POULTRY KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5225, 11 January 1928, Page 4

POULTRY KEEPING.

(By

F. C. Brown,

Chief Pountry In-

structor, In the Journal of Agri-

culture.)

CULLING SURPLUS COCKERELS

January is usually a trying month for. birds of all ages. This, together with the fact that the plant at this time will be, carrying its greatest number off stock, is sufficient to indicate that if the birds are to thrive, and do well there must be no weakness in the chain of management. To lessen the risk of overcrowding and its. e>vil effects there, should be no delay in culling out all surplus cockerels that have reached an age of about five months. If these are got rid of it .will not only mean better conditions for the rema’ning stock, but will also save, labour and money. Lt should be remembered that once a bird passes the chicken stage it costs more to feed and grows lesp in value everv day. ’ GREEN FOOD. For both the growing and adult stock an ample, supply of green material is necessary at the present time ifi the birds are to be maintained in good health. Green food net only greatly ass’sts in keeping the birds in a healthy, thriving state,, but it saves to a great extent the more costly foods, and thereby lessens the cost of production. Finely chaffed succulent lucerne, clover, or green oats provide a splendid green food for birds of all ages while watercress, silver-beet, cabbage, etc-, are also suitable. It is always best at this period of the year to provide green material late in the day, so that any of it not readily eaten by the birds will not become dried up and wasted. THE GROWING STOCK. : The growing pullets must now be given the very best of care, so that they may not fail in their future funct’on of ’producing late autumn and. winter eggs. The slightest setback in a growing bird is never caught up. O.np tiling that must be carefully guarded against is forcing the birds to prematurity. It is time enough tpi begin feeding a heavy forcing diet when the birds are well developed and are fit to stand the strain. An undeveloped pullet cannot be expected to commence laying .at an early age and at the same time make further growth. Indeed, and in a general way, once, the pullet commences to lay she ceases to grow. This is because the energy necessary to 'reach maturity will obviously have been diverted to egg formation. In short, pullets of any breed should be prevented, if possible from commencing to lay till they are at least six months old. While the inclusion of rich foods, such as meat, in the ration for the undeveloped layer is a, mistake, this is not to say that her diet should be stinted. The pullots slioi.ld be fed as well as possible, but on a. plain diet of sound grain materials. Green food should be in ample supply, while a good range should be provided if possible. It is. impossible to advise as to the daily amount of food a. developing bird should receive, as thei weather conditions must be, taken into account. During extreme hot-weather conditions, the young birds are apt to more or less go off their food. The only safe 4vay of making sure that the young birds get all they require is to have food in a dry state’always before them. One part good-quality wheatmeal and two parts bran-will, provide a good dry-mash mixture. This should, be supplied in a proper dry-mash hopper, so that the food will ont get wasted; moist feed can be given at ordinary feeding hours. For keeping the young birds steadily growing there is nothing better than good, plump oats, preferably shelled. The fatter are now on the market in most places and when obtainable they should form a large proportion of the growing pullet’s grain ration. An inferior grade of unshelled oats should never be fed, as they are next to useless as a poultry food-

Above all, care. should be taken that the growing birds are not tortured by the presence of vermin. These pests breed rapidly at this period of the year, and if they are to be kept incheck it is necessary to pay strict attention to cleanliness and give the quarters frequent spraying with a strong disinfectant. No care or attention is too great for th® growing pullet. LIBERAL FEEDING NECESSARY. One of the worst mistakes in management which has come under my notice during recent; visits to poultry plants is the false economy of 1 , stinting the laying flock in food. It is almost impossible to overfeed the laying type. It may be said that if you overfeed some birds they will only put on fat. The reply is that this type should have no place in a laying flock. Such stock are fat because they are not olf the correct laying type and obviously -are not concerned in heavy egg-production. In other words, they utilise the food consumed to make fat and flesh, while the good layers convert it into eggs. If any argument is required to disprove the common fallacy that the heaw-pro-duuing bird pan be overfed with the right class of food, it is surely the fact that the thinnest birds .at this time of year are almost without exception the heaviest layers in the flock. A high-type layer—and this type is now becoming very common in the Dominion—is regarded by many poultry-keepers as a fpwl which will give a great artificially induced yield of eggs On a food supply wlii.h will satisfy a bird iii its natural state. If a bird is to lay eggs almost every day for the greater pat cf the year she must have the material to do it with, and at the. same time sufficient to. maintain her in sound health while undergoing the great strain on her constitution.’ It is always a sounder policy, to reduce, the flock rather than reduce or wcake.ii the ration. - On one plant that. I recently visited the. owner was most anxious, to know how to prevent his birds from getting out of their run. He stated that part of the feathers of one wing was cut, and the wire-netting enclosure w.as 6ft high, yet some of. the birds got out. After examin.'aig the stock the

inquiry was easily answered. They were in anything but a thriving condition, indicating that the starving process was in o- eration, or that the fond supplied was of inferior quality. Usually the best layers in the flock gave most trouble, by getting out of their run, as they mu -t necessarily be. heavy feeders. Thus where they are kept on a. mere living diet it cannot be wondered at that they will make every possible effort to get to a free range in order to search for the food that nature demands. In such cases it may ba for the purpose of securing green food, n gr:t, or eggshell-forming material through lime, as in too many cases these, essentials are undersuppUed'. The good laying bird jnust be a contented bird ; only in this condition can she be expected to Jo the best. To achieve; tlrs, good food and a liberal supply of it is essential; but it should be remembered that the best bird ever bred or the best food ratidn ave.r planned will not spell success if the management is wrong in all other respects. Comfortable, well-ventflat-ed, clean horses that are; free from insect pests must go with sound and liberal feeding if maximum results are to be obtained.

It may be added that even a. wellfed fowl will sometimes be induced to get out of its run where, there is a batten on the top. This, of course, is a mistake, as plain wire at the top, centre and bottom of the posts is all that is required to support the wire netting between the posts. A bird may also be tempted to get out of its run in order to lay its egg in some outside place rathe,.- than visit ver-min-infested nests, which are so common on badly managed plants.