Pigs And Poultry At Show

Press, Volume C, Issue 29666, 9 November 1961, Page 22

Pigs And Poultry At Show

The standard of individual pigs was very high throughout the show, but the standard of showmanship was poor in some cases, said Mr E. N. Harrison, of Palmerston North, who judged ail the pig classes. “It takes a Jot of work to get a white pig ready for a show,” he said. "It must be scrubbed at least three times before being brought to the show.” Mr Harrison said that some of the pigs had one toe smaller than the other on some of their feet When this was the case they should not be kept for stud purposes. Some also had outgrowing toes. “The feet are important in pigs, especially when they are expected to spend a lot of time on concrete,” he said. Berkshire There were four outstanding senior Berkshire sows, said Mr Harrison. However, the champion Paparua Prison Farms’ Paparua Veronica had better balance than the others. The standard of the boars was good, but there was nothing particularly outstanding in the section, said Mr Harrison. The junior animals showed considerable promise for the future. They were very good in the carcase but breeders would have to watch for mis-shapen toes, he said. Tamworth "The Tamworths are one of the best selection of the breed I have seen anywhere in New Zealand,” said Mr Harrison. The champion boar, Paparua Prison Fann’s Belmont Lyncon, was eight years old but was still a wonderful pig. He was showing a bit of skin and hair discolouration but Mr Harrison put this down to his age.

Large White

A number of the Large Whites were not shown to the best of their advantage because of poor preparation, said Mr Harrison. However, the boars were very good, and the champion, A. V. Brown and Son’s Tir-Owen Emperor, was an excellent animat There was an outstanding Junior boar exhibited by Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, which won first prize in the one-year-old section. The sows were a little disappointing because some of them were too short in the middle piece, he said. Landrace The Landrace boars were very good, and the champion, G. Beal’s Lisnabragne Supreme 27th, was an outstanding animal. The younger animals were a useful selection, but straightness in tire leg would have to be

watched, said Mr Harrison. The legs tended to tuck under them too much. The sown were good, Mr Harrison said. Large Blacks "It is a pity that the Large Black breed is not as strong as it was 10 years ago,” said Mr Harrison. ‘Those exhibited were reasonably representative at their breed.” Porkers And Baconers “The porkers were a very fine line,” said Mr Harrison, “but the baconers were disappointing.’’ POULTRY "It is obvious that some of the birds exhibited here are kept only for show purposes, which gives them rather an unfair advantage,” said Mr B. E. Graham, of Amberley, the judge of the light breeds of poultry. In the case of breeding birds the male birds would have been separated from the females only for a few weeks, so they would not be in the best condition for show purposes, he said. After great difficulty Mr Graham and Mr G. H. Nicoll, of Ashburton, the judge of the heavy breeds, named a White Leghorn hen owned by E. W. Tippens as the best utility bird in the show. Light Utility Competition in the light utility section was not very strong because of a lack of entries in a number of the classes, said Mr Graham. The best bird in the section, a White Leghorn hen owned by E. W. Tippens, was shown in excellent condition, he said. The cocks were of reasonable quality. In general the standard was reasonably good for this time of the year, said Mr Graham.

Heavy Utility The Australorp cock classes were the best in this section, said Mr Nicoll. “The best heavy utility bird, an Australorp cock owned by A. N. McKie, is one of the best I have seen for a long time.” The hens were even, with nothing outstanding, he said. The Orpingtons were disappointing. One or two of the birds were passed because they were under weight. However, some of the birds were in surprisingly good condition for this time of the year. Standard The heavy standard classes were marred by very poor entries, said Mr Nicoll. There were only two entries and they were very good. Mr I. H. Lee, of North Beach, who judged the game birds, said they were up to the standard of previous years, which was fairly high tor this time of the year. Speaking about the light standard classes, Mr Graham said they were in good condition for this time of the year. Bantams The standard of the bantams was average for this time of the year, said Mr T. A. Mitchell, of Christchurch, who judged the bantam section. The best bantam in the show was a black rosecomb hen owned by E. W. Tippens. This bird was considerably better than most of the others. Eggs The standard of the eggs exhibited was quite satisfactory, though the entries were small, said the judge (Mr H. H. Watson, of Christchurch). The only entry of duck eggs was easily the best of all eggs in the show. They were exhibited by Mis J. R. Bruce. However, there were some good samples of hen eggs, Mr Watson said.