PEDIGREE POULTRY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 70, 24 March 1933, Page 12

PEDIGREE POULTRY

The ; novice is often surprised at the high prices paid for some birds. A hen with a world's record for egg production is valued at three figures, and as much as: £10 per bird is not unusual in normal 'times. Often very high prices are paid for exhibition birds of especial merit. Usually it is the novice who pays these very high prices, for wishing to start off with good stock, he_ rushes in and demands the very best. are often loath to part with .their best birds; hence the high prices obtained. In utility strains, that is, those strains which are bred for high egg production, only the best pedigree males should: be used, for these' birds, bred- from- he.nsV with high egg records, Und full of' constitution and vigour, will sire very profitable daughters. And remember, that the male bird is at. least half the breeding pen, so far as pedigree is concerned. In normal, times.a good utility cockerel is easily worth three, guineas, but today they ar& obtainable.at lower prues owing to the keen competition between stud breeders. The buyer cannot expect to get first quality birds at cheap prices, but the novice should not pay too high a price to start off with, as he requires experience to get the best out at his birds. A glaring example of this happened -not many-years ago, when.a keen young breeder purchased some of the best eggs available in the world from leading Australian breeders. A few ol the resulting chicks were sold to an old s.tiid breeder, and when matured the stock was compared. Those birds reared by the importer were not worth breeding fronr, yet the few sold by him to the experienced breeder proved very excellent breeders. Breeding, feeding, and general management go hand in hand in making the best birds.' Neglect any one. of these and yon cannot expect to have tip-top birds. Actually a pedigree bird is one which has a known sire and dam, so that if you are buying stud stock of the best quality you should demand full pedigrees such as you can obtain with "a pedigree dog, cow, or horse. Single penning, or the use of trapnests, is essential for successful stud breeding. Many poultry farmers develop a very good average flock, by careful selection and breeding, but unless they adopt single mating methods they cannot get as good results as they should.