THE POULTRY YARD

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 708, 6 July 1929, Page 14

THE POULTRY YARD

(By

GEO. H. AMBLER.)

LOOKING AHEAD

r another two weeks, so far as the poultry-keeper is concerned, he will be starting on a new year, and there will be no thought for anything but the mating up of the breed-ing-pens and the preparations for hatching. “There is still plenty of time,” the thoughtless poultry man may say, but the real enthusiast knows that the time is none too long to enable him to get all preparations adequately made.

rpHERE are so many things to consider and arrange. First, the best possible rearing arrangements must be ensured. If you have no records made at the time, cast your mind back and recall what were your experiences in rearing at the beginning of last season. Some portions of the ground, no doubt, proved favourable for chicks; the youngsters did quite well on those runs. On the other hand, doubtless, you found some, parts of the runs which did not seem at all suitable. The chicks run on these patches probably did not come on at all, but seemed to pick up all kinds of diseases. Now is the time to treat those bits of ground and get them ready for the coming hatching season. Sweep over the bad patches, lime them well, and dig them over. Then, as soon as possible, sow them down with some quick-growing crop. That will cleanse the ground of any foulness quicker than any other method you could possibly adopt. It might even be good policy to sow these sections with gras. There is just a chance that the grass might get established before the really cold weather comes along, and the winter would then serve to set it more firmly, so that when spring does come again you will have plots of fresh grass on which the chicks can run; plots which will be sweet and fresh so that there will not be much danger of disease. This work, however, must be undertaken now; it is of no use leaving it a month. Perhaps you may decide to go in for the newer policy of rearing chickens intensively for the first six weeks of their life. This is being increasingly recommended, and properlj r carried oat it is one of the greatest safeguards against disease. Remember that 8.W.D., coccidiosis and gapes, the three greatest scourges of chick life, almost always have their origin in ihe soil, or are largely spread from the ground If the chicks are kept inside I until six weeks old they will have reached a stage at which they will be practically immune from these ailments. START THEM WELL The experience of the last season has shown that rearing chicks intensively for the first six weeks has reduced the death rate among chickens by as much as 50 per cent., and has given the youngsters such a start that they have never been any trouble in the later life. Of course, there are dangers about the intensive keeping of chickens if it is not done properly. The one thing to be avoided is overcrowding, but then that has to be guarded against in the ordinary j

method of keeping chicks in coops and runs. It has to be remembered, too, that intensive keeping does not mean keeping the chicks up in any sort of house. They need as much sunlight as possible, consistent with the avoidance of draughts and wet. It may mean redesigning your rearing houses, but it is worth while. The rearing-house should be like the new type of layers’ house, open at the side which gets the most sunshine, so that the shutters, which can be put up when the weather makes it necessary, can also be dropped to the floor level when the sun is shining, and so allow the sun’s rays to shine through the netting front on to the youngsters as they run about the floor. The warmest and most sheltered corner should be utilised for the fostermother itself; the run in which the growing chickens are allowed should be extended gradually toward the sun- ! niest patches of the floor. Do not be afraid of fixing a good wooden floor | to the rearing-house. The old idea that wooden floors are harmful and tend to induce leg weakness is now disproved. It is not wooden floors but lack of sunshine which causes leg weakness in chickens. If you can provide plenty of direct sun rays there will be little fear of leg weakness. The preparation of such a house will naturally take time. It is no use letting things wait until j the last week, and then rushing the 1 job. That is how careless and haphazard work is done, and a house for intensively rearing chicks, if it is to be satisfactory, must be carefully constructed. You can have a wooden floor as explained above, and that will be some safeguarding against rats. A further protection against those creatures is to fix tin or ltiu mesh wire netting under the bottom side ot' the floor, and for six or 12in up the side. LOOK OUT FOR RATS There is no doubt about the advantages of the intensive system for chickens if it is conducted properly. One’s own experience has proved this. Last season, through fear of rats I had to bring some of the chicks into a spare shed, the floor and sides protected against rats as stated, and the wooden floor lightly covered with bran. In the first month those chickens reared indoors grew to nearly twice the size of another batch of chicks which were brooded in the ordinary way under a hen. They never saw outside until they were six weeks old, and then, whenever the sun shone, they were put out on to a small lawn.

