Poultry Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19721, 11 December 1926, Page 23 (Supplement)

Poultry Notes

THE QUALITY OF EGGS The egg as laid is a finished product, its food material being scaled inside the shcel, whiich is made airtight by a coating of albumen. As | long as this coating retains its bloom and remains unbroken ,the egg will sell for more than at any other time. The eggs must be kept away from dangers that accompany exposure to heat, moisture, and rapid temperature changes. Tho degree of freshness of an egg may be judged from its appearance, ihe bloom disappearing from the shell and the interior of tho egg becoming more or less shrunken with age. Freshness alone, however, is not a guarantee of quality. New laid eggs may be unsavoury because of the consumption of tainted food by the fowls that laid them, and new laid eggs are often condemned as stale when the only defect is poor flavour. Of all the qualities desirable in market eggs, cleanliness is one of the most important. To have this quality

in eggs it is necessary that strict attention be given to tho sanitary conditions of the dwellings, outbuildings, barns, stock-pens, barnyards and poultry houses at tho plant in which iho eggs arc produced. If filth is anywhere in evidence the hens will find it and, unfortunately, they do not. hesitate to eat and drink in unsanitary places. If tho food and water consumed by tho hens arc taken from barnyards and pig-pens, the feet and shanks of the hens become filthy and in time they will soil the nests and eggs, thereby injuring the appearance and market value of tho eggs. I Bacteria that causes decomposition multiply rapidly in filthy nests, and if I from any cause tho shell of the egg i becomes moist it is easy for the bacteria to enter the eggs before they are gathered from ihe nests. It. is even possible for injurious bacteria to enter the egg before it is laid, infection in such cases being caused by tainted food or polluted water. Uggs that are perfectly clean and have ihv bloom of freshness on their shells arc practical ly certain to be free from bacteria. Uggs that are dirty, damp, or affected with stains of any kind have deteriorated and will decompose rapidly if exposed to heat and damp air. Cleanliness and flavour of eggs are very intimately associated, and cleanliness about the poultry plant and tho [•roper feeding of the hens will assure eggs of line flavour. Such eggs, when, fresh, can bo guaranteed to be of first quality, and will sell freely at all times at prices in advance of the marker price of ordinary eggs. Not withstanding tho fact that the eggs of hens vary in shape and in colour of shell or yolk, there is little difference in their flavour, provided they are cooked in the same manner. The eggs of turkeys and geese have, naturally, a more pronounced flavour than do eggs of other fowl, their flavour being even stronger than that of duck eggs. FERTILE AND INFERTILE EGGS A fertilised egg is susceptible to heat as soon as laid, and the germ will begi lo grow in the egg while in the nest, or in a room during tho hot summer weather. Blood rings appear, and increase in size as the growth I; will be readilv seen that the market) value of such eggs declines gradually until they are valueless as food. On the other hand, infertile or sterile eggs will withstand even the most unfavourable marketing conditions, and arrive at their destination in an. edible condition. In order to secure the very best product lor market, the nests should be kept clean ami comfortable, tho eggs gathered frequently, stored in a cool dry place, and marketed at least twice a week. All mule birds should be disposed of or confined as soon as the hatching season is over. BULKY FOODS Fowls are of times given rations which are so bulky in fibrous materials that they starve to death, with plenty of food before them; simply because the body cannot digest the bulky food fast enough to maintain itself, to say nothing of production. THE BEGINNER AND HIS CHICKS Certainly every beginner with pouftry should use an incubator to do the hatching. It saves time, saves expense, usually results are better and, most important of all, chicks can be hatched at any time. But we want to give a word of caution and advice to the beginner in buying the incubator —especially to the back-ya rd beginner. Don’t buy too large a machine! Better hatches arc made when eggs arc set fresh; saving eggs several weeks to fill a large machine will result in poorer hatches. USE COMMON SENSE In the management of poulty, good common sense must be exercised. 3t must be borne in mind that it generally is some little detail, something righ'tly attended to at the proper time, or carelessly left undone, that points io either profit or loss. Success comes quickly whore intelligent and faithful attention is given to all small matters.