POULTRY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2693, 12 February 1916, Page 15

POULTRY INDUSTRY

XBlf CHANTEOLKE.i

/Marketing, and Why it Fails

Tho 0110 great weakness of the poultr industry is marketing. Volumes'.\uu thousands of columns liavo bee written by experts and coiitnbi tors ,bo newspaper:;, ljut the sul jeot of marketing lias beou largel ncglected. It is Tub Dominion's policy i correct this weakness. It will mean th saving of thousands of pounds in th Wellington district alone, and the mediui: througli which such a saving is effecte deserves tho highest praise. The reaso: why tho system of marketing poultry pn ducts is so backward is largely thefuul o£ ignorance. Producers, when they lniv mastered some of the details of produc tion, are apt to conclude they know v al about the commercial side; hence we.hav producers wlA> are either all tho time 01 the poultry plaut or cooped up in a fac tary or office, completely out of toncl with the requirements of the market, die tating the method and system whereb; products should bo sold. In this demo cratic age this is in a measure correct but it is a policy that is apt to ruin thi men it- sets out to help. Take, for in «tanoe, co-operative concerns. How' man; have been started among poultrymen' Tho manager, instead of being a highly trained commercial man, has been selecte< from among producers. The result ha been failure. Out of six concerns start« on a co-operative basis tor poultrymeii ii New Zealand, not one exists in a iloarie'n ing conditions to-day. Lrfacfc, Hot-on-exists as an independent concern. Snrel; producers should discririiinate betweoi practical and theoretical men. -The; know the vrtlue of practical ex perionce on the poultry plaut. ,N< one dream 6 to-day of placing a manage; on a poultry plant who has had no tx perience. Why then should tho marke be relegated to-inexperienced men? Bomi of the most promising concerns have beei ruined, by this one weakness. Anothci Weakness is the want of loyalty by pro -ducers. A movement sets off with plentj of promises of support, but it is not. loni .'. before a certain section or certain individ iltilg begin to drift. They allow the re Tuahidev ' to Tip-hold the market, mak< (jhe ■ prices,. and then peddle theii products privately to' .save com mission. : It is oae of tho rocks on whicl . most "concerns come to grief. It is;foi _ this reason the circle movement is to b< * commended in Now Zealand. It compeli the members to place all their eggs fo: consumption through the circle, and mem hers who do not do this ore struck of the roll. Loyalty to the base 13 essen tial, if producers want to make for sue cess'. The sacrifice of quality is anotlie: reason why producers fail. ' They star off well, grade, stamp, and market fresh clean eggs, then the old Adam gets ii with dirty, nraall, stale eggs, infertile: from:the incubator, preserved among tli< fresh, until the public curtail buying, am custom and confidence are lost. It i: essential that eggs receive tho highes care. They are a most delicate articli of food. They are the highest concon trated food in existence, That is whj doctoi's recommend them to convalescents liggs cpntain those elements that built up muscle, flesh, and blood. Could an: greater work be entrusted to a producer" When wo we the eggs come in from ihi country, stale, dirty, badly graded, it i ovident such producers have little con ception of taste, and their duty to tin public. In addition to tho sacrifice 0 quality, there is the loss of thousands 0 pounds annually. We gave a forcibli llustration of this a week or two ago, am sevoral farmers have thanked us for thi information, arid promised amendment ii their methods. It is the great worl The Dominion sets out to correct. It i: a work other papers have failed to do It is a work experts have been unabh to do, as in both instances instruction ii poultry-keeping has been their aim, witl prominent instructors, .fanciers, egg-lay ing competitions, and poultry journals Inslrtfrtion along this line has been over, done, while marketing, the chief agent tc make for profit, has been entirely neglected. things You Can't Do, You can't keep chickens in ' health without grit. You can't make eggs from ! feed that produces fat. You can t make a hen sit until sho wants to. You can't keep fowls thrifty without green food of some kind. ■ Yon 'can't make profit with a crowded yard. YOll can't succeed, with, out hard work. You can't build up a trade without capital. You can't keep fowls in good condition that are literally oovered with lice. You can't put brains into an incubator and brooder. You can't get any satisfaction out of a lazy hen. , You can't have a good growth by in-breeding. You can't bo a successful breder until you have became well versed >n poultry-chlturo. You can't afford a big expense jn this business; the less help vou have the better. You oan't speculate on the markets. Prices change with tho whirlwind. You can't become, practical by books alone; you must 1 combine experience with them. ' Composition of an Egg. The composition of yolk and white of [ egg is 14 per cent, albuminoids, 1U per i cent, fat, and 70 per. cent, water. If wo dry it down until tho water is only 12 per cent., the same as a fair sample of corn, we find that the albuminoids are then 11 per cent. To produce such an albuminous product as an egg wo must feed in accordance. The ordinary grains used average . about 11 per cent, albuminoids, greenbone has 20 per cent., horseflesh 22 per cent., dry meat meal and fish meal BO per cent, to 70 per cent., the two latter being so high because, again, most of the water is dried 1 out. A glanco at the figures is sufficient to show that laying l;ons require some of the concentrated nitrogenous foods in addition to grain. The Hen's Cackle. Everyone knows how a hen cackles after she has laid an egg and that the cock looks upon it as a point of honour to answer. Tho reason is not far to seek. Ii is not'that tho hen wishes to advertise the fact that she has laid. All birds are very 6hy of showing the way to the nest. Even our domestic hens will haug about and pretend that they are on the feed when they want to lay until we turn our ■backs, when they will be out of sight in a few seconds. The cock's crow is a challenge to his rival s, and also an effort to show the hens what a fine fellow he is. The hen also has a sexual call. But the cackle and the cook's reply, are quite different. In 3. wild state tho hen left her companions and stole off qniotlv to her nest. After laying she went a little distance bofore sho commenced to call, as they.do to this day. Then she wished to rejoin her mates, which might have strayed to some distance. Her call is very penetrating, and the cock's reply can be heard at a great distance, so tney soon found each other, English Egg Collection. The English National Egg Collection began some years ago as Hospital Egg week. Last December the earlier idea was adapted for the purposes of the war, and an appeal was sent out to those who nad made a success of the schemo in peace-time. Two hundred and fifty eggs, Mr. Robert Williamson says in tho "llfllMonthly, came to London tiio day alter they were asked for. Next day there were only three dozen; in a fortnight tho number had risen to four figures; in two months to five; and by the first week in ■ ?£ 16,267 came in on one day, until that time a record. But many more records Mvevbecn made and broken since * 4*l* * 1 ® on th of May saw a grand total of three and three-quarter millions or eggs collected and distributed. Another month brought in another 1,750,000; and the climax arrived with the Million Egg Week, when, to celebrate Queen Alexandra's patronage of tho movement, more than one million • eggs were contributed within seven days.

