THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9795, 19 October 1917, Page 2

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

HEW ZEALAND UTILITY CLUB

THIRTEENTH EGG-LAYING COMPETITION FOB FOWLS. RESULT OF TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK. Special to the "Times.” CHRISTCHURCH, October 18. The twenty-seventh week o£ the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club’s thirteenth efw-lojini? competition closed on October 16th. Details are: LIGHT BREEDS. Weekly Total. Total, to data.

SK DI-MILK. For chickens skim-milk has a value, hard to estimate, while it may be used for .laying birds to take the place of nu-at and substitutes of this. When it is remembered that a chicken will increase in weight by twice- its original weight in a week —that is to say, a chicxen weighing one and a half ounces when hatched can bo made to weigh two and a half pounds wh*n twelve weeks old, a gain of twenty-live times the original weight in twelve weeks—it will be seen that it demands largo quantities of the best flesh, and boneforming materials. With skim-milk and grain •(preferably oats) the chicken has all the material it demands for making rapid and satisfactory develop*, meat. According to experiments conducted in America chickens receiving skimmilk made practically twice as much growth as did other chickens receiving exactly similar treatment except that they did not get any skim-milk. Check tests conducted in the summer verified the result. Another test, conducted with every care, demonstrated that laying hens fed with sour skim-milk lard Detier than those not receiving this material. The skim-railk was allowed to sour, and was then used to moisten Jbe mash', water being used to moisten the mash for the other pen. Eight to ten quarts of sour skim-milk were fed everv day to .".bout 100 birds. It was calculated that the skim-milk had a feeding value of Id a quart. Obviously if skim-railk will provide (with cracued grains) a balanced ration for the chicken, and thereby enable it to make the best development its use is more than justified even if the skimmilk has to be purchased. Probably this material is more valuable for chicken-feeding than it is for fowlfeeding, though in the latter case it should be more economical in many cases to use the soured skim-milk than butcher’s meat or blood moal, and it would certainly be safer, especially

where these nitrogenous materials are mixed with the mash, and all the birds have to -take the nitrogenous matter whether they want it or net. FRESH AIR, The most valuable tmng that can be provided feathered stock is iresn air. Failure to furnish this has been responsible for the bulk of the disorders to which poultry are subject. On the other hand, fresh air given in the wrong way—allowing winds to sweep through the nuns and through the houses, and the fatal draught—-are often as bad as exclusion of air. The .birds should have as much fresh air as possible, night and day. They should bo able to breatho it continuously. Perhaps the worst effect of exclusion of freSi air is seen in brooder houses, where the chickens are too often forced to breathe even in the day time a vitiated’ air. One of the most successful poultrymen in America, wlien asked to give advice to a friend who was having trouble with his brooder chicks, replied: “Paste the words ‘fresh air’ in your hat.” The writer has seen the same words written in chalk on the wall of a brooder nouse by a sound expert on being called m to explain the cause of considerable mortality among brooder chickens, •‘•ho old-fashioned poultry house, where the birds roostod above one another in a closod-in, stuffy compartment, was a common cause of tuberculosis, while the house with draught-proof w-alls and open front is the best means of wafdiar off disease we have. The bird breathing fresh air, surrounded by it, puts on a hard feathering, and consequently is not seriously affected by sudden changes of weather, whereas the feathering of the bird kept m warm, stuffy quarters will become open, and thus she will be subject to adverse weather conditions and contract those; chills and colds which are so often the forerunner of disease. The best way to maintain fowls in a vigorous condition is to provide abundant shelter in the runs and allow them out excent in the very coldest weather. With hard feathering and shelter from weather extremes, fowls will he kept in the very best condition, and consequently ho able to maintain heavy prod iction with a minimum strain on the constitution —the only safe o uai to good health. SCALY LEGS. As a rule, it is only old birds which become badly affected with, scaly legThe cause of the trouble is an iten mite. If neglected the trouble may develop to such an extent that the whole leg is a mass of encrusted sores. Sulphur ointment is serviceable, but is ( .ot easily applied if the legs are oaa scaled. The easier course is to dip trio legs of the birds for about 30 seconds into a solution of petroleum. An other method in bad cases is tc'bathe the less in warm water, work off any SL Kales, dry the Icgs joak them in a solution of carbolic oil-one part in SO—and wrap them up in calico bandages. If the birds arc slightly affected try the sulphur ointment or weak kerosene emulsion. DO NOT THi-nK. That mongrels and mediocre P ur ®‘ breds vield the same amount of profat as tip-top stock from high-laying strains. . . t , That there is such a thing as the best breed.” or that strain is not of as much importance as breed. That artificially hatched chicks are useless for lay.n£ purposes. That you can rear little chicks without a mother hen or a foster mother. That you will always obtain twelve chicks from twelve eggs.

