THE POULTRY YARD

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12621, 4 December 1926, Page 19

THE POULTRY YARD

SOME UTILITY NOTES THE ADVANTAGES OF SHELTER (By GEO. H. AMBLER) It i 6 inviting trouble to fail to provide shade and shelter for growing slock, ; especially when the stoex is iiatcheu j late. Too few poultryraen provide the j necessary shade trees and<Jive hedges on ; their plants, and half the failures of j late-hatched stock to do any good are because the young, growing things have not j the protection from the heat of the sun ■ and from other extremes of weather that they should have at such a time. Just as winter, egg-production is greatly slij mulaled—indeed, is only made profiti able—by providing summer conditions as | far as possibte in the winter season, : so the conditions of spring must be copied as far as is feasible for the latehatched bird. The winter layer must , have the deep, open-fronted house, the | absolutely dry floor, and as much sun- ! light as possible—it even being demonstrated that lengthening the day by means of artificial light is a further encouragement to . egg-production—and i the late-hatched chicken must have an abundance of shade, cold water, and ample green food if she is to make up lor the disadvantage placed upon her of being hatched at such a time of the year. Again, apart from the question of shade, late-hatchcd chickens are frequently handicapped by being reared on stale ground. There is nothing worse for young stock than this. Every effort should be made to reserve fresh ground and grass for late ones, and, of course, this- should be in the most shady part of the property. No chic'ken should ever be reared on stale grass; to do so is to handicap it from the jump. It all comes back to the position that cleanliness is the secret of success in poultry-keeping. The clean incubator, the clean brooder, the clean run, the clean grass, the clean •water, the clean sleeping quarters as they get older aro all primary essentials to sound and vigorous development. Treat the chicken as you would treat yourself. The man who really loves poultry will naturally attend to these things, but he 'is apt to grow careless at times, nnd must he reminded of these simple essentials. LEG WEAKNESS Leg weakness is a trouble that usually attacks chickens at any age when ijfhey begin to look after themselves. The affected chick first begins to “wobble” when running, then probably staggers about with hie claws twisted up, and finally totters round mainly on his hocks. I use the masculine pronoun because the weakness is seldom found in pullet chicks. Should only one, or even two, of the flock be affected in this way, it is probably nothing more than an individual weakness, a mere out-growing of strength; but when more than this number goes down (literally) one or other of the predisposing causes may be suspected —a very inbred strain, a constitutional weakness, too great a length of limb, or

a general tendency to rheumatism owing to continued bad weather and very unsuitable conditions, the last-named cause being the least likely. THE TREATMENT Tho first thing to be done is to see that tho housing is clean and dry. Douglas mixture is a very good iron tonic to bo mixed in with the drinking water. If heating and fattening foods are omitted from the menu for a while this is all that can be done in tho way of protecting tho remaining healthy chicks. Those actually affected should be brought indoors, housed warmly, and, after being starved at a couple of their usual mealtimes, given a liberal feed (and drink) on the above lines. Three times a day camphorated oil should be well rubbed in all up tho logs with the hand, and the limbs exercised bv working them backwards and forwards. Any chicks that do not show decided improvement after a weok or 10 days of this treatment may as well be “necked” forthwith, for they will never do much good. Of such deadly maladies as enteritis and fowl cholera, space will not permit of my writing. Lucikly, they are not at all common, and since it is practically impossible to check an outbreak once started, save by inoculation of the remaining healthy birds, tho beginner is advised, should lie have reason to believe either is breaking out in his yard, to call in the services of a bacteriologist. Tf you have any old hens you want to clear, move them out before tho very hot weather. Those should go as soon as possible, they will not have lost much flesh from laying, and they do not look ragged in plumage. A good price is now being offered for poultry, therefore sell off all surplus stock; it will keep down expense nnd provide a better clinnco of making profit. HAVE YOUR FOWLES INSECTS? Every care must l>e taken to prevent insects in poultry houses, on perches, on broody hens, and chickens of all ages, during this month. I wonder how many of my readers catch their fowls once a month and turn up the feathers to soe if they have any insects —I know some people do—hut there are certainly people who think fowls have them, while others never trouble themselves to examine a bird properly to see whether it is covered with various kinds of insects or is free from these pests. As wo. are now expecting hot weather, it is well to look out for these pests, and I advise everyone to catch their. fowls, hold their heads downward/, gripping the body between the two knees, and separating the feathers around tho abdomen; then, if a fowl has injects at all, they will be located around this particular spot. Insect powder should, of course, be dusted next to the skin. I have actually seen people scattering powder on the top of the feathers, but in all cases it is ne- ' cessary to open up the feathers, so that the insect powder goes next to and on to the flesh. Under a fowl’s wings, on the thighs, and under the neck hackle, are other haunts for insects, which are usually fourd there during the warmer weather. If, in examining a bird around the abdomen, one finds clusters of white growths attached to the feathers near the skin these should be carefully pulled out and burned, as they are the eggs laid and deposited by the insects, and, during the hot mouths, will hatch in thousands These live on the blood of the fowl, and spread to every crevice in the poultry house. Some people are under the impression that fowl's insects will get on and worry people, but this is not so, and even if the house is infested with insect© one may get them on the hand, but they will not live long on a human body. This has been proved over and over again, and I have heard j>eople say that they were afraid of having insects in their gardens in case they got on their children and themselves.