THE PASSING SEASON.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 245, 16 October 1931, Page 12

THE PASSING SEASON.

HATCHING NEARLY COMPLETED.

ANNUAL PROFIT PER HEN,

"Is it too late to start incubating eggs?" asked a correspondent during the vreek. He said he had just taken over a three acre property and. was -wondering whether he could start a poultry flock this season. He said he would like to raise about 100 laying pullets, and thus get. a ; t fairly quick return for his outlay as well as some revenue from tlie property. He also asks .how much he could expect to make clear from 100' laying pullets. " ' ■ . ':

In regard to the first question, it is getting rather late to put down eggs for hatching. Eggs put in the incubator now would not- hatch until November, and thus would be late coming into production. Most of the commercial poultrymen finish, hatching at the end of September, their plan being to bring out batches at the end of July, August and. September. As our reader has just taken over the property, breeding fowls would have to be bought, and the eggs would take a fortnight or so to become fertile, and that would mean the beginning of December before the chicks would hatch, which is altogether too late. My advice to our correspondent is to purchase day-old chicks, or, better stijl, a reliable line of eight-weeks-old pullets, j

Eight-weeks-old Pullets. ' . ■ There , is an. increasing demand • for eight-weck-old pullets, and poultrymen are quickly adjusting their brooding arrangements. While some buyers complain that -the'ruling price, 6/, is too dear for a young pullet, there arc many who find this the. cheapest way of replacing their house flock. These pullets are not sold until they have learnt to perch, and a chicken perched is a chicken reared. Work it out for. yourself and you will find that' the buyer profits more than the seller, as the latter has all the worry of incubation and rearing.: Both the breeder : and purchaser should-see that this class of' stock are strong aiid healthy. ;

Days of Depressed Prices. The. question as to how much one could expect to make clear .from 100 laying pullets is somewhat difficult to answer in these days of depressed prices. Up to last year a fair average '• would have been. 8/ to 10/ profit per hen per annum, but to-day one does not know just how to estimate. All estimated primary production returns have been astray, and the poultry industry has come into line, and standards have gone by the board. Whether the present depressed, egg market Avill recover is a question which only time will answer. My advice to'our correspondent is to approach the matter very warily. ~ i

Green Feed. Some poultrymen will never realise the full value of feeding as much green feed.ae the chicks and hene will eat. It has Recently been proved that with stock wfilch lias not received enough green food a sudden large feed of it will do more harm than good. Fowls are not unlike ourselves, and green feed not only supplies bulk and minerals but it has a direct effect on the health of the flock. Seeto it that you have a good' supply sown, especially for cutting, during the; hot, dry weather and during! the winter months.' One of the best! crops for summer use'in very dry dis-j tricts is maize, and successive sowings l should be made from October until January. Gut it while young and tein-i der, and chaff it.so that the stalks can -be eaten , too.- ~ For., winter .use.chou' nioellier should- be sown in the earlyj autumn—sow' the seed very, thinly in' rows 3ft apart. Thin out the plants as they grow, until . they are 4ft apart. Keep the eoil cultivated, and pull the bottom leaves as they mature.' While, not so succulent as silver beet, this crops grows well in cold, frosty weather, and gives a much greater yield.' Plants can be transplanted,'but better results , are obtained if the seed, is sown. Oats and barley are good catch crops, 'and! may be sown almost any time.