NORTHERN
NEW YORK POULTRY FANCIERS
MARCH 2004 QUARTER
NEWSLETTER
IMPORTANT DATES:
Sunday, May 2, 2004 - NNY Poultry Fanciers Annual
Swap Meet at the Madrid Community Center.
The 4-H Group will work the Food Concession stand for us again this year. The
Club will provide the meat, rolls, beverages, salads and eating utensils.
On Saturday, May 1st some of the Club members will be
making salads and baked beans at the Madrid Library Kitchen for the Swap Meet
Food Concession the next day. Anyone who would like to help is welcome to come.
We'll be starting at 4 p.m.
Sunday, September 19, 2004 - NNY Poultry
Fanciers Annual Show will be at the Waddington Arena. Anyone wanting to put a
Special in for our Fall Show or for information on Specials, Show book or the
Show, call Gary Wells at 315-322-8993 or
Words
of Wisdom from our President.
Melvina Reid
The Setting Hen
Last Spring I wrote an article on incubation. It was
more or less a refresher course for those who seldom used an incubator or for
someone new to the game. Since then I have had a few questions about
"natural incubation".
When speaking to novices, old or young, be explicit.
One young lady told me her hen hatched two eggs after having sat on them for
thirty days. - It seems that this is what
happened. She asked an experienced
chicken man what she could do to induce her hen to set. He replied "leave
the eggs in the nest and she might get broody." I do this sometimes. Many
times after a hen sees three or four eggs in the nest, she'll get the maternal
instinct. Three or four eggs - not thirty deposited by several hens. Yes -
thirty eggs. A picture passes by me. A smallish hen perched upon a high mound
of eggs. The hen then had a cage slipped over her. At twenty one
days there was nothing. A few days later the nest began to smell a little. At
thirty days two chicks enter this world. Either the hen had brought back an egg
or two to the nest that had been at the outer edge or she had laid a couple of
eggs after she had been caged.
Thirty eggs! Please don't laugh. If you find a hen
bristling on the nest and you'd like the experience of a hen with chicks, go
ahead, set her. It's kinda fun. Where the nest is
located is of importance.
1)
The hen should be able to have room to get off the nest to eat, drink and
relieve herself. And if possible to
take a hurried dust bath.
2) She should be alone. No
rooster in the maternity ward. No other hens to deposit more eggs in the nest.
3) The spot should be
quiet. No roaring motors. No frantically barking dog. No screeching kids.
4) A cool place. A hen can reach a temperature of 104
degrees when broody. She doesn't need a warm sunny place. Excess heat may drive
her from the nest or cause the eggs to rot. A hen could die.
To prepare a nest for her - make sure there is enough
material under the eggs to keep them from lying on the bare floor. Build the
sides up slightly. Most hens like a dark comer. One of mine likes to be facing
the light.
If hens are treated periodically for mites, your
setter will most likely be free of these. If you set an infested hen she'll
either leave the nest too early or she'll pass the mites on to the chicks.
It is also important that the eggs have good shell
structure. Thin shelled eggs may break in the nest. This will soil the eggs and
cause a sticky mess on the hen. The remaining eggs will probably rot. The hen
may be attacked by flies and maggots will form.
At all times do the best you can to protect your
setter from predators. Coons are the worst. If you think coons "are the
cutest things'' don’t keep chickens. If you think --chickens are cuter - keep guns,
pitchforks, fierce dogs, clubs, high powered electric fences spaced at two
inches, four inches, six inches, one foot, two feet and probably three feet
above the ground and around trees. You put the fence around trees, because if
you don't - the coon climbs the tree," claws his way along a
limb, drops down on your coop roof and pries it open and gorges on chickens and
eggs. (This might sound just a little exaggerated.)
Foxes can be bad news. They
dig holes and go under fences and they can climb to a small extent. A lot is
blamed on coy dogs where there are no coy dogs.
It's probably my
imagination, but I always think that the chicks hatched by the hen are the
healthiest, the smartest and the most attractive.
