THE POULTRY YARD

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 608, 9 March 1929, Page 28

THE POULTRY YARD

(By GEO. H. AMBLER.)

THE MANAGEMENT OF GEESE

IT is oftentimes imagined that, because geese are so extremely hardy, a great deal of importance does not attach to their careful treatment, but this is a totally ■wrong impression. While it is true that geese possess exceptionally robust constitutions and are able to thrive well amid the most adverse surroundings, yet there is no class of poultry that responds so readily to good treatment.

The management of the stock birds is vastly important, and upon it depends much of the success achieved. The demand for geese has diminished somewhat during the last few years, and, as a result, many farmers are under the impression that this hranch of poultry-keeping is better left altogether alone. When one takes into consideration, however, the fact that no kind of poultry is so easy to rear, or so cheap to bring to a killing age as are goslings, it has to be admitted that, while prices are not quite so high as was formerly the case, there is yet a very generous margin of profit left, and there is plenty of room for greatly increasing the number of geese kept in this country, as the demand is still a fairly large one.

Then, too, the manure of geese is a valuable fertiliser, and a remarkable improvement is quickly effected iu a paddock when stocked with geese. It is no use whatever trying to keep geese in close confinement, tor they cannot thrive under such conditions.

THE MOST POPULAR VARIETIES The Embden and the Toulouse are the two breeds of most general service, although there are as many as nine domesticated varieties. These two mentioned varieties, when bred up to their respective standards are very handsome and exceedingly useful as food producers. Either is excellent for the table and for utility purposes, a cross either way between the iwo is most satisfactory. The Toulouse. being practically a 11011-sitter, lays the greatest number of eggs. Geese are very profitable on farms where the grass is poor, improving the growth considerably: in fact, they require to be removed to weaker pusturage when, after a few' years’ grazing, the herbage becomes rank and tainted. Geese will also do well and fatten upon the stubble after harvest, gleaning all the scattered grain left on the ground. The Toulouse should be very massive, improving in size up to three years old, with large bow.

plenty of keel, strong in l\ead and bill, and with an immense gullet. The Embden is totally different from the Toulouse. Although of great size, it is much more compact in appearance, having a long, broad breast, with no indication of keel or bow whatever. The head should be large, but fine in quality, throat quite clean, without the slightest trace of gullet, neck long and swan-like. A FALLACY The antiquated and fallacious idea that cattle will not eat grass on which geese have been running has been exploded many years ago. Our experience has been that where a good number of geese has been running on grass land there has been little of anything left for cattle to eat. Geese eat a tremendous amount of grass and bite it off closer to the ground than any grazing stock. MATING. HATCHING AND REARING Three or four geese to one gander make up a good breeding pen, and the sexes should be quite unrelated. When once suitably mated, the birds should not be uisturbed or divided, as with ordinary luck they will breed successfully for several years, in some cases even 12 to 20 years. With free range of grass, a little oats or wheat in a trough of water once daily is all the food necessary for stock geese. After selecting and making her nest, the goose will usually lay her eggs there the whole of the season. Three or four eggs may be set under one hen. according to the size of the latter. Incubators will be found very useful in hatching out goslings. As soon as they are strong enough the latter should be placed with the hen on short, poor grass, with plenty of water. If the weather is stormy they may be put with a grass sod in a sheltered house or shed for the first few days, and fed with milk-soaked bread mixed with a little oatmeal. They can also have boiled egg minced up with th| shell and a little ground oats added to it. It. is most essential to give goslings green food from their first feed.

This can consist of chopped dandelion leaves, onion tops, lettuce, etc. The green feed should, of course, be mixed with their other food. After a few days their food can be changed to boiled rice dried off with ground oats, barley meal, maize meal or pollard. For the first couple of weeks goslings, like chickens, should be fed at intervals of two to three hours, and care must be taken to see that the food is of the best. After a couple of weeks they can be fed chiefly on a mixture of bran, sharps, maize meal and ground oats, given three times daily. Goslings on free range do not require much bought food after they are six weeks old. One feed, morning and night, will be quite sufficient, and this can consist of sharps and bran with a little maize meal. Grit should always be in plentiful supply, and water should always be available. When the weather is hot and dry, goslings, like ducklings, should not be left out in the open unshaded, as they often die from exposure to the sun’s rays. GEESE FOR THE TABLE In preparing geese for the market, they should be penned up in small numbers of from six to 10, and for a month before killing should be fed upon barley and maize meals, with whole wheat given in a trough of water. Geese should always be killed by dislocation of the and not by the axe or knife. The method of dislocating the neck is quite simple. The bird should be held up by its legs and the tips of its wings, with its head resting on the ground, throat downwards. Place a piece of wood or thin iron piping across the back of the head, place your feet upon each end of the iron and give a good pull upwards, using both hands, of course. If the bird is a young one, care will need to be taken or you will make the head bleed. After the pulling of the neck, the wings and legs should be held firmly and tire head kept downwards, until all struggles cease. The bird should be plucked while warm and have been feasted for 24 hours before killing. It* swimming water is available the bird should be allowed a good swim two days before killing, as this will cleanse the feathers. Although the Embden does not lay quite so many eggs as the Toulouse, it is a better sitter and mother. We have had Toulouse geese which have, averaged over 100 eggs each per annum. Chinese and Canadian geese are the most prolific layers, and are excellent for crossing with the Touiouse. USELESS OLD HENS Too many useless old hens are to be found in many farm flocks. While |it frequently happens that a hen makes a better egg record during her second laying year than she did her first laying year, yet it is doubtful if ! it pays to keep over the second lay-

