POULTRY CENSUS OF N.Z.

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27011, 10 April 1953, Page 8

POULTRY CENSUS OF N.Z.

MORE “BACKYARD” FLOCKS TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRDS 4,199,590 New Zealand’s poultry population of 4,199,590 fowls, ducks, geese, and turkeys consists mainly of the small or “backyard” type of flock. The census of poultry taken by the Census and Statistics Department in 1951 at the same time as the population census shows that flocks with fewer than 25 birds comprise 89.5 per cent, of the total flocks of fowls, and only 1.8 per cent, of the flocks contained 100 or more birds. In 1951 the census recorded 180,723 households as keeping poultry, an increase of 21,390 since 1945. Of this number, 177,933 kept fowls or a mixture of fowls and other poultry, and the others, 2790, kept ducks, geese, or turkeys. There has been a considerable increase—29 per cent.—in “backyard” flocks since 1945, there being 100,009 flocks of fowls numbering 12 or fewer birds. For the 1951 census, householders were asked to include only birds four months old or over. The returns, which included Maori flocks, show that Canterbury had a poultry population of 743,769 out of the South Island total of 1,649,426 birds. Of 3,829,481 fowls in New Zealand, 707,590 were in Canterbury flocks, and 1,550,026 in the South Island. There were 26,924 ducks in Canterbury, 67,221 in the South Island, and 260,659 in New Zealand.

Nearly 59 per cent of the turkeys are found in the Auckland provincial district, as the warmer climate is more suited to the raising of these birds. New Zealand’s turkey population in 1951 was 50,976 birds, and 30,018 of these ’ were in the Auckland district. Canterbury had only 2993. There are also more geese in the Auckland district than any other part of the Dominion, the 1951 figure being 14,712 out of a national total of 58,474. In Canterbury, there were only 6262.

Most of the Dominion’s poultry are in the North Island. This is not surprising, as 67.7 per cent, of the population of New Zealand lives in the north. In the 1951 census, the North Island contained 60.7 per cent, of the total poultry, 59,5 per cent, of fowls, 74.2 per cent, of ducks, 59.2 per cent, of geese, and 83.6 per cent, of the turkeys. The Auckland provincial district—the largest, with 38.4 per cent, of the population of New Zealand—has the largest number of fowls, ducks, geese, and turkeys. 21 Fowls in Average Flock Of the 366 flocks of fowls with 1000 or more birds, 120 were situated in the Auckland provincial district, 72 in Canterbury, 62 in Otago and 61 in Wellington. Canterbury had 14,000 flocks of one to 12 fowls, and 20 with 2000 or more birds. The average number of fowls in flocks was 21.5 for New Zealand. This figure was exceeded in Otago (33) and Canterbury (25.9). Westland had the lowest average, with 12.9. In 1945, there were 63,543 householders in cities, boroughs, and town districts who kept poultry, and in 1951 the total had increased to 73.888. The total number of poultry recorded in urban communities, however, has decreased from 1,185,580 in 1945 to 1.108.888 in 1951. There were 104,664 flocks in rural districts and 73,269 in urban districts. Ninety-two years ago, when the first census of poultry was taken there were 236,098 birds in New Zealand, excluding Maori flocks. By 1874, the total had exceeded 1.000,000. In 1891. the total was 1.790,070, and 15 years later the number of poultry had risen sharply to 3,187,669. When a census was taken in 1936, the poultry population, including Maori flocks, was more than 4,000,000 birds.