POULTRY-KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5173, 2 September 1927, Page 1

POULTRY-KEEPING.

THE SITTING HEN. (By F. C. Brown, Chief Poultry Instructor.) When hens are used for hatching purposes the aim should be to make the conditions as natural as possible, at the same time having the hen under control. It is always best to have a boarded floor to a coop, unless, of course, the coop is under cover. In the latter case the nest should be made on the ground. When a coop in the open is used —whether with or without a floor—it should be raised inside with fine earth about 3in. above ground-level. This will help to keep the hen and her brood high, and dry when wet weather conditions prevail. The nest should be formed in the earth in saucer-shape, and mg.de in such a way that the eggs will not roll out, nor roll on top of each other. The bottom should be more or less flat, in order to allow the hen the necessary room to turn the eggs, which sne does several times a day.

Nothing but a little hay should come between the eggs and the earth, and if there is some moisture in the earth so much .the better. The common trouble, when the natural mother is being used, of chicks, failing to hatch when fully developed is invariably due t)0 want of moisture*, especially during the hot season of the year. In an endeavour to overcome this trouble some people spray the eggs with warm water towards the end of the incubation period, but this does not always have the desired effect. A better plan when it is considered that the air is dried down too far is to lift the hay, or whatever nesting material is used, and slightly moisten the earth. In this .way the heat of the bird’s body will draw the moisture to the eggs, and soften the membrane under the shell, thereby greatly assisting the chick to get out of, its shell.

Do not let lice drive the sitting hen from her nest—a common occurrence when the eggs are on the point of pip’ping. Give the hen a good dusting with insect powder when being set, and again before the chickst hatjch, care being taken that the powder reaches the skin. On no account dust the hen just before the hatching period, or when the chicks are very young, as the powder is apt to get into the chicks’ eyes and cause blindness. It is a mistake to interfere, with the hen when the chicks are hatching; remember that she is past the experimental stage and can manage best by herself. It is always a mistake to give a hen with a young brood a free range, a s there is always the risk of the chicks being taken by cats. Besides, the grass may be long and wet, and this is apt, to have, an injurious effect on the little birds. . A hen should never be set on valuable eggs at the first sign of broodiness. The best plan is to try her first on some dummy eggs. Many valuable sittings of eggs have been scratched about and broken through their being placed under he t ns which did not at the time possess the right sitting desire. After five or six days the eggs should be examined by means of, a tester, and any which are infertile or contain dead germs should be removed. GREEN FEED. I would again emphasise, the importance of losing no time ip making every possible provision for the growing of ample green material. No flock can possibly thrive without it, and this applies specially to growing chickens. An abundance of green feed not only greatly assists in keeping the birds, in a healthy state, but in addition it reduces the grain account;. It is common for both growing and adult stock to go off their grain ration when hot weather conditions prevail, but rarely if ever will they refuse succulent green material. Where possible a variety of green feed should be pro-’ vided, as birds of all ages are apt to tire of any one particular kind when it is fed in surfeit. For example, I have seen flocks of poultry absolutely refuse to eat silver-beet, as they had received nothing else as green feed for months previously. Finely chaffed succulent grass, lucerne, clover, and green pats are ideal green foods for poultry, while any of the brassicas (cabbage family), lettuce, or silverbeet will be much relished. REARING DAY-OLD CHICKS. Many people wiho purchase day-old chicks and adopt the natural method of rearing them make the mistake of giving the hen charge of the young birds only a day or two after her broody period ihas commenced. This invariably means that the hen does not take kindly to them, and as a result the chicks get chilled. Another drawback is that the hen will probably resume laying in a short time, and cease to properly mother the chicks until they are able to look after themselves."

When a broody hen is being used for mothering artificially produced chicks it will be wise to allow her to sit on the nest for at least ten days before giving her the care of the young birds. As a general rule, the longer the hen is allowed tp remain broody—up till, say, three weeks —the better will she mother the incubatorhatched chicks.