136 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



August, 1913 



ground maize should be given to 

 fattening fowls if top qualilv is 

 what is desired. 



— Testing Eggs. — 



Testing eggs for fertility is not a 

 difficult matter. Take a stout 

 piece of dark-coloured cardboard, 

 and cut a hole in the centre the 

 shape of an egg, but a little 

 smaller in size, the broad end of 

 the egg, of course, being held up- 

 wards when testing. The eggsi are 

 l)laced against the bole, one by 

 one, and held up before a bright 

 light in a dark room, mth the 

 result that the infertile eggs can 

 at once be distinguished from the 

 fertiles. A bull's eye or a bicycle 

 lamj) will be found to give a satis- 

 factory light for the purpose in ' 

 ciucstion, and if a dark room is 

 not available the eggs should be 

 tested at night. WTiite-shelled 

 eggs are easier to test than those 

 with brown shells, the dark colour 

 obstructing the light, and on this 

 account such eggs are frequently 

 tested on the eighth or ninth day 

 of incubation instead, of the 

 fifth. On being tested, infer- 

 tile eggs will appear qiuite clear, 

 like tho-se newly -laid, whilst fertile 

 eggs have a darkened centre sur- 

 rounded by a clouded substance, 

 and if the light is very strong, 

 small blood vessels will probably 

 be visible. Eggs should again be 

 tested on the fourteenth day of in- 

 cuV)ation, and any addled eggs 

 .should be removed. 



— Turkeys for Breeding. — 



To raise big, robust turkeys, it 

 is necessary to get the chicks, out 

 and running about as early as pos- 

 sible in the spring. ' Turkey ' hens 

 cannot be considered prolific win- 

 ter layers, and, as a rule, they do 

 not commence to lay eggs until 

 milder davs give an indication of 

 better things to come ; but they 



are amenable to management, like 

 most creatures, and eggs may be 

 had a week or two earlier if warm 

 food is given in the morning, with 

 A g'enerous suj)ply of cooked meat 

 at mid-day. If the breeding stock 

 for the coming season has not al- 

 read)- been selected, no time should 

 l)e lost. It is not satisfactory to 

 breed from yearlings if it can be 

 avoided, and by purchasing two- 

 year-olds, one gets the birds just 

 at the commencement of their 

 prime, with the probalnlity of a 

 long period of usefulness before 

 thtem. A vigorous turkey cock 

 ni'ay run with as many as ten 

 hens, and will fertilise the eggs 

 satisfactorily. As he fertilises a 

 hatch at a, time, there is no ne- 

 cessity to keep him constantly 

 with the hens, and in the case of 

 an old bird it would be better to 

 jnit him in a run by himself dur- 

 ing the greater part of the time. 

 See that there are plentj^ of suit- 

 a:ble places — in sheds or among 

 scrub — where the hens can make 

 their nests, for they much prefer a 

 quiet spot. 



— Stock Birds. — 



All the skiU and care in the 

 world bestowed on chickens will 

 never make up for defects, ' defici- 

 encies, or matters of neglect in 

 regard to the parent stock. This 

 is the rock , and bottom of a really 

 successful breeding season. Health 

 and stamina in every bird isi the 

 first thing to secure. This has a 

 lot to do with the strength of the 

 chickens. Weakly chickens are 

 troublesome, prone to disease, dif- 

 ficult to rear. Strain and parent- 

 age of breeding stock is another 

 vital point. " Like begets like." 

 Stock birds should all be fuUv ma- 

 tured, and usually the best, results 

 are to be obtained from hens in 

 theiz .second year mated to a 

 \igorous, early-hatched cockerel. 



Breeders should have plenty of 

 exercise, and a free run, if possi- 

 ble, should be allowed. Hens that 

 have been laying for some time 

 are not the best to breed from 

 now.' Stock birds should not be 

 over fat, and should be sparingly 

 fed : no forcing should he resorted 

 to at all. .Soft food should not 

 be given too freely : three morn- 

 ings a week is often enough. Good 

 short, fat oats and wheat are the 

 best grains to use, and a Httle 

 meat meal and fresh green food 

 should be supplied daily. And, 

 last!}-, care as to the male bird is 

 very important. " The cock is 

 half the breeding pen," and needs 

 to be kept in fit condition all 

 along. " Strength, goes in at the 

 mouth," and some cocks do not 

 eat enough to maintain their full 

 strength, being over-ahxious about 

 the hens. Such birds snouia , be 

 fed apart daily ; bread and milk 

 scraps of lean meat, hemp seed are" 

 all good as an occasional treat for 

 such birds. There is still an- 

 other point that calls for men- 

 tion — ^breeding stock should be 

 dusted with insect powder when 

 mated up, and kept free from ver- 

 min. 



— The Fertile Egg. — 



When a fertile egg is placed ,un- 

 der a hen, or deposited in an incu- 

 bator, and subjected to a te,niper- 

 ature somewhat above io6 de^ 

 grees, the germ undergoes a 're- 

 remarkable series of alterations, 

 being gradually developed into the 

 perfect chick. During the period 

 of incubation, various changes, oc- 

 cur. The air-vesicle at the end 

 gradually becomes larger inj pro 

 portion as the Water of the albu 

 men evaporates through the pores 

 of the shell. During its dev-elop 

 ment the chicken derives its nour- 

 ishment from the yolk and . albu- 

 men, and shorth' before birth the 



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