POULTRY NOTES

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 189, 12 May 1928, Page 28

POULTRY NOTES

(By

“Newlald.”)

Registration of Poultrykeepers. The registration of poultrykeepers is a subject that was discussed at considerable length at the conference of poultrymen a couple of months ago, and lias since been brought formally before the Minister of Agriculture by the deputation committee set up by the conference. It has been referred to as a “hardy annual" on more than one occasion, for tlio , reason that it has been brought forward quite a number of times previously but has never made any substantial headway towards being put in to force. This time, however, definite proposals have been put forward, and it is my intention to deal with the main points involved. The first point that comes to mind is that poultry keeping iu this country has come to the position that, with reasonable assistance, it can expand and do its share towards building up the export trade which is vital to the life of the Dominion. The task of encouraging and protecting the industry has been undertaken by the members of the New Zealand Poultry Association since the inception of that body, eighteen years ago, and the financing of that work has been shouldered by a relatively small number of these who have been the recipients of the benefits obtained. Others, many of whom have reaped heavily where they have, not sown, have been quite content to sit back and let the other fellow do the work. Without some means of brin-ing the non-contrlbutors into line, life association lias little hope of accomplishing very much more than it has already doue towards fostering the industry. Certainly. no considerable expansion can take place until such time as wavs and means are taken to provide the sinews of war The proposed scale of registration fees Is as follows:—Those keeping under 100 nti"'^' 1 -on 1 '? 0 ", I’,"' : «<ose klepi "g 100 to 500 birds. 55.; those keeping 501 and over, 10s. in order to have some idea what income would arise as the result of the collection of these registration fees it is necessary to take the last census returns as a guide. The total number of persons keeping flocks of domestic poultry in the Dominion is shown as 158.58 c, but in order to "et -it the root of the matter, the followln'analysis should be studied. It shows the various sizes of flocks, with the numbers of keepers ot them and the . income which would be produced by payment of the amounts proposed In the remit

These figures show clearly that' th" number of what may be called "big” unci) in the business is very small indeed iu comparison to the total number enga-ed in it a side-line, and that, the organisation of these small producers is one ot the biggest jobs in front of the industry to-day. They have reaped their full share of whatever benefits have been obtained. and there is not the least doubt that the large majority of thorn are quite Willing to do their little bit to assist the movement, if only the wav is shown Ihc argument h/is been advanced, and will no doubt be advanced again, that the small man should bo exempt The idea, is quite all right in theorv, but the point to decide is Where to draw (he lino, and in order to proffde some more food for thought, the following table will show the effect if the line is drawn at various intervals. If those flocks, which are less in number titan twelve birds are to be left out of the registration, and all over arc to pay at the rates mentioned before, the return would be £12,681 12s. fid.; flocks of 25 and over would provide £4842 17s. (Id.; flocks of 50 and over would provide £l4lO 10s.: flocks of 100 and over would provide £574.

It may-be pointed out.that the compulsory registration of all flocks of fifty birds and upwards has been in force for some years in Queensland, and according to latest advices to hand, there is a strong demand for similar legislation iu Victoria, but without any exemption. There arc other aspects of this matter which could be discussed, but must wait till a later date. In the meantime, renders of this column are at liberty to forward any criticisms or suggestions they may have to make, when the writer will endeavour to clear up any points in doubt. The Cardinal Errors.

. There are some mistakes which even the most experienced poultry keepers are prone to make, and they arise frequently not so much from ignorance as from forgetfulness or force of circumstances. Nevertheless, as all mistakes in poultry keeping are apt to prove costly, it is no bad plan for the poultry keeper to put, periodically, the following questions to himself:—(l) Am I overcrowding roy fowls in any way? (2) Are my fowls receiving any unsuitable articles af diet? (3) In my anxiety to secure eggs, am I forcing egg production to the possible detriment of my breeding operations next spring? (4) Am I breeding from the pick of my stock only, taking cure that no hereditary talnt of disease is being transmitted? (5) Is my poultry plant in the highest possible state of efficiency, viz., have I every reason to be satisfied with the way my birds are fed, housed, and handled? (fi) Are my fowls overfed? (7) Are my fowl-houses as free as they should be from red mites, fleas, and other insect pests? (8) Am I certain that the fowls’ watdr is the purest and is supplied regularly in clean receptacles? (9) Am I receiving sufficient fresh ground for chicken rearing? (10) Is my stock of the sort most suited to my needs, viz., do I direct my efforts to the elimination of poor specimens and bad layers?

Dryness and Minter Uggs. It docs not matter how good a laying strain mav be. or how well the fowls are looked after and fed, without a dry spot underfoot, eggs will be few and far between- Every effort should be made to give the birds a dry corner, to which they can resort on wet days, and the wisdom of this lias been proved time without end. On one large poultry farm it was found almost impossible to get eggs in the winter, until the experiment of laying wooden floors to the houses was resorted to, and the average egg yield Increased wonderfully, so that, the season following it reached the high averaage of 198 eggs per bird per annum. In this case the birds were fed just the same one year as another. Then dryness lessens the demand for food. If a bird is wet, it. takes heat to dry it, and heat ean only be produced in most cases by food, so that the surplus food that should have been diverted to the egg basket is used in drying the birds’ feathers.

The Proper Ration. A balanced ration is one that contains a proper proportion of all nutriments. AS lias been pointed out many times the protein goes to build up the body, and for reproduction by way of the egg while the carbonaceous elements consisting of the carbohydrates and fats are burned in tjic body and turned into warmth and energymuch tiie same as coal burned under a boiler goes to make both warmth and energy, the latter in the form of steam. The fowl's constitution does not always require the nutriments in the same proportion, as it lias within itself a power to throw off that which is in excess, to use one nutriment as a substitute for another, or. in short, it has a limited power to balance the ration devoured. Close observation will soon teach one how to vary tiie ration to the betterment of the fowls.

One great fault is, generally, an excess of carbohydrates over the quantity of protein, and tiie exercise the fowl has is not enough to throw off the surplus heat.

Flocks. Number At «• Under 32 .... 55,278 2s. (Id. fi'ltxi 'o 13 to 24 .... 2." to 10 .... 50 to 99 .... (12,710 27,450 0,092 2s. <;,1. 7838 15 2f». fid. 3432 . 7 2s. Cd. 83(1 10 0 6 0 £19,017 7 6 WO to 209 .. 1.070 5s. 0d. 417 tn o 300 to -109 .. IDS 5s. Od. 40 16 0 £407 0 0 500 to 999 .. ns 10s. Od. 74 0 o 1000 and over 66 10s. Od. 33 0 0 £107 0 0 Grand total £19,501 7 6