The Poultry Yard

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 786, 5 October 1929, Page 34

The Poultry Yard

(By

GBO. H. AMBLER.)

CHICKEN REARING

FE month of October is one of the most anxious for the poultry-keeper, and also one of the busiest. He will need to put in all his time as, if he is doing a business in the sale of eggs for hatching or day-old chicks, he will have his hands full. Regarding the sale of eggs for hatching, one often hears of eggs reaching their destination in a more or less damaged condition.

Very often this is the fault of the carriers, but frequently it is due to faulty packing or unsuitable receptacles. Eggs should be carefully packed in partition boxes when dispatched for incubation. Thin-shelled eggs also are often included in sittings sent away. Eggs of this description are unsuitable at any time for incubation purposes, so how much more necessary is it that they should not be sent when the chances of their ever reaching their destination in a perfect state are so very problematical? All boxes should be corded, no matter how else they are secured, and it is an easy matter to make a suitable loop with which to carry the box. Damaged eggs are i‘ fruitful source of disappointment to the purchasers of sittings. and much of this can be avoided by the selection of suitable eggs, together with careful packing and carriage. CARE OF OLDER BIRDS While caring for the young stock the older birds must not be overlooked, and the eye should be cast over the birds each day for any sign of disease. or even debility. Most ailments. if taken in time, can be ar rested, and the sufferer will retain his or her position in the pen. Be careful that the birds are not getting too fat. as a hen in this condition will uot lay so many eggs, nor will they be as fertile as if in a proper condition for breeding. Quite as important for the birds as the food is water. This is a necessity whidh cannot be ignored if the egg supply is to continue. Laying fowls drink a lot of water, and if the health is to be good and the eggs fresh it must be given fresh each day. and the drinking vessels kept sweet and clean. Keep a plentiful supply of grit, sharp flint and oyster shell always at hand —the former to grind up the food in the gizzard, and the latter to supply lime for making the

eggshell. Look round the hens for parasites, and give each a dusting with insect powder. The houses and nest boxes must be kept clean, and now and again it is a good plan to give the same a good sprinkling with a solution of kerol and water. Particular attention should be paid to the nest boxes, for if at all infested with lice and fleas it is anything but pleasant for the birds, and at times is the means of causing them to lay their eggs away. The nests should have a good dusting once a week with the insecticide. Put kerosene or disinfectant in the corners of the nest boxes, and the end of the perches, because you may prevent insects now which will cause a lot of trouble later on. There is much for a man to crowd into his day now; the lengthening days will assist him, though it will not send the stock to roost any earlier. In spite of all there is to do, the incubators and sitting hens must not be neglected. A collection of eggs can easily be managed in a machine, but when the same number is under hens it needs a good deal of attention. OVERCROWDING CHICKENS There is probably no circumstance to which more chicken mortality can be traced than to overcrowding. It is an error that leaves its mark on the survivors, and results in enfeebled constitutions. The effect of lack of space and insufficient air in a brooder coop, or chicken house, is at once apparent on liberating a brood of chickens, while a listless gait, lack of appetite, and a general air of debility can usually be traced at once to this course. A house or cool brooder which will comfortably hold a given number of chickens six weeks old will be totally inadequate when they reach the age of 12 weeks. Yet how often do we see poultry-keepers making the fatal error and sapping the vitality from chickens just at the

most important period of their existence, and at a time when a strong, healthy constitution should be built up. Plenty of air space growing stock must have. So as to prevent any danger of overcrowding, a vigorous system of culling should he carried out. Far better rear half the number and have strong, healthy birds, than twice the number of weakly, anaemic stock. Overcrowding in the houses usually produces results speedily. There is, however, another form of overcrowding which is not so quick to show disaster, but is none the less fatal. It is overcrowding the ground. No chickens can he reared satisfactorily on stale or tainted ground, consequently the coops and brooders j must be frequently shifted if the de-; sire be to maintain a healthy, unchecked growth. CHICKENS “OFF THEIR LEGS” Again I am being bombarded with queries concerning chicks losing the use of their legs. It was ever thus at this season of the year. To rear chicks successfully, you must keep them off hard, wooden, or other floors. They must have soft litter to a depth of several inches from the time of hatching out, i.e., on floors of sleeping compartments. Again, they must not be coddled or kept in too warm a temperature, and feeding until maturity is reached must be proper, and with the object of developing bone and a framework to carry the necessary flesh. Diarrhoea, 1 always think, is caused more by dirty incubators, overheated and dirty brooders and rearers, than any other causes. Between the hatches, the incubators should be disinfected with yama wash, as should all brooders and fostermothers before a fresh lot of chicks is put in. GREEN FEED Now is the time to make provision for a supply of green food during the summer and autumn. At the present time the garden should be yielding a supply from broccoli and kale, of which the tops have been used for the kitchen, but later we must rely upon crops for which seeds should now be sown. For a quick growth, there is nothing to beat lettuce, of which sowings can now be made. Cabbages may be sown, to be followed by thousand-headed kale and savoys for the autumn and winter. A crop of early turnips will also come in useful. Those who are breeding from their own stock, having set as many eggs as they require for tlieir own use, should not overlook the opportunity of selling their surplus eggs for hatching. There may be many farmers and |

