POULTRY FOR PROFIT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13450, 29 May 1907, Page 8

POULTRY FOR PROFIT.

WHAT AUCKLAND IS DOING.-

interview With MR. d. d. HYDE.

Taking advantage of the presence in Auckland of Mr. D.- D. Hyde, chief Government poultry expert, a representative of the Herald waited upon that'gentleman yesterday in order to gather from him at first; hand ! a few details of the remarkable growth of the poultry industry 'i in Auckland. • . ."' ,'-■: . ' * , '■'"■.•-■•"■:-'"'T '

Mr. Hyde first referred to the fact that the Government Grading Department here had long outgrown its quarters, and was day moving into larger premises, and next to the very satisfactory prices realised in London by the Rakaia shipment. New ! Zealand birds brought from 3s 3d to 4s, while Russian and Irish birds brought from 2s 9d to '3s each.' "It is about six or seven; years ago," said Mr. Hyde, " that the -Government' established a depot in Auckland for the export of poultry, but it was not until the year before last that very much was done; but since then many people have gone in for the business extensively, and the last two or three shipments have realised such good prices in the London market that the trade has gone ahead by leaps and bounds. In 1906 (from April 1 to March 31) there were 3080 head for export; and 2383 head for local consumption, or a grand ; total of 6063 birds, and 119,724 eggs, the total for the colony being 50,183 head of poultry and 476,623 eggs. But speaking from memory, for I have not the precise figures by me, the Auckland production , for this year, 1907 (from April 1, 1906, to March 31), was 15,000 head of poultry for export and local market, and 1,128,000 eggs, a tremendous increase. ' The birds in 1906 realised for chickens 2s 4£d to'3s 6d. and for ducklings 3s .6d to 5s each. ...To the satisfactory prices realised ,in London by the Rakaia shipment I have already referred." ", ; - THE OUTLOOK. Speaking of tho future of the industry, Mr. Hyde said it was pretty safe to predict that every inducement would be offered by the local and export markets for people to take up poultry-raising •as a business. " That, is what it is," said Mr. Hyde; "a business requiring great experience and special aptitude if it is to be successful. If poultry-raising is gone about in the proper way in Auckland, in the way it; is already being. conducted in some parts of the district,: then you; will see that .the export business will begone of the most important, taking its place alongside the >xport ;of butter 'and frozen meat. I .meet people daily who assure me that they are launching out in a much bigger way than last year, and I meet others who are entering into the business." ' , ; : . Mr. Hyde then went on to explain the system of trap- nests. "It is of the utmost importance" that a man should know-what the ' productive I capacity, of his brood is.' That is where the money goes,; keeping poor layers. In'"the trap-nest the capacity of every hen is known, and we breed :rom»: the best ■ layers. ; The- birds will .'.;. cost from t\ 43 6d to 5s a ( head , per annum to feed/ and it is manifest that -if a man gets ' 2s 6d - fox a 12-months-old bird, he is losing money;, at 6ix.months, he only .just; pays for the feed, and that is why I urge that fowls be sent in, when .they are from- four to five *" months old, and even earlier. .'Poultry; should be sold by weight.; That seems ■to me - the; fairest method for both parties. People will pay an honest price for ah.honest article, but, you,know, sp'many people regard the purchase of fowls for the table as attended with great risk. 'You can't"wonder at it, considering the - extraordinary birds . that are sometimes served up at hotels. ; The results > of the Blenheim egg-laying /contest; showed that by careful • management * the egg production . was '■!■ 25 ii per cent, higher this year than last, from : the same number of birds, viz., 600.:- The;secret of success;lies in improving j egg .production, breeding from , the best layers all tho time. ' Those who, wish for 'spangles 1 ' or the 'lacings' in their birds may get them, t of course;, but .if ,poidtry. is tto be made;a .paying proposition, then the highest egg production and table qualities : r must : be considered of primary i; importance; ;fancy must be quite a secondary consideration." •„■. ~. ' ,: "WHAT TO DO WITH OUR BOYS." " "Mr.'.' Hyde thought the v poultry ; ; farm could be -made to solve the parent's problem of "What to do with our boys," providing the boy took to . the business. "In such a . case, the;, best thing a {young fellow ' could do .would ; be to go on a poultry farm to work, or., failing > that, to go on to a Government poultry station. There he : could gain experience that would save ■ him ; hundreds of pounds if he decided to go into the business. "It would surprise you," continued Mr. Hyde, " how money is wasted, frittered away by the pursuit of wrong methods, the " rearing ~of the wrong class of poultry. The" result in' so very many instances, in fact, one might say, in every instance, is failure. One must.have practical experience iif poultry .raising for profit is intended I' to be followed.' This seems to bo lost sight of by so very many people, : whip ! would readily admit that in other trades or professions requiring special knowledge the inexperienced man was doomed utoii failure from the very beginning." '..-,. ■;>' In regard to the ; Hogan or Potter tests for laying, Mr. Hyde said *he '■ thought any ordinarily intelligent person could determine beforehand whether a bird was going to he : a good layer or not.- The tests were secrets, and he could '~ not ; divulge . : them • but; he had tried them, and found.that the process worked out pretty well at the Government farm at Burnham.- ■■'■ The birds are tested just before they begin laying. Of three pens of birds to.which the tests were applied, No. •!' laid well according to the test, and No.. 2 outclassed No. 3. The test, if proved to be thoroughly trustworthy by those who applied it, would save hundreds, of pounds. ' ( NEW GRADING; DEPOT. •CELEBRATING THE OPENING. At a social gathering, held last evening, to celebrate 1 the opening of the new grading depot erected for the Government poultry division at; the Auckland Freezing Company's works, most of the '■ speakers made reference to the advance made of, late in the poultry, export industry in this district, and prophesied. that it ; would > grow to large dimensions in the near. ; future. > ;,; ■-~ Mr.D.D..Hyde, who was chairman, remarked that' the opening of the new; station gave • much pleasure to the staff and himself, as it w&s, indicative of the rapid strides being made in the industry. For several years the business was small, but it had gradually developed, ; and with tho expansion greater accommodation was required. Mr. Pounford, the poultry grader, quoted figures showing that while in the 1905-1906 year 5063 poultry were handled, the number had increased to 14,081 in 19061907. With eggs the figures were 119,723 and 1,128,768 respectively. „ , The increase was very gratifying, and was evidence that, a tide of development had set in. No complaints had been received so far in regard to the poultry exported to London during last season. He would, however, like to see an improvement in the quality of the poultry sent to the depot, and pointed out that it did not cost any more to feed a good bird than it did a ! ' duffer." The gathering was attended by representatives of the poultry and agricultural divisions, the ; Farmers' " Freezing Works,' and persons interested in the industry. During the. evening 9 number of musical items were contributed, and the toasts honoured included "The King," "Farmers' Freezing Company," "The Government," "Department of Agriculture,".. Egg and Poultry Company," and "The Poultry Division."