POULTRY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2588, 9 October 1915, Page 15

POULTRY INDUSTRY

XBy Ohantbolbr,).

Notes for the Novice. Exercise and green feed and plenty of b6th are' the two' big things that keep fowls in health. When buying a bird, place it by itself for a week or so, until certain that it is free from disease and vermin. Fowls in open, windswept places cannot do well; they should bo protected with windbreaks. Onco a weelc examine the, perches for lice and kill them with hot water. The red mites. are_ great bloodsuckers, and pull down a bird's vitality quickly. - The .trouble in the ordinary, small suburban backyard fowinm is that the birds have' nothing to-do, and get too fat. A scratching 6&d can be easily, quickly and cheaply made, and if the grain be thown into litter and the birds made to scratch hard, they Trill do much better. ■The sitting hen walks right off the nest. It is when she goes back that the ejgs are turned and shuffled about by her feet, and by the movements she makes in settling down. Reasoning along these lines, it would seem to be right not to turn incubator eggs until the tray has been exposed for some minutes. Where ffie Olrie can be spared, in mixing the mash, it is a good 6cheme to pour hot water on the bran, mix well, and cover with pollard to keep in the heat. Let it stand for 10 minutes or more, when the bran will be converted into a jellylike mass, easily digested, and with the nutritive value increased. At the end of the 10 minutes mix in the pollard. Breeding to Order, This subject is hoai'y with, age, but never seems to die. From time to time one hears of' some man who has found, out hoiv to breed pullets to order, and who is going "to tell about it later on." This 'later' on" has not come yet, nor is it likely to arrive, for, if it did it would mean that rc&ji possessed the key .to the sex problem, and all over the world people would be breeding liens to lay eggs, and Nature's plan of preserving an even balance of the sexes would be upset. The problem has exercised the brains of thinkers and experimenters for centuries, who were all pulled up by a stone wall that they couldn't get:over, under, or through. No one can breed pullets or cockerels to order, nor horses, nor dogs, nor any other living animal. It's a case of take them as they come. Here and there a mating will .throw more pullets than cockerels or vice versa, and the breeder can follow it up and do iyell for a ivhile; but the sex pendulum , will later swing back tp the normal half and half of each. Even though more pullets may be bred for a year or two, the mating is a fluke, anyhow, and the result is in no way due to any discovery on the part of the breeder. Briefly, and finally,, breeding the sexes to order can't be done. In the Same Coat of Feathers. There will always be breeders who, being fanciers only, will not care to work for egg production. So also there will be those who value egg production . above type. It is .hardly probable that the fancier vrho seeks ideal shape would object to high production, nor is it likely that the egg farmer would object to. standard shape and colour. When we get a hen which meets the requirements of both we will have the one which will bring the highest price;. but can it be done? A few years ago the layers were not much to look at, but they laid remarkably well; while 'the exhibition birds were good to look at, but were poor at laying. The layers;are getting nearer to standard, and the exhibition birds arp turning out more eggs iihile maintaining their quality..- It seems, possible to go further still on the track of dual improvement, but that absolute champion, layers (250 to 300-egg birds) , and winning exhibition birds may be found within , the same coat of feathers is left'for the future to decide. This writer'is of the opinion that it can't be done. ; The standard requirements' are of such a oharacter that they call for large, weighty birds which convert their- food into meat, and as the biff layers put their surplus food into tliey are naturally 6m all ..'and, skinny -with jwor feathering, so that they 'have -no hope :of ' winning : as standard birds. On the other hand, as the big heavy bird turns most of its surplus food into flesh: and feathers, it has no hope of becoming a record laj'er.' As the result of some years of close observation. and experience, the writer believes that the utmost limit of a winning standard hen is 200 eggs in the year.

N.Z. UTILITY POULTRY CLUB'S COMPETITIONS.

