THE POULTRY RUN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 513, 30 October 1912, Page 7

THE POULTRY RUN.

ADVICE TO BEGINNERS. No one can have failed to notice that the number of people -who begin the poultry business is considerably larger than the number whe stick to it. What are the reasons for the numerous failures? Pro bablv nine out of ten of those who start out, do so with the belief thu f they cannot do other than succce ' from the start. They assume tha like will produce like, and tha plenty of food will bring forwar their productions with rapid strides. They become fascinated with the handsome displays at exhibitions, or by visiting the carefully-selected stock in the yards of some experienced breeder, and expect the same for themselves. The beginner fails to recognise the fact, so frequently made known, that but a very small number of high-scoring specimens out of one hundred bred, are obtained even by those with experience ir mating and selecting breeding stock. They labor and study to disadvantage, because of a lack cf experience, even giving- the fowls, and those things incident to them, more thought than they do all other matters combined, and still thefail to keep pace with some older breeder they are acquainted with; and after two or three years of cut ting and trying, they let the thinr drop. EXPECTATION AND REDUCTION. These beginners forget that like produces like only so far as species is concerned, and that ideality in any breed, towards which the careful breeder is aiming is set beyond the possibilities, as it should be, and while all of the hundreds of young produced are alike in species, still, but very few get anywhere near the ideal. All are pure bred, but all are not ideally perfect or approaching it. jMarked traits or characteristics can only be strongly fixed by implanting them in the blood by adhering to certain rules through a series of years, and any digression therefrom upsets the whole thing, or renders it uncertain. Therefore, the beginner should not expect too much. He must remember that when he starts out to breed his stock, which may be good, but not at the "top notch, that his systems and his manner of selection are not fortified by experience, that he has had no knowledge of the characteristics of the ancestry for three or four generations back, and that his matings are haphazard in this respect. Let him, on the other hand, "stick to it" year after year, work for a certain result, cull closely, select nothing for breeding from except those which are nearest alike and the' best, and at last he will sec an improvement.

THE ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION OF DUCK EGGS.

Ducks' eggs require less heat during their period of incubation than hens' eggs. Whilst the temperature in the incubator should, for the latter, be. 103 or 104 degrees, that for the former should not exceed 102, apart from the last few days o! incubation, when the temperature will naturally rise, and is a good sign that there is life in the eggs. Ducks' eggs are generally supposed to require a great deal of moisture during incubation, but this is by no means correct. The eggs, up to the 26th day, need no more moisture than hens' eggs, but after that time they are benefited by an application of moisture, as this softens the shells and their lining membranes, and renders them easy of breakage by the imprisoned ducklings. The eggs should not be sprinkled to moisten them, as such a procedure has a chilling effect upon them. Neither should they be floated in hot water unless a small number of eggs are to be dealt with, as the operation is liable to occupy too much time for the well-being of the inmates. The best way to moisten ducks' eggs in an incubator is to dip a piece of flannel into wafer heated to 105 degrees, and to wring it out till no water exudes from it, and to place it over the eggs in the

I.—The embryo, 10th day of incubation. 2. —Duckling ready to emerge, 28th day. 3. —The finished product. drawer of the incubator. There it should stay for 15 minutes to allow of the moisture being drawn into the eggs. One application will generally be found sufficient to bring incubation to a successful issue. When the flannel is removed from the eggs, the drawer of the incubator should be quietly closed to prevent the eggs from becoming suddenly chilled.