POULTRY NOTES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5193, 19 October 1927, Page 4

POULTRY NOTES.

RAISING THE CHICKENS.

(By “ New Laid ” in the Dominion.)

The chicks should have been hatched at least a couple of days before any food is placed before them. The first, meal should consist of fine grit and charcoal, in order to assist in the assimilation of the egg yolk, which was absorbed immediately before the chick was hatched. Dry rolled oats of the best breakfast variety has been found to be a very satisfactory bill-pf-fare for the fit st four or five days. From then on a good commerical chick food may be fe;d, or, if one prefers it, a mixture of fine cracked wheat, coarse oatmeal, and fine cracked maize, in the proportions of about six,'two and one parts respectively may be used. The mixture may be fed dry, or if preferred may be moistened with hot water or hot skim milk, and allowed to remain covered over for about three-quarters of an hour in ordei to swell the grains. Care must be taken, however, that the mixture is only moist enough to be c, nimbly as sloppy food will cause bowel trouble. It is to avoid this danger of bowel trouble that some people; prefer to feed the mixture in its dry state. The dry-feeding method is adopted by some people during the whole period of their fowls’ lives, but the majority use the wet or moist system, and in the case of chickens a moist mash may be fed from the time they are a month old. This may consist of good pollard or wheatmeal to the extent of two parts, and bran one part, moistened wth milk, soup, or hot water, and care must be taken to avoid sloppiness. This should be fed .on clean boards, and any that is left over after being before the chicks ten minutes, must be picked up and removed. The chicks will require to be fed every two hours for the first week, and at longer intervals as they grow older. When about a week old it will be found beneficial to feed some boiled meat, at the rate of about one ounce to every dozen chicks. This must be passed through a mincer before being fed. The quantity should be increased as the chicks grow olderIn addition to this, pieces of tough meat must be given to the chicks when they are a few days old. These will be the moans of creating a considerable a,mount of exercise, although the quantity eaten will be negligible. It is essential that chicks should have plenty of exercise, and this is one means of providing it.

Green feed is a most important item in chicken culture), and success can hardly be looked for unless an ample supply is available. Lettuce is one of the most suitable forms of green food that can be used, and a small patch of it that has been grown in anticipation of the chicken season will repay the trouble entailed many times over. Other green feeds may be usdd also, but young lettuce is easily digested and very satisfactory in every way. Watercress is also excellent, but the supply of it is a difficult matter in most cases. Silver beet is a plant easily cultivated .and has the advantage of throwing out fresh leaves to replace those stripped off. The leaves’ are best hung up in bunches, so that the chicks can tear off small pieces more easily than if they are thrown on the floor. Care must be exercised in the fejeding of grass to chicks. It is safe to feed young short clippings, as they are easily digested, but old grass becomes rank and contains a large amount, of fibre and thus forms into lumps in the crop or gizzard. Careful observation is very necessary for the successful feeding of chicks, as it is obviously a mistake to give them food they do not relish. For instance, the dry mixture which is usually fed in the afternoon, consisting of wheat, maize, .and hulled oats (all cracked to a suitable size), should be varied in its proportions to suit the taste of the chicks, and if it is seen that any of these ingredients are being neglected an alteration sihould bem ade accordingly. A good guide as to the quantity to feed and when to feed can be obtained by feeling the crops, of some of the youngsters before feeding. If the crop is full no more food will be required for at least an hour.

It is a mistake to attempt to raise chicks of different ages in the same pen. The larger will knock the smaller ones about, and rob them of thqir share of the food, with disastrous results for the younger ones. A point to be observed in regard to feeding cracked grain is to see that it is not too big, as chicks will pick up a piece of maize, for instance, which will be top large to pass from the crop to the gizzard, with the result that the chick dies of starvation. Most commercial chick foods, are graded to suit chicks of different ages, and it is thus quite easy to obtain food of the correct size to use. It should bei pointed out here that in feeding moist mash care must be taken to see that no husks of either wheat or oats are present in the mixture.