The official results of the twenty-6ixth week of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's eleventh egg-laying competition for fowls for the week ended Tuesday, October 5, are as follow;— Total Total for to „ ' week. date. Verrall Bros., B.L 28 591 H. Leger, S.C.W.L. 33' SGG Waikato Egg Farm, S.C.W.L. 32 : 608 Calder : Bros., S.C.W.L. 30 589 Heretaunga P.S., S.C.W.L. „ No. 1 1 30 545 N. Solomon, S.C.W.L:- 2G 474 J. Wordsworth, S.C.W.L. 26 520 Dominion P. Plant, S.C.W.L. 37 425 il. P.. Chapman, S.CW.L. ... 31 501 Mrs. J. Muls, S.C.W.L 34 583 A. R. Browne, S.C.W.L 29 558 Heretaunga P.C., S.C.W.L. No. 2 28 555 T. M'llwraith, S.C.W.L 25 <167 C. Warburton, S.C.W.L 23 415 A. G. Brailey, S.C.W.L. 31 599 Wainoni P. Ranch, S.C.W.L. ... 31 503 Glencoe P. Ranch, S.C.W.L. 32 623 A. W. Irvine, S.C.W.L 31 485 Ashburton P. Farm, S.C.W.L. 25 422 Geo. CatteraJ, S.C.W.L. ...... '22 473 L. T. Wright, S.C.W.L. 30 589 L. Macdonald, S.C.W.L. 31 891 Atkinson Bros., S.C.W.L 34 453 A. E. Phillips, S.C.W.L. 29 . 484 Dalmuir P. Yards, 5.C.W.L.... 33 605 B. P. L. Clayson, S.C.W.L. ... 27 505 Green Bros., S.C.W.L. 33 557 Jack Green, S.C.W.L. 31 621 A. E. Wilson, S.C.W.L. 34 570 W. A. Nixon, S.C.W.L. 30 492 H. S. Woodnorth, S.C.W.L. ... 31 591 R- Roxburgh, S.C.W.L 29 402 E. A. Lazarus; S.C.W.L, 29 479 A. W. Adams, S.C.W.L 36 533 T. Fazackerley and Sons, S.C.W.L. 29 466 W. Davey, S.C.W.L 34 533 W. A. Nixon, S.C.W.L 34 527 R. H. James, S.C.W.L 32 539 B. Mills, S.C.W.L 32 572 S. L. Leggett, S.C.W.L 33 418 R. Willis and Son. S.C.W.L. 25 565 George Geo, S.C.W.L 33 494 Grefen, Bros., S.C.W.L. 28 451 Rangiuru Egg Ranch, S.C.W.L. 20 406 fhos. Kennedy, S.C.W.L 27 503 Calder Bros., S.C.W.L.' No. 132 588 E. W. Hawke, S.C.W.L 25 489 Mrs. M'Kinnon, S.C.W.L 26 480 Green Bros., R.C.W.L 32 547 Totals ..1462 25,421 HEAVI BREEDS. Total Total \ for to week. date. A. W. Adams, S.W 21 396 Green Bros., S.W 20 457 E. Oakes, R.I.R 26 470 Cooper and Wainscott, R.I.R. 30 597 W. A. Niion,' R.r.R 9 188 A. E. Wilson. W-W .29 343 T. Kennedy, W.W '36 517 W. A. Nixon, 8.0 34 530 W. L. Walker, 8.0 27 568 E. Willis, 8.0 31 681 W. Bloomfield, 8.0 26 561 Totals ■ 289 6314 7 FOR DUCKS. ' The New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's sixth egg-laying test for ducks. Returns for the twenty-sixth ireek are as follow:— Total Total tor to ; week. date. J. B. Merrett, I.R. ' 36 445 T. E. Hall, 1.E.,.....: 88v, 517 Glencoe Poultry Ranch, I.R. 31 595 W. Davidson, I.R. ■ 34 478 Thomas Dowthwaito. I.R. ...... 32 ' 391 W. Knight, I.R 3G 641 W. Knight, I.R ; ;. '32 . 442 Wainoni P. Farm, I.R. .15 130 Totals . 254 3639