Brown Leghorns— Vorrall Bros , 36 591 White Leghorns— . 35 618 George Gee . 33 6-73 (J'aider Bros., Ko. X 68 727 \V. Stephenson , 28 593 A. 33. Phillips 33 631 J. Molunes , 3V 507 87 653 H. W. Bower . 39 597 Green Bros . 35 623 To Anau Utility Stud . 2V 627 26 531 Uokowlutu Poultry Coni' 81 498 S. Sick ; . 33 601 Dahnuir Poultry Yards . 39 634 J. M. Alley . 34 556 J. Robinson . 33 5ti8 Rangiuru Egg Ranch . 23 431 Omco Poultry Farm . A) Heretaunga Poultry Co., 567 No. 1 V . 31 Master Jack Green . 29 523 Smart Bros . 36 656 W. Davoy . 33 613 T. E. Conway 2 V 617 Mrs J. Mills . 25 522 T. W. Wilson °9 508 R Mills . 30 478 A. W. Adams . 34 613 Reliable Poultry Farm. . 13 638 A. G. Brniley 511 John Stevens . 28 603 Fazaokerley and son A3 557 R. W. Hawke , 32 4% J. Nanoarrow, senr . 36 603 Calder Bros., No. 2 . 36 685 T. Kennedy 349 Heretaunga Poultry Co., . 34 582 No. 2 -M. A. Cun-in . 28 572 88 668 W. H. "West , 31 753 34 595 . 31 644 Totals ■ 1358 24,668 HEAVY BREEDS. Silver Wyandottes — Green Bros .. 28 508 A. W. Adams . 10 515 W. W. Hewinson . 86 591 Mrs P. Howell . 20 566 T. Kennedy , 23 538 T. Dowthwait© .. . 20 482 White Wyandottes— , 33 537 Black Orpingtons— 341 Mrs Claridge , 25 T.' E. Conway, No. 1 . 29 492 A. B. Cooper 33 495 J. JNianoarrow, senr. , 21 682 T. E. Conway, No. 2 , 33 581 Victor Gee .... , .23 591 E. 33. Marsden . 36 511 n 740 Hokowhitu Poultry Co. ... . 26 510 Miss J. James , 38 489 White Rooks— H. J. Gopperth 28 454 Rhode Island Reds — A; S. Ooower 28 406 E. F. Oakes 28 437 Totals 544 10,466 DUCK CONTEST. Indian Runners— W. Knight 35 746 Heretaunga Poultry Co. ... 36 866 Mrs Gee 31 813 36 1037 33 964 Totals 4415 SINGLE BIRD COMPETITION. LIGHT BREEDS. White Leghorns— 167 Green Bros. 7 6 95 Victor Gee 7 121 J. Nancarrow 4 144 6 148 ■R. Mills 5 73 6 146 R. H. Thylor 5 148 Te Anau Utility Stud 7 106 Mrs Mills 7 151 R. H. .lames 6 90 A. E. Wilson 4 66 Green Bros 6 93 R. W. Hawke 6 119 Mlnorcas — 6 73 Miss J. James 5 55 Totals 93 1800 HEAVY BREEDS. Black Orpingtons— T. E. Conway 7 133 Silver Wyandottes— Thos. Wilson 6 140 0 E. j. Ross “ 4 93 Rhode Island Reds — 7 Totals 24 430