POULTRY NOTES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10717, 22 October 1912, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES.

j (My "Utilitarian.") | Tiireo know'ri cnnaft i !X ' sts for l!e:;s j breaking down in the powterloi, i' ir.st , ilirougli over fat in old lions' secondly, due t;> i nptuj o, thirdly, the misplacing o,f the oviduct, resulting in the egg yolks falling into the abdomen, and becoming a large solid .imifs. It is practically useless endeavouring to cure birds so afl'c-ctod. i To become proficient in poultry fanning, both theory and persistent hard graft, combined with practical experience, are absolutely necessary. Grass should never be allowed to become long and rank in the- pens, as it becomes tainted and unlit for the birds. 1 For clearly distinguishing the various points of a fowl, the following list may -prove of use to beginners. Comb, face wattles, ear-lobe, hackle, breast, back, saddle, suddle-linckle. sickles, tail-coverts, true, tail-feathers, wing-bow, wing-coverts, secondaries, lower wing-butts, primaries, thighs, hocks, legs or shanks, spur, toes, or claws.

Those who do not pr:an efficient brooder house for their chickens ran get over tiie difficulty by protecting thriii frcin rats mid other vermin, by making movable pons of fine wire 1 lotting, fastened on frames., and placing the brooders inside. A frame should be placed on the top also, hut not nailed down, as everything can lie then moved more easily which should he done every few days, according to the area enclosed. Mr 0. R. Rykes, M. P., has sent the writer a letter he received from the Prim Minister, on thr> exporting of eggs, wherein it is seen- that the Department, though not sending a man over with the experimental ship- ' rnent of eggs, has, nevertheless, giyon , very definite instructions with rejgard to careful testing, examination, t and marketing, and those who are | pessimistically inclined should Ink'". ' heart and realise that poultrvmpu !ca;.). fiU(! will l.mve, more notice taken, iby the powers that he, •firf iiieJr I able requests. The optimist will now I wter a broader smile than ever, which t is the usual prelude to "waxing fat." j Chiekenr require very careful att-en- . tion, especially up to three months I old. Beginners arc sometime-'; apt to forgot that as they <rrow older they : require more space. We have seen j case.-- whore they have been reared i" 1 small crrps. after "weaning," and . there left until ju't about laving acre, j or, say. fiv n months old. Chic 1 '""- so treated will grow up stunted, oiul , became smothered in vermi" ."'hi'-:' j will greatly militate against licvr ogg production from the pullets and clroek the enckrels from quick nintu--ing and sneedy fattening. Visits, of a nigh l - time, are necessary to-enable the owner to see for him or herself whether sufficient nerehin.c space and ventilation are to hand. Tf not, the sooner this is remedied the better.

Xn nkiiier how well-bred birds may be that are, procured from another po>son, never run the risk of nintirir full brothers and sisters. Cases like this are only too common, and it is not lono: before the owners nr«» wondering; whv the progeny cl<« not f-ho".' snph irocxl refills as their parents did. Tt

is purely a mutter .of degeneracy, consequent on too close mating, which ' weakens the constitutions and so tlisables the hirds from laying as heavily as might have been exposed. It should bp born in mind tbnt artificially high egg records require a" exceedingly strong constitution and cannot be obtained from indiscriminate mating. Next to possessing the ability of picking the true laying, type, comes, we consider, the vital importance of the scientific mating, and then, further, the knowledge of how to cull the six month old pullets. One almost needs to be a poultry encyclopedia in himself, tf> master the thousand and one points in poultry farming, which, as has been mentioned in former notes, is a vastly different business to poultry "keeping." • ' ' Read, mark and always be ready to learn more, is safe advice. The propietor of the Utility Poultry Farm is still dispensing settings of White Leghorns and Indian Runners, and giving 2o per cent discount to members of the Utility Egg Circle. No time to be lost now. for those who want cheap and reliable settings.