THE POULTRY YARD

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 164, 1 October 1927, Page 26 (Supplement)

THE POULTRY YARD

By

Geo. H. AMBLER

WHITE DIARRHOEA IN CHICKENS

Can be Prevented

BACILLARY white diarrhoea, a highly infectious disease, causes the deaths of immense numbers of chicks every spring during the first two weeks after hatching.

“HPHE bacteria that cause this dis- | “*■ ease.” says Dr. C. C. Lipp. veterinarian at South Dakota State Col- j "enter the bodies of the chicks ! either through infected eggs, or by way , of the mouth front infected feed and I water. It has been definitely demon- j strated that when a chick recovers ; front white diarrhoea and reaches the j laying age that a certain percentage j of its eggs contain the organisms that j cause the disease in chicks. When these infected eggs are hatched, the chicks that conte from them art; infected at the time of hatching. A delicate blood test has been per- | fec-tod for the diagnosis of white diarrhoea in hens. This est can only be made in a laboratory properly equipped, and by a person who has had special training in this line of work. The test is quite accurate, and is nowbeing used for the detection of white diarrhoea in the breeding flock. A teaspoonful of blood is required, and it mav be readily secured from a vein on the lower surface of either wing. The hens must he suitably numbered with leg hands as a means of identification, and when the blood samples are collected, the bottles must also bear the numbers as a means of identification for record. MUST BE SEPARATED “Hens tested for white diarrohoea must, of course, be kept in a suitable enclosure and not allowed to mingle promiscuously with other fowls on the farm,” Dr. Lipp adds. ‘ This is easily accomplished by providing a separate pen and house in which they can be kept until the end of the breeding season. The eggs from these hens are to be used for hatching purposes, and if the disease is to be promptly overcome, eggs from untested hens must not under any circumstances, be placed in the incubator with those from the tested hens. “The egg trays in the incubator must be thoroughly disinfected with a good disinfectant at the rate of 12 tablespoonsful per gallon of rain water. Then they must be aired and sunned for several days, or until every trace of disinfectant has disappeared. The brooder must also be disinfected m the same manner. This is of the utmost importance if the disease is to be avoided. Having the hens tested is quite useless and unnecessary if the chicks are placed in a.n infected brooder, where they will he likely to become infected with white diarrhoea organisms. CARE AFTER HATCHING “The chicks must be kept for at least the first month after hatching on ground that was not occupied by chicks the previous year. If this precaution is not observed, there is every possibility that the chicks will become infected with the diarrhoea organisms that are in the soil, or that gain entrance into the feed or drinking water. It is usually possible to provide a temporary yard and house on land reasonably close to the farm buildings to make the care of the chicks as light as possible. “The feed troughs and drinking fountains should be of metal and so constructed that they may be readily cleaned by scrubbing with hot soap and /water at least every second day. They should also be elevated from the ground sufficiently to keep them free from dirt and chaff that is sure to be scratched into them it they are not elevated. They should also be protected so that the chicks cannot get into them with their feet and contaminate the feed and water. If this precaution is followed the possibilities of infection are very much reduced.” If these directions are followed carefully and conscientiously, the veterinarian feels certain that there will be a reduction of loss from white diarrhoea. If these directions are not followed, he states that it is not worth while to have the test made, for the owner is sure to have gradually increasing losses and may finally, be forced to discontinue poultry raising or adopt more modern methods.

GENERAL NOTES

Nine Hundred and Fifty 3irds l over 15,000 Eggs in 23 Days The t? port of tue tenth-month period of nI Yorkshire Federations’ test at states that, although the period undreview' was very wet, the birds d splendidly. There are 939 birds cor" peting. and the total number of etc* collected during the four weeks v.-tl 15,065. A good many fanciers in New Zealand, who have at one time or anotfreimported bantams from Mr. T. r Whaley, Wakefield. England, will rt * gret to hear that in alighting from city tramcar he was knocked down 1 a motor-cycle and killed. The de ceased gentleman, who was a leading chemist in Wakefield, was closely asso' dated with Mr. Fred Entwistle in the production of Columbian Wyandotte? also Silver-pencilled Wyandottes. Mr. Tom Jones, Christchurch, has & Muff Red Mottle Tumbler hen that is now- oved 26 years of age. A ft* days ago she laid an egg, which is * most remarkable occurrence for a fc. year-old pigeon. The recently-formed Stratford Society is doing good work in that district, and during the month ending August 25 handled 2,590 dozen egg>. The net amount per dozen paid ©it |to the producers was Is 5d a dozer! ! several suppliers receiving over £io each. We regret to have to report tie death, at the age of S 9, of Mrs. Woc<i, mother of Mr. A. Wood. Grey Lym the popular president of the New Zealand Waterfowl Club. Mrs. Wood always took a keen interest in her son g birds, and she was quite elated at the close of the last Mount Albert layin? test when a trio of Mr. Wood’s ducks created a world’s record. To Mr. ! Wood, his wife, and family, we tender j our sympathy, and in doing so we feel sure we are voicing the sentiments of j both fanciers and utility men. During the week the writer received a letter from Mr. C. A. House, editor lof “Poultry World,” London. Mr. | House states that the World’s Poultry ! Congress at Ottawa was the most won- | derful and enthusiastic conference yet i held, over 3.400 delegates from all over | the world meeting the Prince of Wales and Prince George at a garden party given by his Excellency the GovernorGeneral, Lord Willingdon. Over 140,000 people attended the corgress, over 20,000 being present on the Tuesday. Mr. House says ho had the pleasure of the company of Mr. R. \Y. Hawke, Christchurch, who represented New Zealand at the congress, on his return journey. Mr. Hawke was just about to commence a two : months’ motor tour through England before leaving for the Dominion in November. Mr. Hawke is disappointed that his boat is due to sai! on the opening day of the Crystal Palace show, thus preventing him froir. ! visiting the show. The next world’s poultry congress will be held in London in 1930. Neman made a greater hit at the congress than the Australian delegate the Rev. J. T. Wynn, his forcible breezy, outspokenness falling on very receptive soil. The Americans and Canadians cheered his speeches to tht echo. The Australian delegation wa.‘ a. small one, but evidently loud and long. It was stated at the congress that the value of chickens and eggs produced in one . ear in Ohio is greater than the produce of horses, pigs, or sheep.

Mrs. Montgomery, Henderson, has close upon 600 Back Orpington chickens running about. She has also three large Jubilee incubators filled with White Leghorn eggs, due off this week-end. This will bring her total number of chicks to over 1,000, and her entire stock to well over 1,500. In these days, when poultry-farming has to be run on scientific and business lines to make it pay, few women would care to tackle such an undertaking as Mrs. Montgomery has done. All will admit that she is to be complimented upon her successful efforts, as since the death of her husband she has had the assistance of hex- son only, whom we might say has inherited some o! his late father’s knowledge in selecting a layer. Both Mrs. Montgomerys White Leghorns and Black Orpington* in the Mount Albert test occupy a prominent position. To the squealers who say that poultry-keeping does not pay, we would suggest a visit to Mrs. Montgomery's ana her son’s farm.