POULTRY NOTES.

Shannon News, 25 August 1925, Page 4

POULTRY NOTES.

HATCHLNG RESULTS

On a commercial poultry ■farm the yield of chickens vyhich "constitutes successiul hatching ranges around 70 .per cent, of the eggs set. That ;s to say, where a uatch of 500 eggs has been incubated, between 340 to 400 is the desired result, although a 65. per cent, .hutch would be considered quite good. The chief leature

of really successful hatching is regularity and clos.e attention to. the inI cubating work, including the careful ) handling of eggs. i Some chicks, by reason of faulty { mating, or through mistakes? made > in running the machine, are soft m constitution and lack the vigour of a healthy chick. A quite common occurence and one that is expeienced by a good many poultry .breeders, is the weak chick resultant upon direct in-breeding, bad hatching or brooding—sometimes bo iii. On a cold day this class qf chick has an inclination to pile up on top of his. mutes in a corner, so us to keep warm, and as the chick uf low vitality has insufficient strengln for getting away from the crush, many losses ensue. The sight of miserable, shivering chicks should toe a warning to the careless, both as to." breeding and hatching. If the .birds in the breeding pens are healthy and vigorous one or two mistakes during incubation period i may not be deleterious, but where there is. low vitality stock and the eggs have been subjected to a series oi mista'kes, nothing but failure need ne expected. THE BREEDING PENS.

Give the breeding stock plenty oi green food and ample room, while milk, in any form, is. to be recommended during the mating- period. With regard to the number of hens that should be mated with the male bird varies with different breeds, but with the lighter varieties, such as the Leghorn it is. usual to mate from 10 to 15 hens to a vigorous young male. Stock of the Asiatic type, which includes the Orpington family, Hocks, and the other more heavy species, are usually m the proportion oi from 8 to 12 hens. The larger the run the greater number of birds that may be mated. On free range a Leghorn male could easily run with •JO hens, with good results., The most desirable quality of mating is for s.trqng masculinity in the male and equally evident femininity among the females. With too few hens the mas-

culine side is likely to prevail in the characteristics of the progeny. Inversely, a mating which possesses a preponderance of hens, is likely to produce prominent female characteristics in the resultant stock, "up to a point. This doesn't mean that any number of hens could he mated with a rooster—that would mean infertility. Breeders should never be overfed. Some authorities on the feeding oi' poultry assert that grain r alone should be fed. Mr F. C, Brown, the Government Poultry Expert, says that no meat should be fed to the breeding pens, so as not to stimulate the laying powers, of the hens, and to ensure vitality in the young stock which follows. If there is overstimulation of the breeders, weakness in the progeny will follow, as if a hen lays at a rapid rate the farmer cannot reasonably expect her chicks to be as strong as those from a hen that lays without any stimulation. Some fowls are closely confined in

pens without a, vestige of green grass in them. As soon as the sex can be detected pullets should be "separated from the cockerels—both grow better under these circumstances. Young, growing stock should be given as much space as possible, but they should a-ot be allowed to run in wet grass. Mangolds, cut in half with a spade, are good for all stock. MORTALITY AMONG CHICKS. The chief causes of death amongst young stock may be attributed one or more of the following:— (1) Small pens and weak breeders. Breeding stock not being in breeding form, i'oi' various reasons. {•1) Wrong principles of ventilation in the incubators.. (3) Incubator house ill-ventilated. (4) Incubator thermometer being allowed to run above 103 degrees—the higher the temperature the more deadly the effect. (5) Thermometer considerably below the correct temperature. (6) Eggs too dry through too much air being - allowed to pass through the machine, or through eggs kept out too long in cooling. (7) Exactly the opposite to (6)— eggs are not cooled long enough and the machine is closed too much. If the \machine is allowed to reach a temperature of 106 degrees, or more, and kept there early in the hatch, the chances of a good hatch will be ruined. The incubator doors should never be opened, except when necessary.