Notes for the Poultry Keeper

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7027, 10 December 1932, Page 9

Notes for the Poultry Keeper

(By M. Watson Stewart, Massey College.) All saleable cockerels that are not wanted for stud or private use, should be disposed of between now and Christmas. The best market is for 41b birds and over, but they must be in good, plump condition to get good prices. It is useless grumbling at the low price gained for surplus cockerels if you are not providing birds that aro plump for the size of their frame. Some invariably do better than others of the same age, and it pays to grade them if only in a very amateur way. If a buyer is faced with a pen of birds for sale, he offers the value of the least good bird in that pen. Thus if good and poor birds aro mixed, your good ones bring less than their market value. Pick first, your stud cockerels and ring them. It is an easy mistake many fall into to send cockerels away for killing as they show up tho biggest in the hatch, then late in the season realiso they must keep a few, and so retain for future breeding pens, perhaps wellshaped and coloured birds that may eventually reach normal size; but they will bo late maturing birds. If they aro in time they may be quite good for show, but early maturity is closely linked with high egg records, and_ it is the early maturing' cockerel which also attains great body weight, that is good for heading a breeding pen of egg producers or meat producers alike. Table Birds.

Ducks, geese and turkeys will be in demand, as always, for the holiday season, as well as plump cockerels, and any birds that aro to bo killed should bo having three mash feeds a day, made possibly from soaked house-scraps ana dried off with pollard, or pollard, a small proportion of bran and oatmeal (say 20 per cent, of each) and 10 per cent, meat and bone meal. Do not use yellow maize meal as it tends to make flesh and skin yellow. Potatoes, bread, otc., aro good flesh formers and do not harm birds if used for a short time, as in fattening. Occasionally give grain for tho evening meal to keep digestion from getting too sluggish. It is readily understood that where diet such as the above is in uso, tho stud cockerels should not be fed along with tho fattening birds. It is almost better for them to bo with hens or pullets, but best that they should be alone. They do not require much shelter—a tree to roost in being good enough. Look out the fat old hens, that that aro keeping up tho food bill and producing only two or three eggs a week — or none at all. Dressing the Birds.

Sinco more birds are eaten at Christmas time, more must be dressed, and it is well to know how it can be done most quickly, neatly and with best effect. All birds aro dealt with in the same manner, although very young, tender birds can have shanks and even feet left on—scrubbed, of course—for effect, when roasted. Any bird older than a few months should have the shanks snapped off an inch nearer the feet than the knee joint. Birds should be starved, killed—by dislocating the neck (unless shot) —two days before wanted for cooking.. It is easier to dress them cold —that is, the day after killing and plucking. Start by making sure that all small and “stub” fcathors aro out, and singeing all hairs in a smokeless flame, that is, gas or methylated spirit. It can take ages to render a fowl clean after use of a smoky candle or burning papers. Cut off the bird’s head, leaving at least six inches of neck skin. Cut this up tho back of the neck, not the front, as the latter would make it impossible to make a tidy job of trussing. Cut away the neck right down at the shoulder, and pull out tho gullet, crop, stomach and loosen the organs left by running a forefinger around inside the shoulder.

Cut a th.ree-inc.li gash across the abdomen, one ineh above the vent. By this take out the organs altogether, taking care not to pierce any part. Cut away the vent completely. If all this is ■well done the bird should not need washing and keeps better without it. Cut a small horizontal slit in the abdomen, abovo the largo gash, and “buttonhole” this piece of skin over the tail—usually known as “the parson's nose.” Stuff tho bird at the neck end and keep the stuffing in by folding over tho neck skin left for tho purpose. Hold this down firmly to the back of the bird by folding the wings on to it. Bend the legs up very tightly into a crouching attitude, pressing tho breast flesh upward. Skewer in this position or use a packing needle and white tape or string. Another, shorter skewer or tho same tape should fix the hock joints together and close to the tail. Liver, gizzard, heart and neck can be put aside. The first two, strictly speaking, should be tucked into the respective wings for a roasting bird, but all are moro usually used for gravy. The giizzard, of course, must bo slit, and its bag of stones and fibre discarded. Take care not to burst tho gall bladder or small green pouch adhering to the ■liver, as anything tho contents touch will have a bitter taste.

