FATTENING BIRDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1052, 16 August 1930, Page 30

FATTENING BIRDS

IX order to fatten birds successfully for market it is best to pen them up iu proper fattening coops for a period of three weeks. These coops are generally placed under cover of a sited or in a sheltered place, bearing in mind that the essentials for proper fattening are quietness, coolness and semi-darkness.

The ideal temperature for fattening is GOdeg. F. The correct fattening coops are sparred structures, and can be made of lin battens placed llin apart in front to allow plenty of room for the birds to get their heads through to the feeding trough, which is placed in front. The coops are best placed about four feet from the ground; this makes it easier for the attendant and gives plenty of ventilation. The droppings fall through the spars on to the ground, which is sprinkled with sand or sawdust, and cleaned daily. The correct size of these coops is 71ft long, 20in wide and 20in high. They are then divided Into three sections, each holding five or six birds.

REARING BIRDS FOR FATTENING Birds intended for. fattening are usually reared from the shell on the soft mash system, rapid growth being essential even at the expense of a certain amount of stamina. They should be given a free range during rearing; this will help to bring them along quickly. An experienced fattener will know when the birds are in a fit condition for the fattening coop. There is no hard and fast rule, size being the best guide. It can roughly be taken that about four mouths old a bird is very suitable for the process, but breed, previous feeding, and weather are additional factors to be considered . FEEDING There are two methods of feeding in vogue when fattening birds for market;—(l) Trough feeding; (2) machine cramming. A good many fatteners combine the two methods, feeding from the trough for the first ten days or so, and cramming by machine the remainder of the fattening period.

lew birds can stand the close confinement and heavy feeding more than three weeks, while some cannot stand it so long and may begin to go off their food and lose weight. Before this happens they should be marketed. Those engaged in the industry can tell at once when a bird is ripe In the fattening pens the birds will gain anything from one and a-half pounds up to three pounds in weight. During the first week the gain is always less than during the second week; iu fact there is sometimes a slight loss until the birds become settled down to the conditions. I hare found that it is possible to put on three pounds weight in Sussex and Sussex crossbreds by trough feeding alone, without using a crammer. Apart from the gain in weight it should be noted that the flesh of these birds is far more juicy i than in birds killed straight from the run.

! One of the troubles that the small : poultry-keeper has to contend with, ' particularly where the birds are j closely confined, is feather plucking, i Fowls appear to develop the habit : more for lack of something to do than for any other reason, and the male, If one is kept, is apt to be the first victim. As soon as the practice begins, however, it quickly spreads to the other members of the flock, and if allowed to go unchecked will presently result in nearly all the birds being more or less denuded, and with this there is a reduction in the egg yield. The best remedy for feather plucking is exercise. The birds must be kept busily engaged during the day, and made to scratch for their feed, plenty of scratching material must be added to their sheds, and their feed well raked into it, or if they can be given more liberty they usually will discontinue the practice unless it has become too deep seated. One preventive measure is to prepare a strong solution of bitter aloes, and sponge the feathers about the denuded parts with this. This makes them very distasteful. A lack of animal food is sometimes held to be the cause of the development of the habit. A regular and liberal supply of fresh meat is recommended. This is a good plan for almost any flock iu confinement, though it is doubtful whether a deficiency in this part of the ration really has anything to do with feather pulling. If the meat be fastened to a string and bung high enough above the floor so that the fowls have to jump for it, this will also assist in keeping them busy. The birds should be supplied with plenty of green food, as this will help to keep the blood cool. A small quantity o£ epsom salts in the drinking water two or three times a week will also be of service. 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 during her first laying year, yet it is doubtful if it pays to keep over the second laying year more hens than will be needed to furnish eggs for hatching. Some records that 1 went through not long ago showed that about 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 year than they did in the first year that it would have been profitable to let the whole flock go when about IS months old and used pullets in their place. I am not saying that a fioci: of hens from good laying stock will not pro- 1 duee enough eggs during their second ! year to pay for the feed they eat or j even make a profit, but T do say with- I out hesitation that a flock of pullets

would do enough better than hens coming two years old to justify discarding the hens in favour of the pullets. It seems easier to induce pullets to lay in winter than it is the older hens. Probably the older hens are not any more susceptible to cold than the pullets are, but the older hens come into cold weather while moulting, and they do not get into laying form until late in the winter. This. I think, is Ttarticularly true of hens of the larger breeds, unless they are given special attention through the moulting season.