POULTRY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2552, 28 August 1915, Page 15

POULTRY INDUSTRY

- |(By Chanteclee.) -—— : • i , POULTRY FEEDING AND JUDGMENT. PAPER BY MR. J. B. MERRETT, 1■The second of the series of' papers arranged by the Educational Committee of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Ciub was .read at Ohristehure'ii by Mr. J. B. Merritt at the club on August 17. Mr. J. W: Green (president) presided, and there was a very largo attendance. .... In introducing ,liis subject Mr. Merrett stated that an American once said, "I can easily obtain men who c-au coiry two buckets of poultry feed, but I find it. hard to get one who can take a bucket of feed in one hand and a bucket of judgment in the,. other." This remark carried much weight, as it would bo hard to name a more important factor . towards success in poultry culture than good feeding, coupled with judgment. To -become skilled in the art of. feeding implied knowledge of the • elements that foods contain,- so that they may be fed to producu' the finished article ill "the shape of a chicken or an egg. To secure that knowledge ono must at least obtain an elementary acquaintance of those elements of which eggs and foods are composed. There was a close relationship iin-the--analysis of tlio. chicken.and t!}e,.egg,' and to produce.' either knowledge of . foods was essential. If ;we take a-chicken we find it is composed of water, mineral matter, protein, and carbbliyaratefi or fat. Ail egg contained the same elements. V-They differed slightly, but ■what' was found in one was found in the other. There was a close resemblance .betweon the -foods .and the animal nutrition. It < was ' practically tho result of cause and effect. - When they studied the foods and then the finished article there was a beautiful harmony between them, and one could scarcely lay claim to being a successful. .poultryman that did not study this subject. There were somo who 'would maintain they have, had good results frcin certaih methods, but they could not explain, .why the results were obtained. Practical knowledge was always to be desired, but judgment; could never he exercised without the qualification of Iraowing why. Practical experiences did not always , give the isame results. Foods, climate, and circumstances differ so much that one cannot establish any safe rules to fol- : lofr. _ : A, feeding experiment will 6how certain results, \ylule knowledge of the elements contained in the foods ; shows the reason, why. If: they took a' ' number-of pullefcs all of similar strain and egg-laying , capacity, and' fed tliem on different rations, they would obtain differonfc results. Suppose they -took twenty pullets and fed them i tide ration containing elements which would produce three yolks for each white, they, would then lay say 380 eggs in the six months. If they tested with a narrow ration -containing.. elements , which l would produce two whites to each 'yolk, they would.'obtain- 270 eggs in6ix._ months, ', while* -if . they .took a ration containirlg equal materials for yolks and whites, hut'without mineral elements, for shell, production, they Would obtain'l6o. eggs in the sahio. period. Now if they took a .ration containing elements necessary to produce equally all parts of the egg, they would secure-,-1600 .eggs, in the.'saine .-time, ori 'twice as- many- as from the' other imperfect methods.. Feeding by the latter • method would produce what was termed a balanced ration, and this should he, the aim of every poulfayman. The egg ] contained certain elements, So did the foods. . If they fed one to excoss they impoverished the other, and .the complete work of nutrition was impossible. They could not hope to obtain an exact Ijfiowledge. of. the elements in foods, and with oxact judgment dispense them to obtain best resultsj but they coidd improve on the haphazard system of feeding .without judgment.;- The.'words ."balanced ration" were applied