Not a single case of any sort of disease occurred among the flock, they had a most excellent start, and they

kept their lead all summer. At six months old they were laying, and looked six weeks older than sisters hatched at the same time but reared outside with hens. That is practical experience. However, as I said at the beginning, if you are going to rear intensively he sure and use tlie best type of house, and make certain that you can tap all the sunshine that may be going. Remembering the need for careful preparation, it is obvious that it is not at all too soon to begin getting ready for the hatching season now. Do not leave looking over the incubators and brooders until the middle of July. Get them out now, clean them up, and examine them thoroughly. A day’s trial run would be advisable; then, if it is found that any parts have failed and need to be renewed, it will be possible to order them and have them ready for when they are needed, whereas valuable time might be lost if it were not discovered until they were needed in July, and the order for new parts were put in just at the busiest season. TREATMENT OF BIRDS AFTER SHOW While it is essential that close attention be given the birds previous to their dispatch to a show, it is equally important that they should be carefully examined and attended to on their return. One of them may possibly have been staged in a pen in which a roupy or diphtheric bird had been staged at a previous show. It is, therefore, always wise to keep the bird by itself for a day or so, and then if no signs of disease appear, it can be put back into its own pen. Care must also be taken that it does not catch cold. Most shows are held in places which become hot during the event, and the change of temperature from the show pen to the open run often causes a chill. Do not think that filth in the poultry house is not dangerous because it is dry. It becomes dust and every moving wind sends it into the lungs with its deadly microbes. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS Bay Road, St. Heliers Bay. —A reply to all your queries would take up too much space, and I am therefore replying fully by post. F.A.. Tuakau, wishes to know (1) which I consider best—feeding hens and ducks on warm dry mash at night or in the morning? My correspondent is evidently under a wrong impression regarding dry mash. Dry mash is a mixture of meals fed in a dry condition. Regarding feeding mash night or morning opens up a wide question, as arguments can be put forward in favour of both methods. Personally, I prefer feeding mash in the morning. (2) If Chinese Langshans are as good layers as Black Orpingtons. There are strains of Langshans which lay more eggs than some strains of Orpingtons. Strain is more important, than breed. It is, however, recognised that most strains of Orpingtons are better layers than Langshans. (3) Anconas are good layers and one of the hardiest breeds in existence; they are also small eaters. (4) I could not definitely say how many hens you could keep on your quarter-acre section unless I knew how they were going to be housed. By having deep houses with good scratching-sheds you could keep more fowls than if you kept thF»m in small houses.

Manurewa Subscriber. —A good mixture suitable for your birds would be two parts wheat, two parts clipped oats and 1 part kibbled maize. As you have only a small flock it would probably be best to procure a good brand of mixed grain. As mash food I would suggest two parts pollard, 1 part maize meal. 2 parts bran with 10 per cent, of meat meal. You

can mix in the house scraps with tlie mash. Always have grit and oyster shell before the birds and give plenty of green feed.

PERSONAL NOTES

Fanciers will welcome Mr. S. Manson (Christchurch), the well-known fancier, who is now resident in Auckland. Mr. Manson is a Rhode Island Red enthusiast and was for some time associated with Mrs. Davidson (Christchurch) in the breeding of reds. During that time Mrs. Davidson staged some of the best reds ever exhibited in the Dominion. The writer well remembers judging a wonderful cockerel (which won the Ayres Challenge Cup outright) at the 1928 Christchurch Show. Mr. Manson, who is a keen Ayres critic, was a visitor to the Onehunga Show. He should be a valuable acquisition to the Auckland Fancy. Mr. W. Wilson (Auckland), has accepted an invitation to judge all classes of poultry (fancy and utility) at the Te Puke Show to be held this month. Although Mr. Wilson has, on three occasions, judged bantams and modern game classes at the Auckland Show, he has not previously judged the other breeds of poultry. “Walter” is, however, such a keen fancier and critic that there is no dubt he will give satisfaction in his initial attempt at wielding the magic wand over all sections of the poultry classes. Auckland fanciers will regret to hear that Mr. W. Hart, the well-known bantam specialist and popular president of the Hastings Club, has had a breakdown in health and, consequently, will not be able to make his usual visit to the Auckland Show. Although he was able to attend the Palmerston North Show for a few hours he was far from j being well and in conversation with the writer he expressed regret at the probability of his having to give up his hobby. Mr. Hart, who is one of the oldest fanciers in the Dominion, made a practice of touring the principal shows with his bantams each year.

GENERAL NOTES

The Auckland Poultry, Pigeon, and Canary Club, which is holding its annual show in conjunction with the A. and P. Association’s Winter Show, is evidently a popular one with fanciers Although the Auckland Club’s event clashes with two other shows, it has received an entry of approximately SOO. The secretary has had to refuse quite a number of entries which arrived late. The Auckland Game Club, following on the practice of several South Island clubs, has initiated an art union in conjunction with its annual show. This is evidently proving popular, with Auckland fanciers, as I hear that well over 100 books have been sold. Auckland fanciers whose exhibits have proved ail through the show season that they can hold their own in any competition again proved their superiority at Rotorua and Pukekohe Shows. At the former show Miss Ambler (Glen Eden)) won live firsts, two second priz.es, also special for best utility duck or drake in the show, special for best male, also for best female, light breeds other than game, in the fancy section.