THE POULTRY RUN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 532, 11 January 1913, Page 2

THE POULTRY RUN.

SOME IDEAS ON METHOD. fTfie successful poultry-keeper it ;ithe man who has a method —who runs the business with brains. That there are as many methods as there are breeds - of poultry is a statement which nobody will deny. Almost every man has ways peculiar to himself. Go wherever you will, and stop to look at every place where you see a flock of hens, and you will discover that in almost every instance there is a wide variation in the methods employed. In writing ofi methods, I do not simply mean ways of feeding and housing, but ways of doing everything conj nected- with poultry-keeping. There I should be a method' m doing everything. This not only facilitates the work, but Insures the work being done to the best of one's ability, and it is essential that all poultry work should be done in this manner. Method in Feeding. Of course, the great important item which demands method is feeding. Giving the birds too much food.one day and none the next, for instance, is not an ideal method, and the fowls will not thrive on such a treatment. They come to expect things at certain times, and if they are not forthcoming, then trouble is. This may seem an exaggerated statement, and may lead you to think that the hen is surely a "knowing" bird; but it is a fact. A little experience with my own flock convinced me that at certain times of the day they looked for certain feeds, and that they were not satisfied if they did not get them. I had on hand at one time a small quantity of dried peas, and I thought that as in certain parts of the country they fed them as part of the regular feed, I would try it on mine. It was the time for the evening meal of corn 9 and buckwheat. I threw down a handful of the dried peas* and there was a rush as usual; but they stopped as quickly as they started. They would pick up a*pea, rattle it between their beaks, and drop it again. Finally they started in and began eating, and finished the entire lot. It is true that because of the fact that they had never .been in the habit of eating peas tlaey hesitated, but it is also true that they were expecting the regular feed of corn and buckwheat, and ; seemed to realise that they had been fooled. I am sure that hens note a change in the regular system of feeding, and, i furthermore, are affected by it. It is essential, therefore, to have a method of feeding, and so get the fowls used to a. certain diet. They will do good work for you in re* turn.

Time for 'Everything.

Have a time for filling up the grit and shell boxes and of replacing the water. - It is a wise thing to have a method and system of doing these things.-. I have' known of birds thirsting the whole livelong day simply because- the owner forgot to water tiiem. If he had a time and method, he would not forget to do this. Now about > the cleaning. .Are you not sometimes ashamed;to take anyone into your I hear so many poultrymen say, .-"lt's pretty dirty in here. I I have ; been intending to clean out." It's an old story, but none the less sad, for with the dirt and filth there g?oes hand-in-hand lice and vermin. > How would it be to have a time anji method of cleaning house? Say, on some particular morning,of the week you were to clean the roosting boards, nests, and so forth. Have a way oi doing these things, and it will become an easy matter. ■,. Take a hand sprayer, ( and spray kerosene, into everv crack and crevice. Your hens will do better, because they will be freed from lice, and not tormented night and day. I could go on for a long time ire this strain, but I must stop. I hope I have induced someone.to think over these things. It is so easy once the habit of doing the right thuigs at the right tipne is developed. i

)■■ <- COCKS IN RUNS. The. theory that one must have male bards with the. hens in order, to get eggs is now pretty Well eradicated, although, as a rule,' poultrymen in general do not pay much attention to this, and let the roosters run with the hens all the time. We can say that it has no good effects, for tha very best results we have ever gotten in the way of a large number of; eggs in winter was from Hens', or pullets rather, where there were no male birds. The hetts are left entirely to themselves, ajnd are not disturbed by the cocks > fighting and causing a turmoil in tlie yards. The cocks, or cockerels, as* the case may be, can be kept to"theihselves.,They will develop better, and can be fed according as is seen fit,\ while in the flock they may or may not get what they should have. ( Fotr table use the eggs are more .de&'rable, and, takhig in aU, we heartily recommend having the male birds in the flocks only during the breeding season., ' ! '