SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



109. 



BONE DUST. 



Very beneficial for the feeding of growing birds up to 

 five or six months of age; a preventive of weak legs and 

 diarrhoea; an aid also in postponing the development of 

 young birds, while it provides materials needful for contin- 

 uous growth, and givea strength and size to the fram'e. It 

 should be about the fineness of coarse oatmeal, and should 

 be sifted into and with the m^als used, in the proportion 

 of three ounces to the pound. Tresh bones chopped and 

 pounded, or burnt bones, are not so useful for the above 

 purposes as they are for laying stock or for birds of an age 

 for exhibition. , 



HEREDITARY DISEASES AND EVILS. 



Consumption is the disease most carefully to be guarded 

 against. A consumptive strain will be a constant source of 

 care and disappointment. Squirrel tail is sure to be repro- 

 duced in many of the young birds. Wry tail is also hered- 

 itary.. Crooked breasts, thumb marks on combs or any pecu- 

 liarity in the spikes of the comb, white face where red is the 

 proper color, is dangerously hereditary, ear-lobes splashed or 

 marked with red where pure white is a point, vulture hock, 

 all these defects will be reproduced. Birds with malforma- 

 tions or anything missing, such as being short a toe, or 

 having any peculiarities, should not be used for breeding. 

 HOSPITAL. ' 



Every poultry yard in which, say, even 100 birds are 

 reared yearly, should be provided with a place specially 

 devoted to penning sick birds, where an invalid can be at 

 once isolated and properly doctored. This place must be 

 open to the sun, screened from the east wind, dust dry, 

 freely ventilated, yet free from "Sraught, and warm. The 

 hospital should be whitewashed with hot lime frequently, and 

 perfect cleanliness maintained. 



PULLETS NOT LAYING. 



If they are over six months old, they are either over-fed, 

 which' can be ascertained by feeling their condition and 

 weighing, or under-fed. If pullets are much exhibited and 

 the runs often changed, this will prevent egg production. 

 Should the birds be thin, give meat and a little stimulant, 

 such as buckwheat and sunflower seed; if fat, reduce diet 

 and give an aperient. Constant exhibiting is very fatal to 

 laying. 



EARLY OPENING OF HOUSES. 



This has much to do with health, and if birds that rise 

 with the sun are shut up in close, ill-ventilated roosting- 

 plaoes till 7 or 8 a. m., no success will attend the misman- 

 aging owner. Tie roosting house should open into a covered 

 riin, which the birds can enter at their own free will, to 

 find a little food and to amuse themselves tilt the attendant 

 comes his rounds, -which he must do in summer at 6 a. m. 

 TO PREVENT LAYING. 



Birds for show have, at times, to be kept back. They 

 are in show form just when they begin to lay, and never 

 look so well after. If they are early and' you wish to delay 

 laying, and so prolong the period of growth, move the pullets 

 about from one run to another. 



SLIPPED WING. 



This chiefly occurs with fast-growing cockerels and 

 • ducklings. The primary feathers, which are naturally tuck- 

 ed up out of sight, stick or trail out; the bird has no power 

 to tuck them up. Should the same feathers stick out and 

 appear twisted, so that the inside of the quill is outside, it is 

 probably an hereditary evil. In the first instance, it fre- 

 quently occurs from a number of cocks being kept together, 

 giving rise to some ill treatment, constant racing about and 

 nervous flapping of the wings; these being soft and delicate 



as yet, the birds fail to fold them in closely, and a habit is 

 acquired of letting them hang down out of place. Tucking 

 them up into place when the bird is asleep at night is some- 

 times effectual. But the best way is to sew a band around 

 the wing-feathers near the shoulder, and attach this to an- 

 other which' is passed round the joint of th^ Wing, to prevent 

 it slipping off. It is work of patience and difficulty. 



FsRESH BLOOD. 



If birds are bred in-and-in too closely, many evils will 

 ensue — loss of size, fewer eggs will be laid and a general 

 want of stamnia will be observable. It is well, therefore, 

 occasionally to purchase a cock from one of the best yards, 

 and if it is for show purposes, ascertain the pedigree and 

 if possible see the pen from which he was hatched. It is 

 the easiest thing in the world to introduce a glaring defect 

 into your flock, and one of the most difficult to breed a 

 fault out. Where birds are kept in separate runs and pens 

 the produce for the following year or two will not be so 

 nearly related as to require invigorating by fresh blood; in 

 • fact, any large breeder of a well-known .strain will be very 

 shy cff introducing new stick for any purpose. By a wise 

 system of crossing and separation, thoroughly unrelated birds 

 can be kept ready to hand for the mating season. 



FEATHER EATING. 



A horrid practice, one might almost call a disease, to 

 which fowls brought up in confinement are liable, which dirt 

 and crowding encourage. Idleness is one cause; poultry are 

 often kept in a pen where they have no means of scratching 

 about or amusing themselves. The' earth should be forked 

 up, thrown into heaps, and straw thrown over it. This will 

 give occupation and tend to arrest the evil. Want of fresh 

 water is another source of thij disease.; the water should be 

 replenished often, and kept in the shade. Cabbages tied up 

 whole and tightly to the wall of pens will amuse and serve 

 to pass the time, and a piece of meat hung on the wall 

 furnish good exercise. 



FIGHTING. 



Extreme care should be taken to prevent this amongst 

 show birds, as five minutes' sparring may upset all chance 

 of a special or prize by injury to comb or feathers. Nail 

 up cloth to all partitions eighteen to twenty-four inches 

 high; this prevents all danger. In cold weather' a sever^ 

 fight may be serious. If the birds are ailing after it, put 

 nitric acid in the water sufficient to taste it, and give a 

 capsule of cod liver oil with quinine thrice daily. Slip a 

 raw egg down the bird's throat now and then till vigor is 

 restored. 



HANDLING FOWLS. 



If you catch a bird, leaving its wings free, a desperate 

 strug'gle will ensue, likely to injure exhibition plumage, or 

 to distract a broody hen from her vocation. Approach the 

 bird from behind, place both hands firmly and quickly over 

 the wing joints, then slip the right hand down and secure 

 the legs firmly. All fluttering will thus be avoided, and the 

 bird, held by the legs with the kft hand, will not offer re- 

 sistance. All catching and handling of fowls should be done 

 at night, or after first making the pen dark, if this is 

 feasible. 



WASHING EXHIBITION BIRDS. ' 



Get two tubs, fill the smaller one with a good lather of 

 soap and water (for one bird half a pound of white soap is 

 sufficient) ; stand the bird in the lather and wash it, using 

 a softish hair brush, and with it your hand. Thoroughly 

 brush and cleanse the feathers everywhere, leaving no' spot 

 untouched, and don't be afraid of wetting thoroughly. Use 

 no half measure, and take care not to bend or brush the 



