7 46 Agricultural Gazette of N,S.W. [Oct. 2, 1920. 



Poultry Notes^ 



October. 



JAMES HADLINGTON, Poultry Expert. 



By the time these notes are in the hands of readers the last chickens of this 

 season should have been hatclied. Hearing will now be at its zenith, and it 

 is still possible for hundreds of thousands of chickens to be ruined or lot,t by 

 faulty methods. It must again be strongly emphasised that witli the 

 present high cost of feeding only good, well-developed birds will pay. The 

 farmer who relies solely on the number of his stock, -vithout regai'd to their 

 quality, must fail under present conditions. Tt is more than ever important, 

 therefore, that tiuality rather than quantity should be aimed at, and consti- 

 tutional quality is the main consideration in this connection. For instance, 

 however desirable high laying ability may be, if it is obtained at the expense 

 of physique, the wastage that may occur in rearing will probably be more 

 than a set-off to the higher laying capacity of the survivors. 



Again, conditions are such that well-grown table birds are now profitable 

 — in fact, almost as profitable as the laying hen. This being so, wastage in 

 rearing is the most serious drawback to the industry — in other words, any 

 well-reared bird is a valuable asset, while badly-reared l)irds inean losing 

 money and labour in producing them. 



Chicken Troubles. 

 During the month various chicken troubles have been reported and 

 investigated. Very few cases of serious diseases have come under notice 

 this season, the common troubles being due to faulty brooding, and the most 

 common to running the brooders at low temperatures. A leaflet has been 

 issued by the Department, in which precise instructions and advice on this 

 subject are given and suitable temperatures for different ages are set out, 

 and similar advice is given, on ])age '2S of "Poultry Farming in New 

 .Sout?i Wales." Notwithstanding all this, persons who have read both 

 publications are found making mistakes in regard to temperature — mistakes 

 which annually cost the lives of many thousands of chickens. 



As illustrating this point, cases liave been found wht^re week-old chickens, 

 for which a temperature of 90 degrees Fah. should have been available at 

 all times, have otily had at times 70 degrees — a shortage of 20 degrees. It 

 should be patent that a range of 20 degrees of temperature 'in the brooding 

 units is quite sufficient to account for sickness and deaths, yet in some 

 instances it has not even been recognised or imagined that it has anything to 

 do with the trouble. It is safe to assume from experience that fully 90 per 

 cent, of chicken troubles are the result of this neglect oi- inability on the part 