ing year more liens than will be needed to furnish eggs for hatching. Some records that I went through not long ago showed that 25 per cent, of the hens made the heaviest record the second year, but those that did not do so in most cases made records enough lower the second than they did the first that it would have' been profitable to let the whole flock go when about IS months, and used pullets in their place. PERSONAL NOTES Mr. Curnow, Pukekohe, is looking forward to tlie coming show season with more interest than usual. For several show seasons now he has held a strong hand in Rhode Island Reds and White Wyandottes. This season, however, he has bred some ■wonderfully good Silver Wyandottes which, he anticipates, will be hard to beat. Mr. W. Hart, the popular president of the Hastings Club, has hatched his usual quota of Game Bantams, and informs me he has some very promising young stock. He has entered a dozen birds for the chicken show, to be held at Hastings on March 20. His grandson, Master McFarlane, who for two or three seasons has been one of the most successful exhibitors of Black Rosecombs in the North Island, has a promising lot of his favourites well-grown. Fanciers will regret to hear that Mrs. Rumbal, wife of the popular Whangarei fancier, is still far from being well. She has, however, gone to Waiuku to recuperate, if possible. Mr Rumbal, who was unable to exhibit last year, is intending penning a few birds during the coming season. He tells me he has some promising Black Orpington cockerels and that his winning Black Orpington cock is looking well and coming well through the utility White Leghorns. An error inadvertently crept into my notes last week. The par. referring to Mr. Hanson’s Silver Wyanmoult. He also has some promising dottes should have read “over 40,” not “over 4,” as published. GENERAL NOTES The following is the result of the Taranaki egg-laying competition, up to and including the 47th week: In the White Leghorn section the contest is still proving most inter- | esting, J. W. Carrick’s hen, by layj ing the possible for the week now j ties with W. Cannon’s hen for first | place (both having laid 249 eggs). W. | Ferguson’s hen laid only four eggs for : the week and has gone down to third i place. A. J. Davey’s hen still occuI pies fourth position. : . The positions in the Black Minor-

cas, Andalusians, Black Orpingtons, and Light Sussex are unchanged from last week.

A neck-and-neck race for leadership in the heavy breed section is taking place between C. C. Cleaver's Rhode Island Red and A. Gibbons’s White Wyandotte, only one egg dividing their totals.

In tlie Fawn and White Runners V. L. Gane’s duck has again laid the possible, her total being now 312, G. Li. Gaylard’s duck being second with 269 eggs.

J. W. Garrick's duck is still leading in the White Runner section.

I understand a deputation of Canterbury poultrymen will interview the Government, asking for a guarantee on the 141 b pack of eggs. Canterbury producers contend that the exporting of 141 b packs will considerably assist the local market by relieving it of the smaller egg. They also contend that it will also reduce overhead charges in grading.

I agree that, although it might be beneficial to get the smaller eggs off the market by exporting them to England, the result may be fraught with a certain amount of danger. For many years now executives of egglaying competitions have been trying to maintain the size of egg by heavily penalising the layers of underweight eggs and, although there is always a few small eggs laid in every poultry yard, the exporting of these small eggs would be an incentive for breeders to breed for numbers rather than for size. Personally, I would prefer to see the export of standard size eggs only. Why not maintain our reputation on the English market?

The Auckland Game Club lias arranged to hold a club show in the Newmarket Hall on July 25 and 26. The Game Club has one of the finest arrays of trophies in the Dominion. At its club show several challenge cups, also 12 challenge trophies and numerous special prizes will be competed for. We congratulate the club on its departure from the scale of prize-money as paid by other clubs, the executive having decided on a higher scale of prize money. Mr. Bust, the secretary, informs us that he has already been promised close upon 150 entries. No expense is being spared to make the show’ a success and a South Island breeder is to be appointed to officiate as judge. No doubt the show will bring together a large gathering of game and other fanciers.

At a meeting of the Franklin Poultry Club, held at Pukekohe on Tuesday evening, it was decided to hold a show during the current year. Mr. A. G. Rowles presided over a large attendance of members. Advice was received that June 20 and 21 had been allocated the club

for Its show, but owing to another fixture it was decided to request the North Island Poultry, Pigeon and Canary Association to alter the dates to June 27 and 28.

The president and Mr. H. Nightingale were appointed to attend a conference convened by the Franklin District Court Committee to assist in the court competition at the forthcoming Auckland winter show.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

Worried. Kamo.—The stock of fowls kept by “Worried” are playing “cacanny,” and before passing a drastic sentence upon them he refers their case to me. It appears that the birds are fed all right, but they are confined within a back-yard, the area of which is not given; but I imagine there may be too many for the space. It is reported that the birds are pale in comb, which suggests that they are not getting sufficient light, air and exercise. Their appetites are dull, and they hang about in bunches, which is evidence they are not happy with* their lot. Birds in this state of mind will not lay eggs. Medicine is no cure for this condition, because it is some detail of management that is responsible. This is difficult to discover, because my correspondent says that his birds did so well last year, under the same conditions presumably. If the birds are not overcrowded, and are healthy. I see no reason whatever why they do not lay. My correspondent might submit samples of the foods he is using and give me a fuller description of liis housing and liis yard. C.A.T., Te Papapa.— Cannot understand why one of his Leghorns lays shellless eggs, and the rest of the flock are all right. There are Quite a number of possible causes, but in this case I should suggest there is some ovarian disorganisation. This is not uncommon, and the

cure is in the hands of Dame Nature If she does eventually lay normal eggs she should not be bred from, because the chances are she will hand on the defect to her progeny. Yes. Line-breed-ing is a very interesting subject, and a? regards fecundity and its culture, is ver> important.

Mrs. L.M., Onehunga. —Your query arrived too late to be replied to fully in this week’s issue. Will reply next week