SEX TO ORDER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 175, 18 April 1908, Page 3

SEX TO ORDER.

. COCKERELS OR PULLETS ? Everybody, will' agree (says the Sydney "Daily Tolegraph") with an English' contemporary, which says that "it would bo' an- inestimable boon to the great majority of poultrykeepers if it were possible-by some means to govern tho sex of the chickens produced, for the disposal of the surplus oockerels is a very sorious problem in many poultry yards; representing, it may he, a serious loss. Particularly. so is this tho \caso when dealing with ono 1 of tho nonsitting, varieties,' as tho cockerels are of little servico for marketing purposes, and often have; to be disposed, of at actual loss." This question has alwayi been'as attractive to the studious poultry-breeder as is tho quest of the alchemist for the elixir.

of life'. But Nature Jjas baffled them, and every method of selection by • the appearanoo of the egg, timo laid, time birds wero mated, ago of birds mated, • tho number of females'to tho male, and so on adinfinitum, havo failed to give even approximate correct results. Tho reasoning mind cannot believe that this secret will ever'be wrested from/Nature. ••

Feeding, it is said, may < havo. more .to do with the relative proportion, of pullets and cockerels than is commonly supposed. Mr. Edward Brown, secretary of. tho National Poultry. Organisation Society, in dealing with this'question in his book, "Races of Domestic Poultry," says"We know by experience that a fat hen is seldom a good breeder,; but if the giving of fat tends to increase the number of males as compared with females, -then it is a further, advantage. What : we-want, therefore, is to feed our hens, at any ■ rate, in order to produce more • pullets, upon nitrogenous foods, and thus keep them in/, hard-condition of body, with as little .fat.'as .possible 011 them; .while, on tho other hand/ the male birds should be fed to a much, fuller extent," Practice fully bears 'out',this;'statement, and, whilo not claiming for. a moment that the proportion of either sex', can" be adequately gauged, feeding has undoubtedly an influence in- this direction.

Nevertheless, this great problem-may be ■nearer a solution than tho incredulous may suppose. As mentioned recently, a well-known local breeder worlied on a principle of his own'discovery during the past hatching season, extending 'with him from early winter to the end of the year, with absolute sucregard; to every egg hatched. Both a heavy and light brood were experimented with. The method of governing the'sex lies in the treatment to .which the eggs are sub-jected,-and it is claimed that cockerels or pullets can be-produced at will. - "I can now," lie says, "guarantee 100 per cent, of either cockerels or pullets *as desired, but I want my, word backed up by independent tests by men of standing in the local poultry \vorld before I bring the system under the. notice of the public." Three or four of the biggest breeders, adds tho "Telegraph," havo arranged to test tho value of tho 'discovery." A few months, therefore, may see "the greatest development the poultry world, has known—likewise it may see another bubble burst.