November 1, 1909 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
31 
SSNS 
assis act 
The Poultry Yard 
Sunflower Seeds as Food. 
It was by accident that the great value 
of sunflower seeds as a poultry food, 
®specially during the moulting season, 
Was first discovered. Adjacent to one of 
the pens ona poultry-farm there was a 
Patch of ripe sunflowers, and the seeds 
had just bogun to drop to the ground 
When the fowls of this particular pen 
Madea way through the fence and ate 
freely of them every day. The 
°Ccurrence was unobserved for some time. 
but it was noticed that the hens con- 
tinued to lay throughout the moult, and 
that they moulted earlier and faster than 
Usual, and also earlier and faster than 
‘ny of the fowls in the other pens. 
Eventually it was discovered that the birds 
had found their way to the sunflowers, and 
this led to the making of a series of 
®Xperiments (writes an 
®xchange) which proved conclusively the 
the addition of sunflower seeds to the diet 
18 of great benefit to moulting fowls. 
In order to get the hens through the 
Molt and to start them laying again with 
the least possible loss of time various oily 
foods aro used, amongst which the 
©Ommonest of linseed-cako and linseed 
Meal, with various spices and condiments; 
but none of these aro as good for the 
Purpose as sunflower seeds, and when fed 
™ moderation none will carry the birds 
through the strain of the molt in better 
American 
“ondition, These seeds are rlch in oil of: 
«kind which seems to have the property 
of assisting the fowls. in. throwing off. 
their old feathers, and not only this, but 
they also contain elements which are 
specially adapted to the formation of the 
new feathers. Some time before moult- 
ing begins sunflower seeds may be freely 
fed, commencing with a light meal 
shortly after the breakfast mash, twice or 
thrice a week. This may be raked into 
the litter or fed broadcast in the runs. 
As the birds get accustomed to the feed 
it may be fed more freely, increasing the 
quantity gradually to a meal per day. 
This may be given in any convenient 
form that will not interfere with the 
ordinary feeding arrangements and at 
any time. Many poultry-keepers prefer 
to feed sunflower seeds crushed in a mash 
with other meals. If this course is taken 
a suitable mash for moulting time will be: 
—Two parts barley-meal, two parts bran 
and four parts sunflower seed, mixed with 
skiin milk. It is however quite as good, 
and generally more convenient to feed 
the seeds whole fcr the evening meal 
allowing as much as the hens will eat at 
that time. Sunflower seed is an excellent 
winter feed for egg prodution, but care. 
must be taken to feed in moderation at 
all seasons other than moulting time. 
When fed too freely the seed has been 
know to produce the remarkable effect of 
throwing fowls into a second molt. 
Throughout the winter it should not be 
fed oftener than twice or thrice a week, 
and in summer once a week is sufficient. 
Sunflowers will grow well in a variety of 
soil but the most suitable is believed to 
be arich natually drained loam. 
The West Australia Government has 
decided to abandon further egg-laying 
competitions, and also to dispense with 
the services of the poultry expert, This 
proceeding appears to be causing ‘no end’ 
of excitement in W-A. poultry circles, 
and a meeting of poultry fanciers at 
the last advices had been called 
to discuss the matter. It would 
seem that the proposal to withdraw 
Government support to the poultry 
industry is ill timed, W.A. is still a large 
importer of eggs. During the first eight 
months of the present year eggs were 
imported into West Australia to the 
amount of £37,226, 
® 
Broody Hens. 
ee 
A correspondent, writing to an exchange 
gives the following on the ‘Broody Hen’ 
subject:— 
‘It may interest your} readers to know 
of a very. simple and effectual method of 
curing broody hens, without the expense 
of buying a broody coop or the trouble of 
making one. I tried it last year with old 
hens, and this year with a young hen 
which had been laying splendid eggs, and 
as T wanted her eggs for setting, I was 
anxious to bring her on to lay quickly. 
At 2.30 p.m.ona Monday, I put her iu 
an ordinary coop by herself, and let her 
out to feed with the others morning and 
evening. I kept her in the coop Monday 
night, but the next night I let her sleep 
in the hen-house. Wednesday morning 
I found her in her usual place on the top: 
of the nest boxes. brought her out, and 
she made no attempt to return to the 
house, and by 2.30 bm. on Wednesday 
she was running about with the other 
fowls, and went to roost on perch as usual, 
So that it only took two clear days to. 
cure her, and she commenced laying 
again on the ninth day from the time: 
‘she had last laid—that is to say, eight 
clear days between. One of the hens 
which I cured last year, by the same 
treatment, was a three-year-old hen, and 
a splendid sitter and mother and she was. 
glad to roost with the other fowls on 
the second night. They hate solitary 
conffnement, and I believe isolating one 
hen in that way is more effectual than 
putting two or three in a broody coop 
together, as, in the latter case, they keep 
each other company, and s0 encourage 
broodiness. 
THE AUSTRALIAN 
BEE BULLETIN 
A Monthly Journal 
Devoted to Bee Keeping. 
Edited and Published by E, TIPPER, 
West Maitland; Apiary, Willow Tree, 
New, South Wales. 
Circulated in all the Australian Colonies 
New Zealand, and Cape of Good Hope. 
Per-Aunum 5s., booked 6s 6d., in Aus- 
tralasia, outside N S.W., add 6d. postage, 
