PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 8762, 13 March 1907, Page 2

PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING.

Address By Mr D. D. Hyde.

Mr D. D. Hyde, Chief Poultry Expert, delivered a lectures on practical poultry- keeping at Miirtou hist evening. There was a large attendance, and groat interest was manifested. Mr Hydo dealt with his subject very fully and described tho up-to-date methods of poultry-keeping. It was his desire that beginners should be prevented from .spending money unnecessarily. A good deal of knowledge was first needed to become a successful poultry breedor. Two men recently arrived froru Homo, and were anxious about starting a poultry farm. Their first purchase of birds was made at an auction mart, and this fact alone showed they had no knowledgo of tho business. To make a success of a poultry raising business required capital, and people should not rush into the business and buy up stock indiscriminately to start with. It must be borne in mind that there aro good and bad laying strains, and that in too many' instances the inferior ones aro auctioned aud purchased, which is against tho business. ' To bo successful in poultry raising, it was pointed out thatattention must be paid to all tho little details that aro connected with

poultry breeding. It was absolutely necessary to have suitable premises for fowls to live in and it was advisable to have a largo window in each fowl-house in order to obtain as much of the sun's rays as possible. Tho building must bo well ventilated, but there must bo no draught. The importance of this was very generally ignored. A boarded, concrete, or asphalt floor should not bo used. Earth onlv was required, and should be built up inside the fowlhouse six inches higher than the surrounding ground in order that it may bo "kept dry. Another important point mentioned was that tho success in raising chicks lies largely in preventing them from becoming chilled, and they should not be fed for 3-1 to BO hours after they are

hatched, as nature supplied all thoy needed up to that time. They should "then be given a | mal | quantity of hard-boiled egg, Dread crumbs, and oatmeal, mixed with milk. With regard to perches, Mr" Hyde said there was no occasion for them to be more than 18iu. from the' ground. Speaking of poultry for utility purposes, he urged poultry farmers not to keep cockerels lnoger than five months,, as if properly fed they were then at their best, and to keep them until they were 10 or 12 months old involved loss. It should bo remembered that it costs Id per week per head to feed fowls, and the only way to make a profit out of birds sold for table use was to market them at the age advisad. If the business was rightly managed, poultry-keeping would help the farmer by giving him steady cash returns. Ho claimed that dairying and poultry went hand in hand. The poultry industry was undoubtedly rapidly extending in New Zealand, and it was only a matter of tirno when outside demands could bo supplied. Within the last three years the increase of poultry-raising had been most marked. The business was now being conducted by many on a much larger scale than hitherto. Results would depend upon the knowledge, enterprise and skill of those engaged in it. The value of poultry products had increased from £471,000 in 1902 to £1,9-10,490 in 1906. The cold storage of eggs was becoming a great factor in levelling up the market. It was true that nothing would ever quite equal a newly-laid egg, but eggs absolutely fresh when put into cold storage would several months later turn out very good indeed; in fact, very few persons were able to detect the difference between a cold storage egg and a newly-laid one. Mr Hyde mentioned some of the advantages derived by using trap- nests. When a hen goes into a nest she has-its-exclusive use until liberated. This was important, as with the open box system two or three hens sometimes crowded on each other, with the result that at times in the scuffle eggs get broken, and the pernicious habit of egg-eating becomes rife. Each bird should be distinguishable by a number stamped on a ring band, worn on the bird's leg. The. poultry- keeper can then accurately trace each egg to the hen that laid it, and thus withut question give each hen's individual record at any time. The best layers could be kept to reproduce their kind and the poor layers culled out and soldifor table use. The use of trap nests also indicated the hens that laid infertile or deformed eggs. It naturally increased the labor, but the ultimate results would soon be apparent. After answering' a number of questions most satisfactorily, Mr Hyde was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, carried by acclamation. ,