubbed in hot water, using soft soap. Wipe dry, .and brush on creosote, but do not allow .this to touch the flesh above the hocks, otherwise it .will dry up the skin and cause lameness. This dressing wil ( l cure the worst cases in twelve days if repeated every third day. Scaly leg is conveyed from onie bird to another by the parasite along the perch (these should always be movable) should be well creosoted, also the sockets they fit.into; this prevents all insects from secreting themselves on the perches. OTHER ILLNESSES. Next examine the bird’s ears, which are found below and just behind the eye, being covered with a little tuft of short feathers. It is possible just now that the bird may have a little canker in the ears. If so, it is easily seen by lifting aside the little ear flap, then let in one drop of camphorated oil into each ear for three days, when, with the quill of a feather, the secretion is easily removed, and the male bird will have a new lease of life. Many infertile eggs are tlie result

of male birds having canker in their ears, and not one in five thousand, poultry keepers know it, or even understand where the actual ear is. if they realise a bird has one at all. Examine carefully the bird’s como next, which may have just a small mark on one side or the other about the tsize of a threepenny bit, and this is somewhat difficult to see when the bird is in the pen ; but it is something always to be watched for among male birds, and to be detected by the comb having a lifeless look about it. Thi*- is known as “ comb-eating,” caused by the hens seeking blood, and the fool of a bird will actually hold hie head down for the hens to peck at and draw his life-blood fiom the comb. If allowed to go on he becomes very weak, always appears starving when being fed, and will waste away to skin .and bone, being, ofi course, useless as a stock bird. As soon as noticed he must be removed from the pen and given several feeds daily of the most nourishing food; and the comb must be dressed with vaseline, rubbing this we 1,1 into the whole surface of the comb. The hens responsib’e for this ruinous habit can easily be detected by the blood on their beaks and in their mouths. Always trim off the points of their beaks, paring it back to allow the soft or under part to protrude. *