One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture AnsweredWickson, Edward J. (Edward James)
Science
One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered
Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James)
Agriculture -- California
I have hens which seem well in every respect up to the time of their
combs changing color, when they die within three days. The combs turn a
faint yellow, almost white; they are heavy, have their usual appetite up
to the lost 24 hours. I have treated by giving small doses of castor oil
and Douglas mixture in the drinking water, feeding on dry mash with
plenty of green feed. There is no tendency to lameness nor limp neck.
The droppings are loose and very white.
The fowls were victims of jaundice, which is a form of liver disease and
caused by over-feeding on rich starchy foods that also cause fowls to
become overfat. However, at the end of the laying season and the
beginning of the molt the poultry keeper will lose some hens, even when
kept under the best conditions, and especially hens of that age. In
doctoring such cases in the way described, if the fowl does not improve
in a couple of days, the hatchet cure is the most profitable.
Rupture of Oviduct.
I have had two other hens die suddenly when on the nest. The second one
- we opened and found one egg broken near the vent and another with
shell formed ready to be laid.
Rupture of the oviduct was probably the cause of the hens dying on the
nest and is due to the same condition in the hens; that is, the
straining to expel the egg necessary in the engorged condition of the
internal organs from overfatness.
Melons for Fowls.
Have "stock melons" or "citrons" any merit as a green food for laying
hens? Are the seeds of the above injurious to hens or cows?
Stock melons are desirable for chicken feeding if other succulent
materials are scarce, but they are inferior to alfalfa and other
clovers. Seeds are not injurious to stock unless possibly one should
feed to excess by separating them from the other tissues. If melons are
fed as they grow, no apprehension need be had from injury by seed.
Rape and Vetch for Chickens.
What time do you sow rape and vetch and are they good for chickens?
They surely are good for chickens or for any other stock that likes
greens. They are winter growers in California valleys and should be sown
in the fall as soon as the land is moist enough to keep them growing, or
just as soon as you can get it moist either by rainfall or irrigation.
Neither plant likes dry heat or dry soil.
Preserving Eggs.
What is a good way to preserve eggs for home use?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account