small poultrykeepers in the neighbourhood who will be glad to get eggs from purebred stock, while there is unlimited scope for those who are enterprising in advertising. Another source of revenue can be found byhatching chicks in incubators or under hens, and selling them as day-olds with or without mother hens. REARING OF DUCKLINGS Ducklings are very hardy, and at quite an early age can do without natural or artificial heat. However, they must have dry and ample bedding, like the adults. It is wrong to presume that, being waterfowl, ducks ■ cannot do harm if they get wet. Until | the ducklings are feathered properly, it | is not wise to let them be exposed | to long and coarse wet grass, which ■ I can readily lead to lung troubles and losses. GENERAL NOTES The following is the result of the Taranaki Egg-Laying Test to and including the 25th week, the competition having now run half its course. The first half has certainly not been a successful one for some of the breeds —White Runners, for instance, which are one of our most prolific breeds, were so late in making a start that the highest score put up by a duck of this breed is only 96. Fawn and White Runners have done much | better, V. L. Gane’s duck having 143 j eggs to her credit. The leading duck , in the competition is, however, a ; j Khaki Campbell belonging to J. W. Carrielt. Light Sussex, Laugshans and White | Rocks are three breeds which have j not brought credit to their owners. ; Rhode Island Reds and White Wyandottes are two other breeds which | could have done better, A. J. Lacey’s : bird leading iu the Reds with a score | of 125 eggs, and Gibbons Bros.’ with ; | 112 in White Wyandottes. The three Golden Wyandottes In the competition have laid very consistently, a very small number of eggs dividing them. White Leghorns, as usual, are the most numerous competitors. A bird of this breed, however, occupies bottom position in the whole competition, another one tying with a White Rock for s.econd lowest place. Apart i from the two birds mentioned, the i remainder of the birds has laid very ' consistently, the leading bird, helong- ! ing to M. Scanlon, having laid 160 -1 eggs. Brown Leghorns, too, have main- ■ j tained their reputation as layers. j It is to the Black Orpington section

that one has to look for the leader of the competition. D. M. Waddell’s hen is putting up a wonderful score and seems to have brought the vision of an egg-a-day hen nearer to realisation. So far she has laid 178 eggs in 175 days, having on several days laid two eggs. In the three-bird team test the light breeds have laid better than the heavies. R. Camion’s team of White Leghorns has a lead of 40 eggs over Gibbons Bros.’ Golden Wyandottes. The birds, which are under the capable management of Mr. Don. Stewart, are in remarkably good health. For several years the breeding of White Leghorns in the Auckland district has been confined to Miss Ambler, who, although she had to send her birds further afield to meet competition, has stuck loyally to her favourites. However, there is likely to be a revival in this once popular breed as several breeders round Auckland have secured stock or eggs, the most notable being Messrs. F. Blaeklock (Avondale), I. Ball (Grey Lynn) and F. Wright (Ellerslie). Mr. J. Cummings, Christchurch, has kept the breed alive in the South Island. The stronghold is, however, in Taranaki, where such breeders as Messrs. Lister, Eva Jones, Mclntosh and D. Stewart have, for many years, stuck loyally to the’ breed. The Black Minorca is another breed which is going ahead by leaps and bounds, the latest adherent being Mr. Brazzill, Edendale, an enthusiastic breeder, who has a grand lot of chickens running about. The revision of the utility poultry standards has now practically reached finality. At one time it seemed as if little progress were to be made, due to the fact of the omission of the chief Government expert’s name from the Standard Committee. Fortunately this error was rectified with the that the final meeting held in Wellington last week had a happv ending. Mr. G. E. Bates presided and tv as supported by Messrs. G. E. Jeffries and G. Bradford as representatives of the South Island Poultry Association; Messrs. W. Grey, T. Bruce R ' ' vh J’ te a s representatives ot the North Island Poultry Association; Messrs. F. Brown, C. Cousins, L. Cocker and E. Jarrett. Government poultry experts. I am not aware in which breeds the weight has been raised. Personally, I should welcome the addition of Jib weight in Leghorn pullets. There have been too many what one may term “Little Gems” winning in this breed in the past.