POULTRY NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 26, 31 January 1903, Page 4

POULTRY NOTES.

£' •. [By Wyandotte.] iTllteas of interest will be thankfully received I -?■ fcm poultry-raisers. Please address to f . « Wytndolte," Nbws office.] On his visit to Waikato, the Government poultry expert states he found the new poultry station at Ruakuri in full swing. There is already a very fine lot of yoong stock from the recently imported > strains and everything Is now well in hand *for the supply of eggs of auy breed. There is nearly double the number o! stock this year than there was list. Tin -- role is to sell eggs up to the eud of November. Attention is then paid to the breeding, and the young stock are ready for grading and distributing in March. The Patea Poultry Export Cjmpany is *r ■ well under way. The pouUi'y raised b> l the company this teason is uow being - killed aud stored in the special freezing chambers of the Patea Cold btoragv ■ Works. Eggs are also being stored in the freezing works. The company intends to i pay 64 per pound live weight for of the right quality, but this to shareholders only. A notable point in connection with the Patea cornp ii;y is that it is making b success of poultry raising notwithstanding thi present high prices of feed. • A correspondent writes to ask what is th e breed of egg-producers most suitable for this district. The question so fir as t.liig district is concerned is to a large extent a matter of taste. The palm if or eggproduction undoubtedly rests between the black Miuorci and Leghorn (white fo preference). Qhe Minorca should thrive ■ very well in this climate, though, of course, they are not so hardy as the Leg- '' horn. The latter Uys a sraaller egg, and i .probably produces a largp number, a con- ». w leration to be reckoned with when eggs are bought by the doze j instead of by Tfeight. 1 I have not heard of a record being kept, but there is little doub- if the two-breeds were put to the tes on equal . terms as to feeding it would be found . that the Leghorns would l*y more eggs in a year than their black neighbours Ihe secret of this would be found in the fact that the Leghorns are more active in . search of food, aud also that their nature demands a smaller eg*. Takißg everything into consideration, I should recommend the white Leghorn.

ROOP-irS PREVENTION AND CUKE. (By Dr. U. F. Dawson in the Reliable l'ovltry Journal.) Roup, or avian diphtheria, may attack all varieties of the domesticated fowls, also cage and wild birds. The characteristic symptom is the appearance upon the lining membranes of tbe mouth and nose of peculiar yellowish patches, which resemble those present in the throats of children suffering froui diphtheria. These are adherent »io the parts upon which the; rest, and, when stripped off, wanna a-raw bleeding-surface. Ip a few days they become yellow, much thickened, and interfere with the breathing and prehension of food. In some cases the eye is affected. The eyelids become glued together, and the material collects upon the front of the eyeball, causing great bulging and final destruction of the eye. A peculiar nausea'ing odour accompanies the disease, due to tbe decomposition of the pent-up - secretions. Emaciation is rapid, from tha absorption of poisons formed by the disease process, and from the inability to eat. I n some outbreaks the disease attacks the intestines resulting in blijody discharges and great loss. It lasts from a few days to a few weeks, according to its being acute or chronic in character. Some claim that roup is the V same as diphtheria in man. If they are the same disease, why can we not find the germ of diphtheria in roupy chickens as certainly as we cau iu a case of true diphtheria, as in man. Moreover, why can we not apply the diphtheria antitoin to fowls with the same expectation of ■ favourable result as is now obtained by its use in human diphtheria ( - I am unaware that anyone has yet satisfactorily demonstrated that the initial lessons of roup are due to a germ. Undoubtedly, the putrefaction germs which are found in the sores have much to do with the progress of the disease. Roup is often confounded with other affections, the most c >mm<m being ordinary colds and inf' c iu js cuaun. In any disease of this nature which has lasted three or four days, and in which the formation of yellow patches upfln tbe tongue, roof or back part of the mouth has occurred, treat for roup. If the fowl is not worth treatment, destroy it and bam the carcase. ] The indications for treatment are isola- J tion for the affected ones, a complete renovation of the hen-house by scraping the floors, burning old nests, a liberal coat of whitewash to all woodwork, and' coating the floors with a layer of lime. This is to be followed by medicinal treat-1 ment of the affected ones. Ihis should, j in part, consist in the use of autiseptic j washes for the notrils, mouth and throat. I Any of the following washes may be used:: —A two pet cent, solution of creolin ap-! plied to the parta with a brush; equal i parts of kerosene and olive oil, or.cotton seed oil; boric acid, fifteen grains to the ounce of water. In applying any one of these solutions, first remove those portions of the patches which can be detached without causiug blood to flow. It is considered a good practice to also dust the cleansed surfaces with flower of sulphur. The following wash is recommended by ■ Salmon : —Dissolve thirty-five grains of | chlorate of potassium and two grains of j salycylic acid in one ounce of water, and add one ounce of glycerine. Apply this liquid to the spots two or three times a day, and give a teaspoonful of the mixture internally to each fowl. Great relief is afforded the fowls by fumigation. Place the fowls in a tight building and pour oil of tar on a hot brick, piece of iron or a shovel- Do this twice daily- The tumors which form on the head should be opened with a sharp knife, and their contentswashed out. The bleeding, which frequently occurs, can be checked by filling the cavity with raw cotton saturated with chloride of iron. Zuru recommends internally and externally a mixture of 150 grammes of a decoction of walnut leaves (15 grammes to a quart of water) with 20 grammes of glycerine 5 grammes of chlorate of potassium, and one-half -gramme of salycylic acid in 15 grammes of rectified spirit. Of this give once or twice daily a tablespooiiful to large fowls. He also paints the parts with a solution twice a day. In addition to using any of the above /treatments, the birds should be given soft food, and in cases where they cannot eat, the food should be given by hand, Ihey should also be given a stimulating tonic, the following being recommended : Cayenne pepper, sulphate of quinine, sulphate of iron, of each one drachm, ilk, and add a little houey or syrup as an eicipient, and divide the mass into sixty pills. Give each fowl one pill three times a day. Convalescent fowls should not be returned to the heal'hy flock for at ieast a month after recovery.