POULTRY-KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5024, 8 September 1926, Page 1

POULTRY-KEEPING.

brooding points.

(By F. C. Brown, Chief Poultry Instructor, in the Journal of Agriculture.)

No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down in regard to handling brooder chicks. If success is to. be achieved the individual concerned must study out things for himself. In the first place, he must see that the parent birds are fed and managed in such a way that the chicks possess outstanding heajth and vigour when placed in the brooder. Next in importance is that he shall be a close observer and anticipate the requirements of the chicks from day to day. There must lie no such thing as "near enough” in the chain of management. Everything must be done, at a regular time and In a thorough mantier. The great aim should be to make the chicks comfortable at all. times, as; only in th's condition can perfect health be maintained.

It is especially necessary to take. • climatic changes into account, and to amend the methods of management accordingly. It should be remembered that if the slightest mistake is made, especially during the early stages, it ; cannot later be rectified, and trouble is almost sure to follow. For example, if the chicks become chilled, bowel trouble soon appears. Once this disorder sets in little or nothing can be done, and it will generally pay in the long run to destroy the whole lot of chicks rather than try to doctor them. It is a common error to conclude that becaiuse the chicks look well on the day following a cold night, or where an incorrect degree of heat has been applied, they have not been affected. The chicks will have become affected? but will not show the result for two or three days. Where chicks show no inclination to leave the brooder it is usually a sure' danger signal that they have been chilled a<nd that heavy mortality may be expected.

Nearly all troubles in connection with rearing brooder chicks are due to neglect of some essential detail. Failure to provide the correct degree of temperature and sufficient fresh air are among the most common. The desired heat should be maintained, but it must be a healthy heat, which, while providing the right degree of warmth, do'es not force the delicate chick to breathe, vitiated air. The mother hen and her brood provide a striking lesson in this respect. From her body heat the chicks are provided with the desired temperature, while at the same time they are given an opportunity to breathe the outside atmosphere. Most brooder troubles can be overcome by studying nature, but how few poultry-keepehs there are who realise this!

While chill and its evil effects are the most common cause of mortality in the artificial rearing of chicks, it should not be inferred that a temperature falling below the, desilled degree is always the cause of the trouble. There are other ways in which chicks

become chilled. Too high a temperature is just as fatal-as too low a one. It not only lowers the vitality of the chicks, but in addition it makes them susceptible to chill when leaving the brooder and coming into contact with the ordinary temperature in the- runs. Some brooders are constructed in such a way that the chicks will be encouraged- to settle down at night slightly away from the main source of heat when normal conditions prevail. Then in the event of a cold night following a hot one, or vice versa, the chicks are afforded an opportunity to move to and from the heat as instinct demands. When chicks are enjoying a comfortable degree: of warmth they will spread over the floor, of the brooder. :On the other hand, when they are cold they will huddle together, and this brings on a sweated condition, which proves fatal to them in most cases.

Anoher common cause of chill lies in giving the chicks too much freedom for the first few days. They should be kept in the brooder- for .the first three days, having a division in it where fresh air and light may be obtained. Then they should be given ashort run for the next day or two, increased by degrees in accordance with the prevailing weather conditions. If baby chicks are given a lengthy run they are apt to lose their bearings, and thus feeling the change of temperature will huddle together and become chilled. The mother hen and her brood afford another valuable lesson in this respect. At first the hen allows the chicks only a very few minutes to feed and exercise, when she calls them under her body for the purpose of warming them. As they grow older, and providing the weather is favourable, the time given is extended, but never, even on the hottest days, does she neglect to give them a warm-up when required. FEEDING OF CHICKS. While proper temperature, ventilation, a,nd strict attention to cleanliness are the chief factors iii rearing brooder chicks, the matter of providing the right class of food must not be overlooked. There are numerous different mixtures that will give, equal results. The main point is to feed sound, wholesome food. Dry, coarse oatmeal is ideal for the first few meals. This may be followed by a reliable brand of chick-raiser. Even these meals are apt to deteriorate through age or when kept in a damp place, and where they are used care should be taken that the material smells and tastes sweet before being fed. Chicks do not require food for twenty-four to thirty-six hours after they are hatched. Even then two meajs are sufficient for the first feeding day. During the eary stages it is a good plan to slightly moisten the broken grain food. This will cause it to swell and become more easily assimilated tha,n is the case with any hard grains.

Fe.w poultry-keepers realise the value of dry, coarse bran for youngchicks. Right from the start it should be in reach of the chicks to pick at. In feeding dry bran, especially to baby chicks, it is necessary to devise somemeans that will enable, them to consume the food without wasting it. A simple method of doing this, is to place the bran in a shallow box, say, about 3in high, Bin wide, and a length to suit requirements. Fill the box to, say, lin from the top with bran, and place on top of the latter a piece of %in mesh wire netting. This should be cut to a. size which will allow it to fit loosely inside the box, and thus ball by degrees as the chicks consume the food. In this way the food is within easy reach of them, and the wire netting prevents them from scratching it out and becoming soiled and consequently waste.d. A strong point in feeding dry bran is that it does not become sour as when included in a wet mash. The latter should never be left in the run ; as soon as the chicks cease, to eat it freely it should be removed.

( An important point in rearing brooder chicks is .to keep them well exercised. The best way of inducing this is to feed some, chick food in the litter and make them scratch for it. Grit, Charcoal, and clean water should, be within easy reach right from the first.

Where boiled meat is not available it is a good plan to have, a good grade of mCat-meal in a separate receptacle for the chicks to pick at. Many poul-try-keepers hold the opinion that the supplying of meat or its substitutes to chicks during the broodqr stage tends to premature maturity, but this is not necessarily the case.-Where the danger lies is by providing a, too liberal meat diet after the birds have passed the brooder stage. The object at this time should be to ke,ep the birds steadily growing and bringing them to a desired size and age before commencing to lay. It is hot generally known that the lack of animal food is a, common cause of chicks acquiring the habit of toe-picking and other cannibalistic habits. As a preventive against these troubles the chicks should be regularly provided with anima] food. Better by far not to feed it at all than at odd periods. What the chicks never have they never miss, but if once they discover the taste of meat they crave 'for more, which is evidenced by the fact of their commencing to eat each other. On no account neglect to give the chicks all the green food they will eat. There is nothing better than finely cut succulent grass, lucerne, or clover. Neve.r feed these materials when they have reached a fibrous stage, as in this condition the crop and gizzard compaction is apt to result. Lettuce, watercress, or almost, any succulent green material is suitable, for the purpose.