to foods so carefully mixed-that they contained the desired elementsi-'in duo proportion for' 1 egg production. If_ there, was an excass of fats over protein it was called a "wide, nutritive-ration." If there ■was an. excces' of protein over fats it was 'called a "narrow ration.',' It was .plainly -seen that ; a knowledge l of the elpinents of foods_ would givo ; a i proper balance 'and the ration they' required for best results. If , they took certain foods. in similar'quantities, they' could nnderstand i better what was meant. If they substituted the words "carbo-hy-drates or fats" and call them "yolks," and .take the word "-protein" and call .it "whites," the'-ianalysis would ,■ 1501b. ; of maize, the result. would be, 382 ,yolks; and 198'wliiteS; or 1501b. of wheat, the result would be 365 yolks and 273 whites; or 251b. of beef scraps or meat meal, 25 yolks and 275 whites. Now it was plainly seen that either of these foods used by itself would be faulty for egg-production, while if all taken together and fed in due proportion one would have a balance ration that would givo satisfactory results. If they wero to feed the hens on maize or wheat alone ,th'e extra yolks would-be built into fat, and this was how they get x the expresison "tho hens aro too fat- to lay." . The fact of the matter was the fact that the hen cannot lay is the reason why she gets too fat. A great' deal of danger existed' in' the feeding of poultry when a knowledge of foods was not understood. If ono took the various foods, they would note that some ran. largely to fats, and others largely to protein. Nature helped us in our ignorance if we feed a food too rich in protein, because the hen has the power to revert the protein elejnents to fats,' but she cannot turn the fat-forming foods into protein: It was here that knowledge came in, and judgment could be exercised. How; often did they hear • of hens having died through, being too fat. •' It was because tho ration had been too wide and resulted in a storage' of tho fat-forni-mg elements. Fortunately - iir "NewZealand there., existed a general knowled.™ of feeding' poultry a variety of foods, and one counteracted the other. They did not see the ill effects the same as if they were confined to a selection of; one given food. They sometimes heard it said that if a vanoty of foods >vas fed the hen will. balance her own dietary, but this was not so. The lien was not a safe guide. If they placed a variety of grain before her, she will unhesitatingly select maize all' the time, but this as her sole feed would be most injudicious. The hen loves maize above all feeds,, and will discard all other, grain's in- preference to it. Still, she simply showed that she was incapable of knowing what was good for her. Sbe went by thste and appear-' ance aiid to pursue her task will lead :to her. system'being overcharged with that element for which the food is noted. vFor 'the. process of. digestion, it was desirable that'as much-of the. food as possible should ■ be prepared, for quick assimilation. The hen's storage'capacity was not great, and the more food she can turn to good account tho bettor the egg yield. > For tliis reason, they should not make a sudden change in tho foods when the egg flow was good.. They should feed a", fair'proportion of tho foods in mash or ground form. The hen had tlio ability to aspjinilate grains, btft they take a longer .time to digest; consequently in the pro-, cess of digestion a whole grain ration will not. extract the element as quickly as if the engine-power had'been applied. In the assimilation of food, the gastric juices played an important part. An old theory, still existed that hard grit is essential for grinding tho grain in tho prop,-but this has - been- disproved v Grit in small quantities may help' to" ...promote health, but to. allow,' the lien! tol

