THE POULTRY RUN.

Matamata Record, Volume II, Issue 104, 31 October 1918, Page 3

THE POULTRY RUN.

OVERSTOCKING THE LAND. There is no more difficult problem to solve for the man who is cramped for space than that of keeping his run in a sweet state. If fowls are to be healthy and profitable the soil must be pure, for immediately it is allowed to become at all tainted, ill-health and disease ensue. It is, unfortut, nately, impossible to state with any f degree of exactitude the number of fowls that a certain piot of land will accommodate; there are so many factors that must be taken into consideratiou. The number depends for one thing upon the varieties kept, some being so much more active than others. It depends, too, upon the time of year. During the spring and early summer, when there is plenty of growth in the soil, the number may be considerably greater than during the dead time of the year, the autumn and winter. Then, again, the number depends upon the nature >f the land, a light, porous soil being able to support many more, birds than one consisting of clay. For the guicl- . ance, however, of the man with limited space at his command, it may be stated that for small laying varieties the space per bird should net be less than three square yards of gravel run. and, say thirty square yards should the plot be of grass' If the breed or breeds kept be of the larger type, not more than ten birds should ba maintained on a piece tf ground capable of safely carrying twenty nonsitters. On the whole the margin of safety in the stocking of land can only be 'satisfactorily determined by the poultry keeper’s own observations as to the state of health of his fowls and the condition of the soil. Nearly all poultry-houses are much too dark, and particularly is this the case when an cutbuilding is utilised. In many of the sheds found on small holdings there is no window at all, or else one so small that scarcely any light enters. In an ordinary sized poultry house there should be . a ' window at least 18 ins., or 2ft. square, which should be made to open and shut; and then, during the hot weather it can remain open all night, some wire-netting being fastened over the opening so that the birds cannot escape or unwelcome visitors enter. Perhaps why the importance of light Is not realised as frequently as it might be is that, when one enters a house, the door generally remains open, and the place 'appears quite light. The right way is to. enter and close the door; then, if it is light, the window is large enough; if it is dark, the fault can be, and should quickly remedied. J?0OD INFLUENCE ON EGGS. The good or inferior quality of eggs is governed to a considerable extent by the nature of the foods from which they are produced, and mis applies to all eggs, whether they are intended for incubation or edible use. If tainted meats, decaying vegetable matter, or musty cereals are fed to laying stock the eggs laid will have an unpalatable flavour, and they'will consequently prove an expensive advertisement for the man who desires to work up a local trade in “newlaids.” NOTES FOR THE NOVICE. The chief cause of crooked breastbone is lack of constitutional vigour. Another is improper feeding, but the novice may take it as a fact, that, if ‘ his chicks are bred from strong healthy parents, and are well fed, he won’t have much trouble with crooked breastbone whenever and wherever the chicks may roost. Fowls running at large are stronger, and give better incubator percentages than the confined birds, but (they don’t lay so well as the latter, jffiat have regular supplies of properly compounded foods, and are more sheltered generally. The proper way of it is to give the breeding stock a wide run, and to confine and warmly house (in the winter) the pullets that come from the hardy, outdoor stock. The “day old” chick business is so X big in America that a mammoth is being erected at I-lolliston, Massachusetts, and when completed it will be the largest in the world. Its* capacity at one time of hatching ,will "be 100,000 eggs, and it is intended to incubate one million eggs a year, and from them to produce 600,000 chicks for the “day old” trade. „ There is no best breed for egg production. It is all a matter of selection and cultivation, although, to beXgin with, the light breeds are the best \natural layers, because it is their one and only virtue. By proper selection and cultivation, any breed—barring the Indian Game —may be developed Into good layers. In the keeping of poultry, green food is an important item, and the ' -man who has access to water should never be without it. The reason is that the green stuff supplies the (mineral and vegetable elements that jaw* required for the proper maintenance of the system. If it can’t be jgrown or procured, a good substitute is to pour hot water on chaff, or on hay, let it stand over-night, and mix the liquid with the bran and pollard be*t morning.