POULTRY NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 May 1925, Page 8

POULTRY NOTES

EDUCATIONAL FACTOR.

(By

G. H. Ambler.)

The next month will bring us to the show season, and every poultrykeeper, whether an exhibitor or not, should visit one or more of them. A good show . is a benefit in many ways, for it gives the breeder an opportunity to show his stock in competition with the best and the winner is always pleased. It also gives an opening for the beginner to look round and see what his variety is like, so that he may gauge the quality di his own stock. Some people cannot understand how a bird can be good enough and not win, but when you take it this way,— that out of a class of twenty, only half-a-dozen are really good, and these very much alike all round, theje must be a deciding point, and someone must be in the sixth place when he could easily have been first. I admit that sometimes birds win which ought never to have done so, at least in the opinion of many breeders, and yet the judge must have a good reason for putting the one on top. If you are an exhibitor, be a- little more generous to the judge unless you find that he has failed to find the right ones, and try to see the class as he has seen it. You know it is much easier to judge a class or even an opinion upon it when-the cards are up than it is before, for with the awards made so many start off to see what fault they can find with the winners, andl never look for the good points. The judge,' on the other hand, sets off with a class, say of twenty, and he picks out the best seven, and then proceeds to again sort these out in the order of merit. He works these down to three, and has found many evidences of quality, size and shape, constitution, colour, condition and correct training, but now he must hunt out their faults and be able to correctly place them. It is quite possible for the third to be as good as the winner, and yet the judge has found some minor fault, for which the bird was dropped, and yet the owner may never have noticed it, but in the other good qualities have passed over this fault. When you are always with a fowl, and one which you prize highly, you can become blind to all its failings, so that when in the show pen you are disappointedand inclined to blame the judge, yet the fault was there all the time, and this you, yourself, should have discovered. It is always a good plan to look for the faults in your exhibition birds. I have never yet seen the perfect bird. It is only by finding out the faults and bad points that you will be able to eradicate them. When at the show look through the classes to find some good points in the winners no matter whether your own breeds or not,' and you will soon find the show having a new meaning to you. Some men attend a show, and if they do not win they are positively miserable and try to make others unhappy too. They abuse the judge, thinking this will help matters, but it so often ends in two men losing their tempers instead of only one. ] Remember you enter your* birds under a man because you think him good enough to adjudicate fairly and capable of dealing with the breed, or ' you might just enter the bird to get ' the judge’s opinion, but, whatever it

is, you should accept the result a being honest. For the future the matter is in youi hands, 'for when you enter your bildi the judge is announced and if you d< not like a man do not show undei e him. Every exhibitor who can should atd tend the leading show in his district. // The beginner should carefully studj s his own breed, if possible see them by s daylight, and then look for all the good points in the winners and then for the o faults in those which are left but. 0 Such an event is an excellent school y ground where the birds can be the . subject and the observer the pupil, and, although not at once apparent, v there is much to be learnt. t Ask someone what they think of a . certain winner, a breed they are ini’ terested in, and they will tell you he j is a rotter, and at once proceed to pick t it to bits. When they have finished ; you wonder how the owner ever dared L show such a poor specimen, and yet ; it has won. But such a method will ■ not help a novice, for it confuses ideas, and is no help at all to hear such a rating of the winner, no matter what its faults. The novice with a few birds of any breed which he fancies, and hence has some notion of what they are like, should set forth on his own end while carrying in his mind the points o<f his stock, go carefully over the winners to see where his own birds fail, try to see why different mating is necessary to reach the ' standard of the winner. To. the old hand the shows are the means of exhibiting his wares with samples of the best, but for the great majority they are just a training ground, where much can be picked up which will benefit future years. TRAINING OF EXHIBITS. Training the stock is of the utmost importance, for usually a judge’s time is limited, and he cannot spend long in looking at each bird when they will not show themselves to the best advantage. Some of the smaller exhibitors work wonders in this respect, for they put down their stock in* the best condition and trained the judge or anyone else who should go by. I have seen an odd pen put up even in the coal shed, and though not a good place, with a clean bag over the top to keep off the dust it was better than nothing. Others use the outside scullery or the back kitchen, and the results say much for the care and attention expended. With pens handy like this someone is always passing, and a titbit like a piece of bread, meat or special corn thrown in Occasionally makes them ready at all times to meet the judge. Now and then one gets troubled with a bird which will not steady down. They become what may be termed pen-shy, and stand huddled up in one corner, or as soon as anyone goes near, will turn round and run their head into the opposite corner. In such cases patience is the only thing. Try a bit of food or com in the ordinary way, handle the bird occasion- i ally, but always with care not to hurt or fluster it. Put your hand into the pen and stroke the bird down gently, but should none of this treatment answer, then let the bird get hungry by keeping him* off food. It will not hurt for ope of these wild creatures to go without food for a whole day, and probably next morning he will be in the humour for feeding. Go quickly

s to the front of the pen, talking to him all the time, and throw in a little food, r still talking, but do not walk away, s Should he not feed step a little farther > back, but always calling to l the bird, r and if he will not feed leave tyim alone for a little while longer. Then try a - few bits of meat ,and as soon as he , tastes food he will come round. ' Showing is an art which only few • men seem to possess, and others think ' it too much trouble to learn. Watch ; tile penning oi birds on the morning of a show where the exhibitor can pen his own stock. See a game fowl taken from one basket and stood on top of another to see that he is all right. Some of the Leghorns are treated in the same way. Then when all is right, they are carefully carried out and put into the pen more carefully than some mothers put their babies to sleep. Exhibiting of poultry is a fascinating hobby, ,aiid writing on this subject brings the return of many pleasant recollections of my .show career at Home. To the novice there is nothing like having an entry, and then seeing how eaclf compares, and 'where your own fails, or excels by a combination of points., But to do this means an expense of a few shillings, which is well invested. The man with the eye and retentive memory can ..compare his birds at home with tho.se at the show. All shows make excellent training ground for the beginner, but he must have an open mind, and see quality in birds other than his own. The best men are those who, through work and patience, have reached the top of the tree, and not those who want/ the big shows tlie first year, and become downhearted when they fail. If their pocket is large enough, they may be able to buy what they need, but that is as nothing compared to breeding a chick, and watching its growth till it wins. This is done, though some doubt it, and what others have done, why not you? Be determined, and success is yours, though not probably in a day.