r y v « i , liat ? E SS i'arm, S.C.W.L. 26 1126 I Caklcr Bros, S.C.W.L.' 27 11";! Ueretaunga r.C., S.C.W.L. v Wt' l) 28 1033 A T . .Solomon, S.C.W.L 22 u-13 ■T. "Wordsworth, S.C.W.L 20 931 Ilomiinoii Poultry Plant S.C.W.L |21 933 AT. P. Chapman, S.CAV.L 2H 1055 Mrs. J. Hills, S.C.W.L 31 1159 A. R Browne, S.C.W.L 21 103J 'Hcrctaunga P.C., S.C.W.L. t M'xiw-iitiir'siuwj.'"::;;;; £ m C. Wat-burton, S.C.W.L 24 855 ► rai,e^e- L '^; 28 »« Ig. L C Ha'3 L nc, s:c;w:ir::::::::: I iSi A W Irvine S.C.W.!L 28 982 Aslibnrton Poultry Farm, S.C.W.L ;21 S9l | G. Catteral, S.C.W.L 19 9l(, L. 1. "Wright, S.C.W.L 30 1151 I/. Macdonald, S.C.W.L Hfi 924 Atkinson Bros., S.C.W.L 31 097 A. E. Phillips, S.C.W.L 21 DBD Dalmun- Poultry Yards. S.C.W.L 33 j] rs ; g ™ ' a; £ jg W. A. \ixon, S.C.W.L 23 %3 H. S. Woodnorth. S.C.W.L. ... 2!) 1109 If. Roxburgh, "S.C.W.L 2(1 njr R. A. Lazarus, S.C.W.L. ...... 22 9a'n t: V!S| c 'S- -a;;; »"» S.C.W.L o,R 963 W. Dave.v, S.C.W.L 22 I(lfis W. A. Nixon, S.C.W.L 25 1050 If. H. James, S.C.W.L 24 985 n. Mills, S.C.W.L. 2G 119 S. L. Leggett, S.C.W.L 2fi 93S B. Willis and Son, S.C.W.L. ... 30 1036 Oodrjw Oee, S.C.W.L 2!) 10"7 Green Bros., S.C.W.L. 21 910 i"': , 3 « T. Kennedy, S.C.W.L 03 977 Calder Bros.. S.C.W.L. (No. 1) 2!1 1114 K. W. Hawke, S.C.W.L 2? 918 Mrs. Jf'Kinnou, S.C.W.L 27 !)75 Grpen Bros., K.C.W.L 24 1063 Totals 1210 49,606 '

HEAVY BREEDS. Total Total for to .. , , ivcok. date. A. W. Adams, S.W 1G 773 Green Bros.. R.W 30 B. Oakes, B.I.I? 8 870 Cooper and Wainscott, R.I.R. 17 981 W. A. Nitfon, R. 1.1?.. ]2 348 A. E. Wilson. W.W 2+ 779 T. Kennedy, W.W 19 932 W. A.'Nixon, 8.0 22 1025 W. I/. Walker, 8.0 23 1032 E. Willis, 8.0 14 1144. W. Bloomfield, 8.0 ' 21- 975 ' Totals 206 9767 FOR DTJCKS. T?Te New Zealand Club'a fixtli egs-laying test for 'ducks. Returns tor the forty-fourth week are as follow:— • Total Total for to _ _ , week. dote. .T. B. Jlorrett. I.R I 4 gflß J- ?• Jo". LB 17 10.32 T - Hayne, I.R. 13 105!) W. Davidson,. I.R 15 ns7 Tlwa? Dowthnaite, T.R 13 SGfl W. Knight, I.R. 22 1204 W. Knight, T.R 25 _ 955 Wainoni Poultry Farm, I.R. ... 2 340 ToWf ' 11l 7303 ihe letters after oaoh entry denote the breerK as iindevi-8.L., Brown Lechorn: ®!, n sle •Comb White Leghorn; R.C.A\ .Ij., Rose Comb \Vhite Lerhorn; S.W., Silver Wyandotte; R.1.R., Rhode Island Red; W.W., White Wyandotte; 8.0., Black Orpington; 1.R,, Indian Ivunner.