POULTRY NOTES

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10573, 2 March 1912, Page 6

POULTRY NOTES

(By Utilitarian.) The Organiser of the New Zealand Poultry Association has recently received from an officer in the Live Stock Department, Ottawa, further inquiries with regard tn egg circles. He asks for a copy of the report of the recent conference, which has been furwairdcd him. and also states that "Our work here is in the formative stage, and we are learning a great deal from our work and that of others."

One <f the Circle-;, ! am given to understand, proposes to approach illDepartment for a reduction on freights for eggs. This is a most lau dable proposition ; 'hut are they not somewhat too optimistic if they Iklievo the Minister will accede to their demands, justifiable as they are r 1 There would he more prob.ibilk'y of success if all the Circles, oac'v >d -ip by the Association, sent in a largely signed petition, setting forth i'mw requests. This would indicate that the petition was not merely a local affair, luit of importance to all poul-

try men. The best results are obtain 1 from these flocks which are divided up into smiill lots, from ten to twenty Vrds in a pen. Ohiekeus sometimes get into the bad habit of roosting in the nests, and if found doing so, either clcsc the nests -with wire netting for a few nights, or remove the culprits to

some pen where there are no nests. Sometimes the habit is contracted through overcrowding; or, if '..the nests are high up nearly ifull grown birds will, in trying to get on to the highest position, take up their quarters there. Again, on the other hand, chickens

are frequently found roosting in nests built on the ground. This must be stopped at once, or the nests will be soon swarming with vermin, owing to the reluctance most persons have of cleaning them out often. As a matter of fact, the writer condemns nests on the ground, ■ as there is no saving of labour or material, and it certainly is* more tiresome :' work gathering the "spoils" when you have to he continually bending down, and the fowls will be frequently found using them as dust bath sor scratching in them, causing broken eggs, and what Sir Joseph would

term "a holy mess." Hang the nests ] on the wall from two to three feet off the ground, according to your preference. iMaiiy beginners are puzzled with regard to the quantity of food to give to their birds. Hens, that is all over eighteen .months, jfiust be fed according to their condition. They must not be over fat, though rather tending to fatness than to leanness. But with laying pullets, we have a totally different proposition to face. There are many who advocate feeding on the sparing side, .that is, to not give quite as' much as they will eat, arguing that if fed all they can consume they will get over fat. That argument is settled by the bird itself. If of a beefy nature, it certainly 'will soon put on meat and fat, but ibirds of that description are not profitmakers for the producer of eggs, and should he weeded out. On the other hand, the.best egg-produc-ers will be found amongst those of a somewhat lean condition; even if ifed all they can get, which they should be. Jerseys do not, as a rule, put on flesh, but convert the food they have consumed into milk, and I have yet to hear of a ifarmer who advocated stinting his dairy herd lest they get over fat. We must realise there are, for distinction's sake, at least two classes of pullets in nearly every flock*, the meaty ones and the "eggers," and the substance of the foregoing may be summarised up by clearing out the beefers and retaining the remainder. Certainly, there is also the medium class bird, which can generally be kept ,with safety, 'for a small profit, for one year, and these as soon asSiext season's culling commences will probably be the first to go to market. Beginners will find it .Till" interesting and educative study to classify their pullets for the coming season, and keep .careful records of each so classified pen. The eurrent number of the New Zealand Poultry Journal contains a most satisfactory report of the Levin Egg Circle. The Circle is working on the same lines as the Utility Circle. The balance sheet for the first year shows that £699 lis lid was the amount realised for eggs since April, and the members received £672 13s Kkl. Less than £27 covered all expenses, which included collection and railway (freight. The Circle has nlso made arrangements for poultry feed at reduced rates to its members. Its membership is twenty-five, besides several honorary ones. A well-known poultry proprietor ilear Auckland is installing twenty incubators for the coming season, with a total capacity of 5000 eggs. Anyone intending to purchase dayold chicks next season, are advised to

order now, wherever, obtained, as there- is every indication of a .big demand.