POULTRY NOTES. By Terror.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 35

POULTRY NOTES. By Terror.

— At this particular season of tlie year no subject is of such great importance to poultrymeii as cleanliness, ; and in particular cleanliness as regards vermin in the nestboxes, about the perches, and the poultryhouse generally.

— What with the long-continued dry weather and the continuous occupation of the nests, not only by layers, but by birds inclined to cluck, the "fact that this is the season when poultry vermin are reproducing themselves by the million, there is no denying the fact that the ordinary precautions of the \oar round are not sufficient just now to keep down this particular kind of pest. — Many poultry-keepers who find that there is a considerable diminution in the egg yield would discover there was little cause for surprise if they would proceed to change the material of one of the nests. The surprise in many cases would be that the fowlc had continued to lay so long, for where special precautions have not been n.ade, poultry nests ai - e now the breeding quarters of just about as many insects as they can hold. — A good preliminary step towards the destruction of nest vermin is to apply a laatch to the nest material, first of all opening it up with a stick, and, as the blaze diminishes, a few drops of kerosene may be added to keep up the fire. As the heat becomes apparent to the vermin, they will be seen Issuing from every crack and orcvico about the box and its attachments, and before they drop in battalions of millions at a tim# io the gffirpd these sh^wud

I be brushed out of existence by a liberal painting over with a kerosene paint brush. After tl is kind of treatment the whole house and even thing in it should be whitewashed with hot lime, and new material not placed in the nests till not one s'ngle insect can be «en able to mo\ c. — There are pcultryn'en who rage continuous warfare upon vermin, and who consequent y ha\e never seen such a state of things as above described, but there are others who know b\ experience that efforts relaxed for only a few weeks at this season will render the most diastic treatment necessary. — To mv mind tho bettor 1 uilt the house and tho bettor fed the pouirn, the better aie the conditions for \ermm culture. No matter where fowls are located or who owns them, nothing but spec lal efforts to that end will keep them immune from insect vermin ; and. unless they are free — i.e.. absolutely free, — birds cannot lay as they should - — The value of lime is well known, and those who ufc it liberally in th«» form of whitewash are the ones who keep their flocks healthy and clean. To render the whitewash most effective in dislodging, driving away, or destroying lice or other parasitic nuisances, the addition of a little carbolic acid is invaluable, for scarcely an> thing else seems to be so distasteful to verrr.in — When winter arri\e«. poultry-keepers will read and sneak of the advantages of supplying fowls with plenty of green feed. The* will sa\ "you cannol get summer lesults in winter unless you supply summ/sr conditions" ; and rhey will say what is 'perfectly true. If winter is the time to talk of thpff> things now is the time +o prepare for them. Poultry men may have cabbage, etc., for their fowls in ,\ Mirer if 'hey arrange to -lo so now. Sppaking of the advantages of cr.bbage for winter use a o nfributor to a Home paper wrote ns fo! I< wr some months back: — "Mo*t of the ills that fowls aro heirs to in winter time arise from ehil's contracted through damp and cold limes, acting upon an impure state of the blood. So that one of tho first essentials to a cure is to purify and clarify tho blood, and aMav the feveri&hness consequent upon the cold, buiiding up at the same time tho nervous system, and sustaining the functional powers. But it will be genera 11 v conceded thai if we can keep the blood in a pure state from the first, and the nerve power at its greatest strength, then when chPls are taken, our birds will not be susceptible to any ffieat harm and if we can do the samp thing by giving food and nutritious foods, rather than by the administration of medicine, all the better. " Now. no food for this purpose, perhaps, has so high a value as cabbage and turnip. The reason is that both contain a larp-e amount of blood clarifier in the shane of sulphur and nerve restorer in the shapp of pfrosphoius. One remembers the old days of scurvy in the navy. Why was that? Because, in those days, such things as vegetables were- an utter impossibility on board ship. Nowadays, a good ship can curry a splendid kitchen. The -voyages are not so long. So that vegetables can be partaken of freely too at the- end of a vo\age. Vegetables like cabbage and turnin, could they have boon carried^ on board in old times, would have been inestimable in keeping down scurvy. "An acre of cabbages will yield 32 91b of sulphur an<l 25.31b of phosplnms. Swedes will give 17.81b of sulphur to the acre and 9.91b of phosphorus Beans give 12 71b of phosphorus and 9.31b of su'phur. Rod clover, too, is rich in phosphorus — 10.91b, with 9.41b of sulphur. Therefore, if these vegetables, etc.. be Jfreely used in winter time when green food is scarce, they will help in no inconsiderable way to purify and build up the system, and. being food, will have a more beneficial action than if given as medicine only. "They are, of course, better boiled than in the ra,w state. They are then more easily assimilated, and being given in a warm state, they assist their own digestion. For, after all, digestion is only a chemical change, and all chemical changes are promoted by heat. Feed, therefore, on boiled ca.bbage, turnip, and 1 red clover freely, and you may also add onion and carrot with advantage, and the fowls will then he much more able to stand ap against inclemencies of weather." — Lag weakness is a common trouble amongst poultry, and >Kere are many causes why they become crippled in this way. Young cockerels suffer from the complaint more frequently than do pullets, and th.s is rsrobably because they are more Jpt to make weight. A forcing diet or overeating is frequently the cause of lee weakness and a ycusg cockprel showing tin*- first symptoms ot the trouble may generally be cured by being placed where be will have to battle for his food or go without. The best treatment is to administer pills composed of phosphate of lime 5 grains, sulphate of iron one grain, sulphate of quinine half-a-grain, 6trychnine 1-16 of a grain. This quantity will make a dozen pills; dose, one pill each day. — It is somewhat difficult to judge of the age of a bird, and the question has troubled many an authority on poultry, and oven breeders are often at a loss to tell the age of the birds they rear un!cs3 they have I them rung or marked and their births recorded. As a rule, youth has freshness, slimness, and activity; the headgear is small, and the feathers rather silky, instead of being firm. Another wav is to feel the cartilage- at the end of the breastbone nearest the stern; if soft and \ielding the j bird is young, if hard, firm bonp it is old. Nevertheless," it is often impossible to dis- i tinguish between a late hatched bird and a well-grown one of the following year; and we have known of hens that moultod so well that after their third and fourth years they have been mistaken for pullets. No definite rules can be laid down, and no one can give the exact age of a fowl unless one has bred it and recorded the date. — Ducks, like fowls, are apt to -suffer from the ravages of insect pests unless cleanliness is seen to in their sleeping quarters. With clean bedding they will show far better results, both as weight-makers and layers than they do where the owner reckons (falsely, of course) that, like pigs, they can flourish in dirty surroundings. — Fowls are often troubled with worms and these are the cause of many diseases. The excretions should be examined when their presence is suspected, and if discovered a capsule of turpentine, followed by a dose of castor oil, will usually effect a cure. Santonin has also been given with success, and probablj areca nut might afford benefit in some oases. — Messrs Reilly, Scott, and Gill, proprietors of the Central Produce Market, report for the week ending Sfcturdayj Bth

