POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24411, 24 September 1940, Page 11

POULTRY NOTES

By; terror ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT "Learner" (St. Kilda) asks how he is to know the number of chicks a brooder will accommodate. Six square inches should be allowed (in the opinion of an expert) per chick, or 200 chicks., to a • 35-inch hover,: 300 for a 48-irich" hover, and 500 for a CO-inch hover. If a canopy hover with a coal-burning brooder is used these figures will stand stretching a bit, as the brooding zone usually extends a little beyond.the edge.of .the hover. In esilmating the' capacity of the broodeiN'diouse, allow, two or three chicks >&e" square foot of floor space. The number, is permissible, only when the', chicks - are to run outdoors most of the daytime, and the cockerels culled out as soon, as sex is recognised. If the cockerels are. to "stay in with the flock until "eight or more weeks • "the - chicks are-rather- 1 cosely confined, do not exceed two to the square foot.. This means, thata brooder . house 10- feet by. 10- feet.-nviU accorri-; modate riot over ■' 300 chick's, a house 12 feet by 14 feet should not have over 500, and for a flock of 1000 the house should not be smaller than 16 feet by 20 feet.

Rearing Chickens Just now chickens .are being hatched out in great numbers, and marry will fall into the hands of novices to be reared in brooders. It has been" truly said that the whole art of brooding chicks is to have so much heat and no more than is necessary to keep the chicks comfortable. There is surely no room for doubt in this respect. Watch the chickens and see that they do not crowd. If they do crowd, it is for warmth. If they scatter in the brooder and chirp contentedly, the heat is just right. If they are found sweated in the brooder it is a sign that insufficient ventilation is provided. Sometimes it happens that the chickens may be quite comfortable at night when inspected about 10 o'clock, and yet cold later on. Bare places on the floor where all the litter has been scraped away will tell the tale,. as well as two or three dead chicks. As to overheating, unless the chickens are so shut in that they cannot possibly get out, this rarely happens. When too hot they crowd for the door and eventually outside it; but in the case of brooding chicks in a brooder from which they cannot emerge to escape the heat great care must be taken that the heat is never too great. Before leaving this subject, a suggesthat may be made that any wall in the brooder that is warmed should be fenced off so that the chickens cannot touch it.

Poultry on the General Farm Even those farmers who have not before considered Doul'ry on the general farm in the light of a paying proposition must realise that the changed conditions overseas, because of the war, must make a big difference to the poultry industry everywhere. Holland and Denmark have been the main egg exporting countries to Great Britain. China supplied most of the egg pulp. It has been found imperative to reduce poultry flocks in England, so that for some time to come the Mo.her Country must depend more than ever on exports from the British dominions for hen eggs and table poultry No wonder that the Home Ministry of Agriculture is urging everyone with a few square yards of back yard or garden to keep a few head of poultry, explaining that a few birds can be fed to a great extent on house scraps. Seeing Thing!

A good deal can be learned by observation of the habits of fowls, and a large share of the success of good poultrymen comes from doing this. They really see things by day and night. If a bird is out of condition they see it at once. If vermin make their appearance they know it at once If the food hopper is low, or the water dish empty, they see it. If the shade is needed or more ventilation is desirable, they see it before the birds have suffered from the need. In fact, the whole success of poultrykeeping depends upon this ability to see things, which comes from closeobservation of the birds, and a study of their needs and wants. Nothing but. a close interest in the subject will give this faculty. The mere desire to make money with poultry is not enoughthere must be a liking for the birds, and a personal interest in their welfare Reilly's report only small consignments forward for Wednesday's sale, with satisfactory values realised for. good table birds:—Cockerels—2 at 7s 6d, 2 6s 6d, 1 6s, 2 5s 6d, 2 4s 6d, 3 4s, 4 3s 6d, 6 2s lOd, 18 2s 6drs7 2s- 4d, 14 2s 2d; hens—B at Bs. 4 7s 4d, Bs'7s,8 s '7s, 2 6s 4d, 2 6s, 18 5s lOd, 28 5s Bd, 8 5s 6d, 12 ss. 6 4s lOd; pullets—3 at 13s 6d, 8 12s 6d, 8 12s, 7 lis 6d. All at per pair. 5 turkey gobblers at 9d per lb.