POULTRY-KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5284, 8 June 1928, Page 4

POULTRY-KEEPING.

CONDITION OF BREEDING STOCK. (By F. C. Brown, Chief Poultry Instructor, in the Journal of Agriculture.) Considerable judgment is required at this period of the year in regard to the feeding and general management of the different classes of stock, owing to the fact that provision of a similar, ration to all birds in: the flock would be a mistake. The food for the lien's that ;a,re to occupy the breeding pens in the coming season should be of a different character from that supplied to the laying pullets or even the hens wh’cjh it rs not intended to breed from —that is, if the breeding birds are to be in a proper condition at the time of mating. The great aim should be to maintain the birds in a. perfectly healthy state, but at the same time every care should be taken to see that they do not get into an over-fat condition as it is well, known that good hatehable eggs ;a,nd strong chicks cannot be produced from an overfat breeder. It is true that there is little clanger of overfeeding the good layer with the right-.class of food when she is in laying condition, but this does not hold when she commences to moult and ceases to lay. Obviously, if she is provided with an abundance of rich stimulating food

when not laying, and while there no tax on her system for the formation of eggs, the formation of surplus fat has every encouragement, As al-

ready indicated, this should be avoided at all costs ; the, birds should be well fed but not overfed.

The aim should be .to maintain the breeders in what may be termed a lea'll condition. To achieve this it will generally be found a wise pol’cy to provide at all times a ration of hard grains such as wheat, oats, maize, etc., and as a rule the greater the variety of food provided the better will be the fertility of the eggs and the .stronger the chicks. The grains should be fed in deep scratchr ing-matcrial, so that the birds are compelled to take a maximum of exercise in. finding the grains. Reference is now chiefly made to cases where the birds are kept in confined quarters; where a good range is available, or, better still, a free range, nohing can take its place in providing healthy exercise and ideal conditions for breeding stock. Usually hens during the moulting period, and until they are nearing a laying point, are disinclined to take exercise, and as a resu’t when provided with an .abundance of food, such as a mash mixture which is easily obtainable, they are encouraged to sit on the perches and grow fat Thus in recommending a whole grain ration fed in deep litter it is with the object of keeping the birds busy as a means of preventing the storing-up of surplus fat. Particularly- where a free "ange is available there is. no objection to giving the biris a light morning mash, so long as it is of a bulky naturue. To give bulk to a ration consisting of pollard, bran, wheatmeal, etc., there is nothing better than well-cured finely chopped lucerne or clover, hay. If scalded with boiling water and allowed to standi overnight this makes an ideal food for bulking the morning mash.

From now on, and indeed right through the. breeding season, the b'rd's should be frequently handled', and if there is any tendency for them to put on surplus fat the ration should be slightly reduced. They' should also be encouraged! to exercise as much as possible to prevent fat accumulation. With birds that are bekept for egg laying alone there is not the same objection to their getting into a more or less, fat condition, for the reason that wheji nearing a laying po’nt they can be forced for eggproduction, with the result that the amount of surplus; fat will soon be reduced to a minimum, in the case of the breeding hens, however, the matter is entirely different; it would be simply' courting disaster to force a bird for eggs during the time it is producing these for the renewal of stock. I would again emphasise that if the breeding hens ;q;re in an overfat condition, due to being provided with tlie wrong class of food or lack of exercise, not only will there be a high percentage of infertile eggs, but trouble will also be met with in the hatching and rearing of the chicks produced. The dead,-ill-shell trouble during the various stages of the incubation process, is invariably due to a weak germ, and the weak germ traces back to the breeding pen.

As is the case with all classes of stock on the plant, the breeding hens cannot be oversupplied with greenstuff, while ample fresh water and grit are details whiejh must not be overlooked.

A mistake often made is to endeavour to patch up for the [freeding pen a bird that has apparently recovered from so me disorder. It is always a risky matter, and the mistake, of course, is discovered when it is too late. A hen that lias been affected with some trouble may recover sufficiently to more than pay for her, keep, but such a bird is better kept out of the breeding pen. The worst mistake that can be made in this connection is to use for the renewal of stock a male bird that has had its health impaired at any time- A weakness probably remains, and it therefore has not the Stamina necessary to ensure the production of healthy- offspring. I have seen many eases of weak stock which Could not be successfully reared as a result of using doctored breeding birds. To ensure the most satisfactory result there must be no question, as to the constitutional vigour possessed by’ the parents. SLEEPING IN THE NESTS. It is common for fowls, particularly when going through the moulting pro. cess, to acquire the habit of 'sleeping in the nests and not 'on the perches. No doubt the chief reason for this is, that being incompletely feathered the birds feel the cold, and resort to the nests, which provide a warmer sleeping place than the perches. It is a 'habit, however, which should be broken at the earliest possible mo. ment, for the reason that It not only-

encourages the presence of insert

pests, particularly the red mite, but also the eggs cannot be gathered in a clean state. The red mite —probably the worst enemy of domesticated fowls in this country—usually makes its first appearance on the perches, or, of course, any other place where the birds rest by night. It is a simple matter to deal with the mite when its presence s confined to the perches, by having the ends of the lattci' arranged in such a way that they or the birds’ feathers do not touch the walls of the house, and by giving the perches a frequent application of some kind of thick oil or grease to which is added some disinfectant or. kerosene. Not so. however, when the mite gets a good foothold in the nesting quarters, for from these they may soon spread to hiding-places in the walls, and when once this happens there is no telling when the pest will be stamped out.