THE POULTRY WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume L, 20 December 1930, Page 8

THE POULTRY WORLD

UNDER=SIZE EGGS

FAILURE TO REACH STANDARD <By "Tight I'*wither.") It 15 gratifying to .see poultry writers drawing marked attention to the small egg nuisance. One writer says: ••There is no more serious menace to the' progress of commercial egg production than the increasing predominance of the small egg. We have only to glance, through the reports of the laying contests to realise how prevalent this failing is among stock, bred for heavy production. It is true that the promoters of those contests are hardening their hearts and imposing penalties which practically destroy tin chances ot birds which tail in this respect; but the defect is there, and it seems to become more pronounced every year. We can make every allowance to pullets in laying contests for comparative immaturity, for forced feeding, and for other circumstances that might he regarded as direct causes of small eggs. However. .1 fail to see that anything can excuse those breeders who send out undersized eggs for hatching purposes. though flic transaction may permit, of explanation. For instance one may be tempted by tlie description in a. breeders ca-talqgiue of a very select pen containing birds with great laying records, and one makes a purchase, only to find that the eggs fail to scale the normal 2oz each, which is surely a very moderate minimum for eggs from matured liens.’’

•'right Feather" congratulates tie* writer' of the above in drawing attention to a palpable weakness in the poultry industry. On May 31st oi this year “Tight Feather’’ in this column wrote briefly anent the small egg question, which is not new as effecting the egg industry, and more especially the ones sold to the consuming public. In past years a few of the breeders took pride in building strains of liens guaranteed to lay eggs not less than 2, ounces and of pullets which laid at no time less than I;{ ounces, which this writer is of opinion should be the minimum weight of egg laid at commencement of production. Of course this may only be successfully done by careful selection, culling and mating, single testing, by either lrapnests or single pens. This was tlio method adopted by the writer over a term of years until the time came when he issued a catalogue which contained a guarantee which read, “we absolutely guarantee when we well pullets at our standard price, that if. with reasonable care, they do not lay within a reasonable margin of what the parent stock have done in our own yards, we will the following season, replace each or every one that has failed to reach its' standard.’’ Tins guarantee covered both size and numbers of eggs laid —As the guarantee was .in existauec owe* twelve years, during which -we were never requested to replace a pullet or receiv'd a complaint as to si/.c of egg or numbers—it will be acknowledged we achieved our object which meant that every egg laid was marketable, the pullet eggs weighing as heavy as some of the lien eggs now sold for settings from last layers. Those officials responsible for grading the eggs for export had this difficulty among others to contend with, all eggs not rising to standard weight "being very rightly rejected, thus the rejects were (left on the local market In' spite of these very obvious facts, high records are very tempting even if the progeny for .months lay eggs so small tlia'/-they rattle in the egg cup. There are some strains which have recorded three hundred eggs or mere for the first year of laying life. When these eggs are the required weight and shape such a hen .should be bred from, but otherwise the hen which lavs the more moderate total in the vicinity of 220 to 250 eggs of desirable size, is by far the most useful lien to use.

INFLUENCE OF COMPETITIONS. The laying competitions have by some been blamed for creating the small egg nuisance. While this may be true to some extent, the fact remains that to the laying competitions is due the place w’liich the New Zealand utility lieu holds in the laying world of to-day Jf the dye-in-the-wool fancier had had his own way. “Tight Feather” veutures the opinion that the 2(10 eggs a year lien would be as great a rarely as she was a decade ago The laving competitions have done, much to benefit the egg industry. In the early chase for numbers, admittedly the weight standard was low. However, with the older competition committees, as the number of eggs laid by the individual liens increased, so did the standard of weight, until to-day no lien may claim a prize unless she lays an egg which would pass the export test. However, il cannot lie denied the .small-sized egg is more pronounced now than at any period in tin- past twenty years. The reason is not far to seek; for the one customer who requires a setting of eggs and stipulates they must he of good size (not less than 2-f ounces) there arc the dozen who will accept anything so long as it is in the shape of eggs and cheap. Breeders get tired of single testing, selecting and mating matured stock when they lind the orders go past them in favour of the i lira per.' if less valuable eggs. And thus poultry raisers only lone themselves to blame.