POULTRY NOTES

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 153, 1 July 1939, Page 9

POULTRY NOTES

BUILDING AN EXHIBITION STRAIN YEARS OF CAREFUL INBREEDING NECESSARY Mr. G. P. Isherwood, the well-known English fancier, writes as follows (in “Poultry World”) concerning the methods to be employed by the breeder who desires to originate and perpetuate a strain of exhibition fowls which is really his own:— What is “Strain”? In considering the manufacture of a strain one has first of all to understand what the meaning of the word “strain” really is, aud how it should be applied truthfully with regard to poultry. It cau be/ aud is, applied in a very elastic sense to many studs oi exhibition poultry. A man might, for instance, buy two or three fowls from one breeder aud a similar number from one or two others aud, having mated them together, launch out the following year with the progeny of such mating and claim it as his own strain. This would hardly be correct. The true definition of strain would be a stud that had been carefully built up by inter-mating of the progeny ol the original stock over several years. The best instance of a distinct strain would be that of a breeder evolving a new breed; where he had set out with two or more different breeds and, by judicious crossing, had brought out something really new. This, after several years of experimenting aud improving, would iu all truth be his own breed, and his own distinct strain of this breed. So much, then, for the definition of the word aud all it means in the building up of a new stud. Making a Start The next thing to discuss is how to set about accomplishing this very interesting task, in the making of h successful strain of exhibition poultry a start must, of necessity, be made from selections ol' other breeders’ stocks. Two or more different stock; can be used, but it is imperative that careful pedigree records be kept s t that authentic data is always avaiiib.e to enable the owner to trace back blou-J lines to his original purchases. It really resolves itself iuto compiling a genealogical tree. The pedigreeing of earn: of -the original female’s progeny is just as important as that of the male, as it gives the owner a wider scope in his inter-mating for future breeding. Inbreeding Necessary Inbreeding, of course, must be practised in the making of a strain, as there is always a danger of losing markings aud other breed-points if recourse is made to an introduction of outside blood iuto the stud. Just as certain characteristics can be handed down through a strain —to the extent ot the strain becoming noted for these particular features —so cau this same strain be ruined by the iufusion of out lido blood which does not min J successfully with the owner’s bloodlines. Thus it will be seen how important it is that the strain, once established, should be kept going as loug as possible without bringiug in new blood. It is surprising, too, how long a strain can be kept going by the use of carefully recorded pedigrees; these enable 1 the owner to criss-cross with his blood • lines without getting his matings too nearly related. By making use of the different likes from the various females of different sources iu his original pur- ; chases he can probably avoid, for some years, the necessity of mating full brothers aud sisters of the same line. “Cockers’ ” Breeding Practices We are told that some of the jealous- ■ ly guarded strains of old fightiug cocks were kept goiug for generation after generation without recourse to out- * crossing, and also without loss of courage or stamina. This can be explained, no doubt, by the stories handed 1 down regarding the systems practised by the experienced and clever cockfighters. We are told that they never bred except in normal spring season; a stag was never given more than two or three females; these were usually hens \ of two or more years of age. Great 1 care was taken that the fowls were iu full vigour at the time of mating; only a short breeding season was used, and only two or three sittings of eggs were hatched. . In building up a present-day strain carrying out this system would, of course, not be practicable. A breeding season that lasts perhaps five months makes heavy inroads on the stamina ot the fowls. Evidence of this soon makes j itself conspicuous iu the shape of in- ' fertility, loss of size, slow' growth in the chicks, bad feathering and several other undesirable features. Introducing New Blood Wheu new outside blood has to be introduced into a strain to replace loss of stamina, or rather to prevent it, it can be more safely doue on tlie female side. The introduction of a male which did not turn out suitable would mean the loss of each female’s progeny for the season, whereas if the new female which had been introduced turned (flat a waster as a breeder of show specimens, then only her progeny would be wasted. Assuming the new female’s progeny does turn out well, then the breeder has an out-cross with which to work, and by using this same female with other males of different breeding lines he can carry the experiment srill further, and thus get her influence dis- . tributed throughout the rest of his 6train. RESEARCH IN BRITAIN Oambars (the auto sex-linking breed) have given place to Legbars at the county poultry station, Reaseheath, England, where they are also carrying ■ ou with progeny-testing work, mainly on brown Leghorns and R.I. Reds. (Legbars were obtained by crossing , gold Cam bars with brown Leghorns at ■ Cambridge University.)