February: — A good demand exists jor all clashes of well-oonditiohal poultry, especially for prime young roosters and pullets. At our sale on Wednesday we catalogued a good yarding- and sold every line under keen competition. Hens rn^dc 2s to 3s lOd ; lOung roosters, 3s 6d lo 5s 8d ; duckling, 3s 6d to ss; ducks, 3s to 4s; old cock birds, 2s to 3s 6d ; geese, 4s ; pulleta, 4s 6d to 7s 6d (the latter price being obtained for a line of 18 cull pullets from Mr White's yards). Eggs have been in keen demand. We cleared all our consignments as follows :— Guaranteed fresh, in patent craies. Is 4d ; storekeepers', Is 3d to Is 3£d per dozen. Butter has ad\anced in price. Wo sold.— Bulk at Bd. and pats from 7^(T to 9^d. Fat is wanted. We cleared prime rendered at 26< and rougher lots from 18s to 22s 6d per ewt. Honey is slow of sale. Best clover in frames-sec-tions 7id, bulk 4£cl per lb. Pigs meet keen inquiry, and would realise up to 6d per ; lb for good sorts. Beeswax.— Fair inquiry at Is 4d to Is 6d. We specially advise consignments of prime young roosters. — A Pennsylvania man has devised a machine to date hen's eggs, so that the purchaser, may ascertain their age at a glance. His scheme is to provide a nest . to which is attached a rubber chute, which conveys the egg to the dating appliance. , The chute is arranged with rubber stops to lessen the speed of the egg as it rolls ' merrily on its way. The dating attach- > ment, is operated by clockwork, and one winding will keep it running a year. As the egg reaches the dater it is caught in a clutch and held in place while the siamp is applied. The egg then runs into a. basket.