lialf fill her crop with "it is false economy,'and bad judgment. The crop should bo filled with solid-egg-producing foods.. As the quantity of Time in most fods was small, and insufficient for the manufacture of tho egg shell, ground oyster shells should be supplied,- and kept before tho layers at all times. As an aid to food feeding exercise is essential. It was a recognised fact in the promotion of health and strength. Physical vigour soon deteriorated, unless the functions of digestion were assisted with liberal exercise. Tho active hen was often the creature of habit, and nothing would givo a flockof birds a more dilapidated and unhealthy appearance'"than want of exercise. , This was amply proved by tho close confinement birds suffer at shows when a. few days in a coop produce illeffects. In winter the active hens increase combustion in the lungs, and the active hen will always be the warmer, and more healthy than her idle mate. (To be Continued in Nest .Week's , . Notes.) i ' : — N.Z. .UTILITY POULTRY CLUB'S COMPETITIONS... i The official Tesults of the twentieth week of tho Now Zealand Utility Poultry Club's eleventh egg-laying: competition for fowls for the week ended Tuesday, August 21, are as .follow : Total Total .for to week. date. Verrall Bros. B.L. -.... 29 312 H. ieger, S'.C.W.L : 2!) 281 Waikato Egg Farm, 5.C.W.L.... 2!) 421 Calder Bros, S.C.W.L. 33 101 Heretaunga P. 0., No. I, • . S.C.W.L. 82 368 N. Solomon, S.C.W.L. 21 . 398 J. Wordsworth, S.C.W.L. ...... 21 375 Dominion P. Plant. S.C.W.L. 25 210 M. P. Chapman, S.C.W.L. ...... 25 311 Mrs. J. Mills, S.C.W.L. ......... 33 391 A. R. Browne, S.C.W.L. 30 87G Heretaunga P.C., - No. 2, S.C.W.L. ."... 28 375 T. Jl'llwraith, S.C.W.L 21 31G C. Warburton, S.C.W.L 25 261 A. G. Brailey, S.C.W.L. 29 111 ' Wainoni P. Farm, 5.C.W.L.... 21 321 Glencoe P., Ranch, S.C.W.L. ... 29 432 A. W. Irvine, S.C.W.L 36. 311 Aslibuirton' P. Farm, S'.C.W.L. 25 255 Geo. Catttral,. S.C.W.L. 28 317 L. T. Wright 5.C.W.L.'...;.. 32 401 L. Macdonald, S.C.W.L. 31 201 Atkinson Bros., S.C.W.L. 31 252 A. E. Phillips, S.C.W.L. 26 301 Dalmuir P. Yards, S.OW.L. ... 31 402 B. P. L. Clayson, S.C.W.L 30 351 Green Bros., S.C.W.L. 32 361 Jack Green, S.C.W.L. 30 451 A. E. Wilson, S.C.W.L ; 29. 373 W. A. Nixon, S.C.W.L: ......... 25 317 H. S. Woodnorth, S.C.W.L. ... 22 416 R. Roxburgh, S;C.W.L. ......... 27 . 283 R. A. Lazarus, S.C.W.L .; 30 ■ 303 A. W.-Adams, S.C.W.L 31 1 312 T. Fazackerley and ; Sons, S'.C.W.L 26 307 W. Davey, S.C.W.L. 27 337 W. A. Nixon, S.C.W.L 333. R H. James, S.C.W.L. " 27 352 R. Mills, S.C.W.L 29 381 S. L. Leggett, S.C.W.L 27 231 R-. Willis and Son. 5.C.WX.... 27 , 391 George Gee, S'.C.W.L ' 29 308 Green Bros., S.C.W.L. 25 281 Rangiuru Egg Ranch, S.C.W.L. 28 218 Tlios. Kennedy, S.C.W.L. :..... 25 321 Calder Bros, No. 1, 5.C.W.L.... 30 ' 389 R. W. Hawke, S.C.W.L. i 20 329 Mrs. M'Kinnon, S.C.W.L; .21 320 Green Bros., R.C.W.L. ... 31 35fl - . Totals 1356 16,020 HEAVY BREEDS. • . _ Total Total : ■ , ■ ; ' ' tiO . tfl ! . week. date. A. W. Adams, S.W. -21 210 Green Bros., S.W. .....; 25 . 307 E. Oakes, R.I.R. ; 27 296 Cooper and. Wainscott, R.1.R.: 28 421 W. A. Nixon, R.I.R 10 100 a; E. WilSon, W.W 26 182 T. Kennedy, WAV. .... 23 331 W. A. Nixon, 8.0 37 331 W. L. Walker, 8.0. 36 378 : E. Willis, 8.0. 31 , 47? W. Bloomfield, 8.0 29 375 Totals 306 3,417 ■ . .FOR DUCKS. The New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's sixth egg-laying test for ducks. ' Returns for the twentieth week aro as follow:— . ■' Total Total .to to week. date. J. B. Merrett,' I.R .......... 27 • 225' T. R. Hall, I.R 23 304 Glencoe Poultry Ranch, I.R. ... 21 385 W. • Davidson, I.R. . 37 254 'riiomas Dowthwaite, I.R. ...... 21 217 W. Knight, I.R. : 30 413 ,Wi Knight, I.R ? 285 Wainohi P. Farm, I.R ' "4 . Total 169 2,177 The letters-after each' entry denote the breed is under:—B.L., .Brown Leghorn; S.C.W.L., Single Comb White Leghorn; R.C/W.L., Rose Comb. White Leghorn; S.W., Silver Wyandotte; R.1.R., /Rhode Island Red; W.W., White Wyandotte; 3.0 : , Black' Orpington, 1.8., Indian Runner. ". '