Since they abandoned intensive rearing in favour of small portable outdoor units, “chick mortality” nas been reduced wonderfully. In fact, from dayold to maturitj' it lias not exceeded 7 per cent, during the past two seasons. At the Northern Breeding Station

Egg-laying Contest

CONDUCTED AT MASSEY COLLEGE 12TH WEEK’^RESULTS

!uext door they are still inbreeding white Leghorns, and have some big J bodied families that are improving •steadily, hinting that what the geneticists call the “sib,” or the turning point in close inbreeding, lias been reached.— “Feathered World.” HANDLING FOR TAMENESS Would-be exhibitors should take a : loaf out of the old hand’s book by singling out what appear to be one or i two promising youngsters from the i flock for special attention; they need not be removed from their companions. A promising chicken can be quickly i caught up and examined when the l owner has a few minutes to spare, and this handling has a wonderfully taming effect. Fowl and owner quickly get ou good terms with one another and this absence of tear will mean a lot when a ' fowl is staged in the exhibition pen. Frequent handling will probably dis- ’ close unsuspected faults but the fowl need not be kept at home on that account. —W. Hooley in * 1 Poultry 1 World.” I IN LIGHTER VEIN i THE PERSONAL TOUCH IN INCUBATION A report from Auckland tells of how i the inmate of Waikato Hospital • allegedly hatched an egg which he kept [ concealed under the bed-clothes for 25 > days. It is stated that great interest was shown in the undertaking by other i patients, and when the chick (a white Leghorn) could be heard in the shell r the egg was passed from bed to bed for * all to hear. L. W. Lower, the Sydney Daily Telegraph’s humorist, comments j on the report:— A hospital patient In Auckland , hatched a hen egg which he kept under the bedclothes for 25 days. Hospitals ought to foster the idea. The moment they see a patient going broody, they , should give him an egg. Then we shall j see announcements in the papers: “To Mr. James Smith, at Sydney Hospital, , a buff Orpington. Both doing well.” Visitors will at last have a mutual topic of conversation at the bedside. “How’s the egg getting ont” “1 think it will be & success. Ask my wife to bring my white Leghorn, Alice, along to see me next visiting day. ’ ’ “She must be getting quite a big | girl by nowf” “Oh, 3 r es. She’s growing up. She looks more like you every day.” “I’m so glad. I do wish I could j have a rooster this time.” “ Terrible thing happened to the man in the next bed. He was running a very in the next bed. He was running a high broke his egg, and now he’s father to an omelette.” ‘ 1 How distressing! ’’ “Yes. And he’s knitted it a layette, too, for when it started to lay.” ; Flying Eggs • A sitting of Jersey Black Giants recently was sent from England to Siam ’ by air-mail.

Single Pens Section A A. A. Hoare, W.L. .. (5) (it A. J. Shailer, W.L. .. (6) 64 W. F. Stent, W.L. . .. (6) 63 B. K. Wilkinson, W.L. 1 (6) 62 J. A. Annan, W.L. . .. (5) 59 H. S. Saunders, W.L. . (5) 59 A. Thomson. W.L. (5) .T* B. K. Wilkinson, W.L. 2 (0) 58 Huxtable Bros., W.L. . (5) 57 (5) 57 A. G. Mum by, W.L. .. (5) 56 W. F. Stent. W.L. . .. 3 (5 ) 56 F. C. Collier, W.L. .. (6) 52 Capt. Middleton, W.L. 2 (5) 47 Capt. Middleton, W.L. 1 (5) 46 C'apt. Middleton, W.L. 3 (4) 46 A. C. Mumbv, W.L. .. (1) 43 11. A. Lucas, W.L. . .. (5) 43 W. F. Stent, W.l (3) 28 A. G. Mum by, W.L. .. 2 (3) 23 P. Mummery, Min. (0) U Section B Huxtable Bros., A.O. .. (5) 69 W. A. Larsen, A.O. .. (5) 65 Mrs. R. Willers, A.O. .. (5) 60 Sunny River P.F., R.I.R 1 (5) 58 A. A. Hoare, R.T.R. . . (5) 52 B. Pimm, A.O 1 (5) 51 Sunny River P.F., R.T.R 2 (6) 48 K. Mullins, R.I.R. .. (5) 44 B. Pimm, A.O 2 (5) 44 8. Wilkinson. R.I.R. .. (6) 23 P. Mummery, R.I.R. .. (5) 18 Teams Results Section C (All W.L.) J. Wilson— 59 64 G 1 54 65 67 (32)—371 H. A. Lucas57 49 61 54 44 64 (25)—329 S. D. Morris — 53 65 46 55 27 60 (21)—306 Cotswold P.F.— 42 47 62 58 60 22 (26)—291 F. S. Allen — 58 55 54 75 5 39 (21)—286 Sunny River P.F.— 50 58 5 19 27 60 (21)—219 J. T. Hazelwood — 50 30 37 0 33 3Sr (22) —190 W. F. Stent— 41 34 8 21 31 53 (18)—188 J. Mold41 31 31 25 20 23 (15)—171 Section D (All A.O.) W. A. Larsen— 46 77 60 41 59 62 (26)—345 L. W. Stephenson— 67 53 49 64 39 45 (30)—317 J. D. Weal leans — 67 42 5r 12 1 44 (12) —171 ‘ i r, 1 ’ replace bird.