POULTRY PARS.

Shannon News, 5 January 1926, Page 3

POULTRY PARS.

FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. It is safe to assume that much of the success attending the poultry industry has been accomplished by scientific feeding. The egg yield depends largely upon" breeding, feeding, strain and management, the latter by no means the least important. If a pouitiyinan believes that anything, any time or anywhere, will do for fowls he woidd be well advised to change his occupation, as even the missing of a night feed in the winter time means the loss of valuable eggs. As one. writer said, "A poultryman needs to be as reguilar as the clock; he must have the patience of a saint, no tired feelings; the brains of a Prime Minister, and, above all, a love for his birds."' To make a success of his labours there can be no such thing for the poultry farmer as an eight-hour day. Start in a small way, say 50 to 100 birds. Work up your own strain and build your flock on it. Even with the best laying strains in the whole world, whilst the professional egg-farmer may succeed in producing 200, eggs, the average general fanner need not expect any r tiling like this, return, for he may keep his poultry in the very best way and yet deem himself fortunate if his hens lay 170 eggs in the year.

The question of how many, eggs -a hen may be expected to lay during the year is one of considerable interest tQ all who keep utility poultry. It is certainly one that cannot be selttled by the conflicting evidence available, but it is a , recognised truth that the majority of hens lay lewer eggs than they might be expected to under proper conditions. If any doubt exists in regard to the prevariousness of winter-laying, one has only to refer to the laying competitions records' to be convinced of the fact. At these competitions we have hundreds of pullets, from paremits of the best-known strains, brought together under identical conditions. Each competitor has done his or her best, both in breeding and selection, to pen pullets that are likely to start right off scratch and continue laying through the winter months. Yet, ' only a comparatively small number out of the entire penning is found to lay at all consist*ently through the winter, nor is this feature entirely common to new competitors. More or less, it operates all rotund. Thus, it is impossible to over-stress fee importance of management and feeding. Two facts should always be borne in mind: You cannot over-feed a layer with the right feed, nor can you give a good layer too' much attention.

BALANCING THE RATION. An excellent plan for the beginner to adopt is. that of making experiments to deterjnine the best ration to feed at different seasons of the year. To flo this it will toe advantageous to construct a hopper incorporating divisions for, say, meatmeal, bran, and pollard. Place the same quantity of each food in the respective compartments and at the end of a day or week'(dependent upon the size of one's flock) check up the balance remaining. Repeat the process, striKe an average, and the result should give you a fairly well-balanced ration. The bird is the best judge of its needs, and if common sense experiments are conducted from time to time, the bene/its will manifest themselves in the daily egg-basket. GENERAL NOTES. Change the nesting material often. It means, com for table nests free of vermin and also ensures clean eggs. A simple cure for gapes is described as follows:—Procure from your stationer, 3d of' blotting paper, and from your chemist 3d worth of salt petre. Dissolve the saltpetre in a gill of boiling water, then roll your blotting paper into small pieces and soak in the solution of saltpetre and water. After doing this put the paper on a plate in, the oven to dry. When dry it is ready for use. Place -the young stock affected in a coop, which must be practically airtight. Then, set fire to some of the blotting paper* on a tin plate or in a can which the chicks cannot knock over. Burn enough to fill the coop with fumes. A few minutes' treatment should be sufficient, and after this has been given not more than twice, the birds are'ttsually in the best of health and free from gapes.