POULTRY NOTES

Northern Advocate, 16 March 1929, Page 7

POULTRY NOTES

HOW TO SUCCEED, THE LEGHORN FAMILY. Buff-coloured fowls have always been popular, ever since the early days of the original Buff Cochins, and nearly all bulf-coloured fowls have a touch of Cochin blood in them. It is not surprising that Buff Leghorns wore produced, and it was a Danish poultry breeder that first produced same. The first Buff Leghorns were exhibited for the first time at Copenhagen show in 1885, and they appeared at the London Crystal Palace show three years later, when they immediately caught the public fancy. The first buffs were much stronger in colour than they are today, and were invariably of a much darker shade in hackle. The first buffs wore excellent egg producers, and wore great favourites on farms where eggs -wore the first consideration. The Danish breeders were also loud in their praises, and for a time it looked as if they would outshadow the popular white. During the war years, the buffs got a severe set-back, and have never really recovered their lost position. No doubt this was largely due to the fact that it required a certain amount of knowledge in breeding to maintain the beautiful soft buff colour, which the ultilitarians did not possess, so that they lost favour, in spite of their excellent reputation as fillers of the egg packets.

THE BLUES. About the same time as buffs were at -the zenith of their popularity, British breeders set themselves the task of producing Blue Leghorns. This was eventually done after a lot of experimenting. Blue is the most elusive of all the colours in the poultry world and the most difficult to maintain. There is no doubt that much Andalusian blood was utilised in the manufacture of Blue Leghorns. The first blues were famous for the number and size of eggs that they laid, and they claimed quite a lot of attention for a time. Their excellence in this direction was undoubtedly due to the .outcross of Andalusian blood. The colour question, however, again led to its loss of popularity, for it was found that it was a most difficult matter to breed specimens of uniform blue colour. Blue .Leghorns arc seldom to be seen now, although one or two enthusiasts still keep them, and they are quite as good layers of large eggs as ever they were.

THE CUCKOOS. The cuckoo or black and white barred variety were produced on 'the vCpu-; tinent, and were never very popular in England. It was admitted to be a. good egg producer, but its similarity; In markings to the Barred' Plymouth Rock was its handicap. This however, promises to assist it today, for utilitarians are now interesting themselves in it as they ars considering it from a sox linkage point of view. Several brooders are using cuckoo Leghorn lions, in place of Barred Rocks, with a brown Leghorn cockerel. The sex linkage is well defined, and the progeny are said to he in advance of all .other crosses for high fecundity. The only drawback to this cross is that the cuckoo Leghorn has been bred for years for egg production, so that the majority of same arc of the real utility type, and the brown blood is an excellent outcross, so that the cross bred chickens dre very vigorous, and are very easy to rear. They mature quickly, and if hatched at the right time they make excellent winter layers when handled properly.

NOTES. Heavy egg production causes a severe thirst. Therefore, plenty of clean, fresh drinking water is necessary for laying hens. In nine cases out of ten a hen lays soft-shelled eggs because there is a lack of calcium carbonate in her diet. This mineral is really egg shell material. Therefore its absence from the ration results in either thin-shelled eggs, or eggs with no shell at all.