Questions and
Answers from Melvina Reid. President
Q. Are there hens that never lay?
A. Yes - but this is unusual. Even old, old hens will
lay a few eggs in the spring. I suppose a time comes when they are just too old
to produce. If a young hen is not laying in May, she
probably never will. Reproduction disorders or malformities
may be the cause. Many hens are perfectly healthy but will only lay a very few eggs in April and May and maybe again in
October. If a pullet is a poor layer, she won't get any better. I have owned
some birds that I couldn't get a chick from due to erratic laying patterns.
Q. I hear a lot about culling baby chicks from day one
on. Are you in agreement with this?
A. If any chicks are deformed they should be culled I
do not cull for color until the birds have their growth. If a person can
determine the sex at this time, some feel they can cut down the number of
males. I personally do not feel that killing a chick at this time is
justifiable. If you raise the cockerel, especially large birds or bantams of
the larger breeds, and dress them out at a suitable size, they should be
acceptable for the table.
Q. I have just started out with bantams. A friend used
to have bantams and he is trying to talk me away from the hobby. He says it is
very expensive. Is it?
A. 1) It can be. It needn't
be. If you haven't had chickens before, start easy. Don't go out and buy some
high priced, show ready birds. Not until you practice a little. Buy some nice,
well cared for birds that are good representatives of their breed. Be careful.
Shop around. Ask questions. Don't overpay.
2) Don't waste feed. Feed the birds what they'll clean
up in a reasonable time. Find feeders that are hard for the birds to scratch
the feed out of. Give them kitchen scraps and things from the garden.
3) Expense is a matter of opinion. Some kids wanted a
few bantams. Their mother was very much against this because grain cost $8 a
bag and bantams would not be very productive. On a leash she had a large black
Newfoundland. I took a great interest in the dog. "Is it a female?" I
asked. "Oh yes," she replied, "she's our baby." "Are
you planning on raising puppies?" (I tried to sound eager). "Oh, my
no, she's spayed" was the response. I couldn't resist - "No
production - and how long does an $8 bag of food last her?" I asked. No
the kids didn't get the bantams. Mother was really mad!
Yes, the hobby will cost you some money. You'll get a
few eggs and a little meat for the table. You may sell a few birds or hatching
eggs. A lot of hobbies take money. Hunting. Boating. Bowling. Camping. Eating. If grain is too
expensive, forget it. You could try pressing flowers or gluing puzzles
together. That's cheap.
From our Vice President
Well, it looks like spring has finally come. Starting
to see a few robins in the area seems good. Just in the past couple of weeks my
turkey has started to lay that is always a sure sign
of spring.
Hope everyone will make an effort to attend our Swap
Meet on May 2nd at the Madrid Community Center. The Club needs your support.
Anyone who attends please try to find a few items for our Raffle Table. People
have told me that our Raffle Table is one of the best.
Hope everyone has been having good luck with their
hatchings. My birds have been weird. The birds have not laid
real well this spring; in fact I have not set a modern game egg yet. They laid
real well up until about January, but nothing since. Hope no one else is having
the same trouble. Hope to see you at our Swap Meet.
NEWS
One of our members, Lloyd (Max)
Robertson, 75, of Chase Mills, NY past away on
A local dealer, Cougler's Feed in Heuvelton, has started carrying the
Purina Feed line. You can use your coupons from the Poultry press at Cougler's Feed.
Anyone who has plans for showing or selling birds
needs to have them blood tested. This service is free. Contact John Martin to
have your birds tested. John's address is:
John Martin
New York State Dept of Agriculture & Markets
518-457-3458
WANTED:
Pure breed Rhode Island Rooster Standard, call
315-769-1397.
FOR SALE:
Old English Game Bantams: One trio of Red Pyle, One
trio of Black, One pair of Black Breasted Red, One Pair of Spangles. Call Gary
Wells, Madrid, NY at 315-322-8993.
Old English Game Bantams and Modern Game Bantams:
Modern Games in Brown Red 4 Fawn Red pullets, Old English in
Spangle-Columbian-Black- White-Silver Quill-B.B. Red. Also
This year we are offering Blacks, Fawn Silver Duckwing, BB Reds, Fawn Reds &
Chocolate Old English Game Bantams. Prices are as follows $15.00 per dozen for
what lays the day of shipping. These prices include shipping, handling and box
fee. Contact
Created on ... Apr 03, 2004