THE BARRED ROCK

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 36, 12 February 1938, Page 25

THE BARRED ROCK

DUAL-PURPOSE BREED

Although table poultry production attracts little attention from commercial poulry men in New Zealand, it is surprising that more notice has not been taken of the Barred Plymoutn Rock. ' America's dual purpose breed, the Hock still maintains a lead over the.Rhode Island Red, and large numbers are bred on many commercial farms. The usual practice with these dual purpose American breeds is to •market the hens after their first egglaying season, as they are then young enough to fetch excellent prices as boiling fowls, and for this reason strains : are. developed which are inclined to put on extra fat and flesli with age. Perhaps to E. B. Thompson and Professor Dryden does the Rock owe much of its popularity. The former produced, about twenty years ago. the famous "Ringlet" "strain of exhibition birds. Perfect in barring, this strain also had long tail coverts in the males, which distinguished them from other strains and considerably added to their show appearance. A sum of £300 was refused for one of E. B. Thompson's winning cockerels.

Later Professor Dryden set out to show the world that the Rock could equal and better any other breed in egg-laying contests, and his winnings and world's records are numerous. One of his champion pens in the Missouri contest laid the remarkable total of 145 eggs out of a possible ?!30 for the month of April, 1932. Acually seven birds (two reserves) were entered, and these two reserves laid the possible for the month, so that had the score of the five best been taken, which is the usual practice in U.S.A. contests, their score would have been 149 eggs out of a possible of, 150. Such laying is mcst unusual, even for the best egg-pro-ducing month of the year. For indi-. viduals the highest score was established in 1929-30, a Dryden hen beat-, ing 1300 other entries of different breeds with a score of 334 eggs in 305 days. Anyone with a practised eye will recognise in the Barred Rock ample scope for both fancier and utility breeder. Possibly due to the pheriomenal success of the Rhode Island Red, the Rock has been somewhat neglected. ';

Some good stock has been imported into New Zealand in the past. An excellent pen came to the order of W. U. Timewell, of Wh'angarei, some fifteen years, ago, and others came to the South "island. There are excellent show Rocks in the country today, but the utility aspects haye been neglected, except by a very few. That the silver factor is present in the Rock adds to its value for sex-linkage work, and the Cambar owns the Rock as its chief parent. Sooner or later the Barred Plymouth Rock will come .into its own in this country, in spite of the interest displayed in both Austraidorps and Rhode Island Reds. It is a breed that the Department of Agriculture might well have favoured instead of the Larigshan, with its handicap of feathered legs. This handicap may mean little; to -the.' experienced poultryman who hatches and rears artificially, but to the average farmer who neglects ihe ravages of scalyleg mite those feathered legs mean trouble. The Rock has. a y_ellow skin with yellow legs, but*th'e':hens', after a good laying beason, bleach out to almost white flesh, and' so command excellent value as table poultry. The black shanks and pin feathers of the Australorp will always be a handicap. COCK BIRDS. Many will agree that too little value is placed on stud sires used in special matings.. Visit any breeder in ■ the season and ask to see his best matings. and in nearly every case the pen or pens will be headed by a pockerel. The cockerel may be a good one, but because it looks better than its father and is more full of vim early in the season, the parent bird is neglected. Tested cock birds' are invaluable even if they are later in mating. Give care to the cock birds now and they will produce fertile eggs early enough to continue their blood. Cocks moult more slowly than hens, and often cock birds are-mated long before they are "in the pink," with. the -result that fertility is poor and the bird instead of the management is blamed. Another „ important point is that a cock bird should not be isolated for nine . months of the year. Such treatment tends towards sterility, and while a rest is advisable too prolonged separation is harmful. As soon as the cooler weather arrives allow the cock birds to run with' a few hens. Progeny-testing is becoming more and more important and quite scientific. In some work undertaken by specialists, males are progeny-tested before being used, which means that they will be two years old before they are recognised as useful breeders. Age is one of the best critics of stamina, and while many are ■ using selected aged females as breeders the male side is being neglected. The f breeding value of a good male is at least six times that of a female, dnce he can be the sire of all the chicks from a pen. If an aged male has given good stock, either show birds or layers, it should be kept for further use, but it requires special care . now. RANGE FOR BREEDERS. Breeding stock must have range if the high breeding value is to result. This point -bears frequent repetition. The range must be provided before' the breeding season, not during it, bo that natural vigour is restored. The | 300-egg hen released from the intensive shed is of little breeding value. . but after a year of roughing it on ', range she will come back full of : breeding worth. Mass production of ■ flock birds has come to stay, and it " has much to commend it, but with it ; comes the greater need for more careful breeding practice on the part of ; stud breeders. With ample land and ' ideal climatic conditions, New Zealand could well become a wholesale exporting country for high-class stud poultry. Short grass range with some , scrub for shelter from winds is need- ! ed, and such conditions exist on many ! sheep and dairy farms. Co-opera- 1 tive work between the stud breeder ' situated close to a city and the farmer ; further out would help. At least one , Wellington stud breeder recognises [ this scheme and has practiced it for some years. Few poultry breeders have as much land as they would like, and this problem of ample range is r one of utmost importance. i

So great has the problem grown in the United States that of late years many sellers of day-old chicks are now offering chicks at much higher prices from "range-grown and rangemated" stock. These chicks are usually priced at double the usual rates, indicating either higher costs of production under this method, which does not seem so likely, or else a keen demand.

The use of colony sheds in connection with fowls on range is becoming more popular. No matter what precautions are taken the ground close to the shed always becomes more heavily manured than that further sway, as the fowls will collect and

rest near the shed. With light; movable colony sheds, usually built on skids or wheels, the task of moving them every three days is an easy one. If many sheds are used, a horse or motor vehicle of some kind can be used, but if only a few sheds are in use, then a light two-wheeled conveyance can be designed which will lift the back of the shed and so make dragging from the front quite easy. If the sheds are moved at least once or twice a week, the amount of manure dropped will not spoil the grass, and gradually the whole paddock will be top-dressed. Sheds measuring five by nine feet will accommodate as many as 75 growing pullets or 50 adults if slatted floors and outside nests are used. In such cases bottom ventilation is essential, and the slatted floor should-be at least 18 inches above the open bottom level. The slats can be made in sections, removable for thorough cleaning. Such sheds can be used for adults, too, but management problems become rather difficult when more than one breed is kept and sometimes because too many fowls will crowd in one shed. Even in small netting runs it is a good plan to move the fowl shed periodically, carefully digging over the ground near the old site and grassing it down. By covering the site with a few old tree branches it will soon grass over again. As soon as the autumn rains come, endeavour to spell some of the yards.

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