THE POULTRY RUN.

Matamata Record, Volume II, Issue 99, 26 September 1918, Page 3

THE POULTRY RUN.

BENEFITS OF CAPONIZING. To the farmers with their cheap .cost of food the capon business should be a good thing-. The treated birds would cease to worry the hens, they would put on flesh, and its quality would be improved; they could be held back and sent to market at the most favorable times, and it is found in othex countries that the capon will mothei chickens. A few of the best birdf should be kept for breeding- purpose*; and all the rest should be treated at from three to five months old. If this were done, besides improving the decided advantages mentioned above, tne quality ot tne poultry on tne nirm would appreciably improve, because the undersize, weedy, sprats of cockerels, would no longer be able to produce any progeny. Any heavy-breed bird will increase in weight as the result of the treatment, because of the added flesh that results. It should not be necessary to say that the removal of the sexual organs of a bantam, will not cause the bird to grow as big as an Orpington. The size and frame of a bird are decided by its breed and strain, and no treatment is likely to"materially disturb these physical conditions. What occurs as the result of. treatment is that the bird becomes sexless, takes life easily, because there is! nothing* else to do, lies around and puts on weight, while the flesh is of superior quality, owing to the absence of sexual activity or excitement. Caponizing will not make a bird grow much bigger, so to speak, but it will certainly make it put on flesh and become heavier. In ordinary conditions the skinny, mercur' Leghorn cockerel is of small use lor the table, but, it is probable that caponising would put a pound or two more meat on him, , although no one should run away with : the belief that caponiscd Leghorn will grow as big as an Orpington cock, as it won't, and can't, owing to the fact that its frame is smaller because of its biccd, and caponizing cannot alter this physical condition. Generally speaking it does not pay to caponize small birds, except to prevent them from worrying the hens. NOTES FOR THE NOVICE. % Green food plentifully supplied will increase fertility. Why? Because it will cause the bowels to move more freely, preventing the formation of internal fat. The healthier condition of the birds in turn will induce -activity, active habits mean an increase in muscular development and general vigour, and vigour means better fertility. Raw potato is said to cure diarrhoea in chickens, probably because of the starch it contains. It is a good idea t 0 &i ve chickens a little mash every day. They will eat it eagerly, and it helps the crop to grow large enough to hold the big quantities of food. A hen cannot be a good layer unless she eats a lot, and she can't eat a lot unless the storage capacity is there to hold the food. The j man who is mean with the food won't get good results for this reason. You may tell pretty accurately by its legs what sort of a bird a chick will make into. The stou*-shanked chick will usually be the shortest legged and biggest bodied. Broodiness may be encouraged by leaving four or five eggs in the nest, and keeping the nest dark. A stimulating ration, containing meat, will help, and if the green feed is stopped, the formation of internal fat will be encouraged. A greater bodily warmth will be induced by these irjeans, and if the nest is dark, and there are always eggs in it, the hen is encouraged to become broody. It is a good thing to once a week syringe the cracks and crevices in the perches, nest boxes, and roosting shed. A good solution may be. made of soapy water, kwith a little kerosene added. The spraying will kill the blood-sucking parasites, and, freed of them, the fowls will improve in health and vigour. CONDITIONS FOR TURKEYS, It is extremely important to select a place for the raising of turkeys that is favorably situated, since they are so very easily influenced by their surroundings. So important a factor towards success is this that I should strongly recommend those who live amid unsuitable surroundings to leave this branch of poultry-keeping alone, for if they persist in their efforts failure is almost certain to ensue. Even if tho chickens are reared to killing--size they are rarely satisfactory. They may bo stunted in growth, or it may bo that they have involved so much trouble and expense to rear that they have more than absorbed their profit. A heavy clay is unsuited for turkeys; so is a low-lying place, as in this case the atmosphere, as well as tho soil, is likely to be heavily laden with moisture, and damp is fatal to turkeys, particularly quite young birds. A very cold situation, exposed to all the winds that blow, is also unfitted for this class of work, though of the two it is more favorable to successful rearing than is a day soil or a damp position. I have many times seen a flock of young turkeys, apparently enjoying excellent health, upon very high, exposed land, but possibly an extra hardy strain had been obtained, ,oi- else the noultryman was particularly clever at his work. There are so many lucrative branches of tho poultry industry that can be carried out successfully amid somewhat unfavorable surroundinors that it seems a mistake to attempt raising) turkeys, which are, at the best of times, by no meana fcardy birds.