That Hatching and Rearing Tackle. The hatching operations should bo over long ago and the youngest chicks six weeks old if they arc going to be any use at all for winter egg production. So it is high time the nesting boxes arc cleaned out, orcosotcd and put away. If incubators were used, they too should be clean, tidy and covered with sacks to keep them from getting dusty or scratched, for it is difficult to be sure that odd things will not bo dumped on them during the season they are out of use. The chick coops possibly need repairing—a job that will take a few minutes now, but if the coop be left lying around waiting, it may mean a new ■coop next season. After scraping, scrubbing and repairing, oreosoto all woodwork freely. Crude creosote oil can bo bought very cheaply from the gas works, and is much stronger than many expensive wood preservers. Indeed, be careful of skin and eyes—especially if children are about, for it is, after all, allied to carbolic acid. Some small amount of ercosotiing was done on the College plant within 3ft. of some sturdy ohou mollier plants, and whether it was a few splashes reached tho plants, or merely the fumes, we do not know, but tho plants wilted and the leaves shrivelled on the side nearest tho creosotcd wood. Whether they will recover or not, remains to be seen. To Use Feathers. A poultry farmer has been known to

say that ho kept his thousand odd white leghorns in order to be sure of always having a feather available for cleaning his pipe! But more feathers than pipe cleaners should be mado use of where poultry are keut. When feathering tho birds —and they are always most satisfactory done dry —keep tho soft feathers and tho quills from ;wings and tail separate. The latter ishould be stripped from tho tips to the ! quill end, down each side, leaving the jibare quill to throw away, and these | really make the beet down, fluffing oat ;a lot when warmed. In feathering ducks | the down can be kept by itself, when it is really quite valuable. If the feathers or down are absolutely clean, just dry them thoroughly in a line bag or pillowslip in hot sun, or in a warm oven. If tho least dirty or if the birds feathered were not young, wash the feathers in a good lather with a little borax in the water; rinse in two waters, squeeze dry in handfuls, and dry them as above. Care should be taken when plucking not to put “juicy’ young fcathors among those to bo kept, as they are troublesome to dry out.

EGG LAYING CONTEST 35th. WEEK’S RESULTS.

Mrs Hellaby—--141 185 167 x 153 125 156 (35) 927 W. E. Jones — 152 12S 155 148 x 122 164x(31) 869 McLean and Whitworth — 121 150 x 9Sx 123 x 162 x 187 (24) 84C Larsen Bros 101 136 109 x 129 97x 77 (31) 649 W. Bish—--177 62x 52 131 153 60*(16) 635 “x” Signifies disqualified. Egg weight clause. Bird dead.

Section A W H. Barber 1 121 2 127 3 154 E.M. Galvin 1 146x 2 190 G. H. Cross — 122 I 1 . Ecob 1 176 O " 161 3 194* A. E. Watson — 204 C. Goodson — 84x 'L. B'. Maun sell 1 160 2 174 3 158 Mrs Stewart 1 146 2 . 148 3 182x S. G. Batten 1 157 E R. Cannon 166 Miss Mitchell 1 157 2 163 3 182 4 14S 5 184 6 186 T. Bruce 1 143 2 .166 3 110 A, J. Shailer i 171 2 155 H. Rushton 1 159 2 129 3 170 4 164 S. G. Batten 2 175 3 197x 4 151 5 ISO 6 124 7 128 Section B. 1 ■180 2 164 Mrs Youngson — 164 Larsen Bros. 1 204x a 131 3 142 4 221x T. Douthwaite — 66 E M. Galvin — 141 Section C. F. Ecob— 196 172 164x 151 131 163 (32) 977 M. L. Boyce — 158 132 160x 173 140 124 (26) 887 M. Macrae — 112 154x 187 111 166 150 (35) 8S0 Mrs Stewart — 151 111 127 136x 104 165x(31) 794 P. B. Harrison155 154 121 84* 127 106 (27) 747 Section D