POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21647, 13 November 1933, Page 5

POULTRY INDUSTRY

HATCHING SEASON CLOSED HELP FOR CROWING PULLETS BY ITU.II Y The struggle to obtain a reasonable return from the poultry flock, in the face of low prices for eggs, will naturally lead farmers to exploit every possible method for economising. Now that the breeding season is over the first move that suggests itself is to get r>'l of those birds in the breeding pen which are no longer required. Assuming that these are two years old, it is hardly likely that many of them will be worth keeping over, and their room is better than their company at a time when all the attention possible can be given with much better a'dvantage to the yearlings and the growing pullets. Owners u ill differ in their methods for bringing tins about, which generally ends in killing a few and selling fh' l rest. The latter move will probably be postponed till the end of the summer by those who can givo their birds c.nlinuted range, although it. is doubtful if their eggs during the next four months will compensate for th«> food eaten and for the harm donn to the growing pullets by the pastures being overcrowded. Isolating Young Stock The removal of the old birds is not e matter of great urgency on farms where the young pullets cap be kept in s separate paddock or run, which will keep fresh and not become foul, bub this is not usually and they are far too often left, to run fhe gauntlet of the older birds in their search for food. It is often a. matter for surprise that a farmer does not utilise his orchard for the young birds, for this would gire them ideal conditions, whether the land was cultivated between the trees in the approved modern style or left overgrown. It. must bo remembered that although it takes a fairly high fence to eonfino'-young pullets in a bare run surrounded by grass, where there is every inducement to get out, this does not apply to an orchard of even only moderate dimensions, for there the attraction is all the other way. There will quite possibly be a few precocious birds which imagine that '' distant fields fire always green," and they may take an opportunity to fly over a low fence, but tbese are usually reconciled to stav.ng within their set. boundaries after ?. trial, especially if there is fairly long grass near the fence. A Mutual Advantage Farmers might well try this as a really profitable experiment, and they will soon discover how well the chicks thrive, and how they make themselves at home in such comfortable quarters. It- must not be thought that it is only the pullets that will gain bv this arrangement, for the orchard will probably gain even more. Under the best of conditions an orchard is infested by innumerable pests, against which incessant war is waged, and fowls provide a ready means for fighting a great many of these. They are specially fond of the insects that gather under trees, and are always hunting for them. '1 hey do an immense amount of good, oven though it is impossible to calculate the net result of their efforts. Unfortunately one of the worst of orchard pests at this time of the year, the bronze bettle, is beyond their reach, and in any case it only comes out at dusk, after the birds have gone to roost. However, even the harm from this pest can be minimised if there is loose soil in the orchard, for chicks soon discover that these burrow only a. short distance under the ground, and spend most of the time scratching for them. " ' Yearling Pullets Yearling pullets should all be laying well, and the best means available must be adopted for ascertaining which are the ones to set aside for the breeding pen next winter. One of the best guides will be to take note of which moult the latest in the autumn, but even now a good deal can be discovered by observation when opportunity offers. If the birds from which the selection is to be made are all marked with numbered rings, it is not usually very difficult to identify their eggs. Of course, the ideai process is trap-nest-ing, but this entails mere attention than most people are inclined to give, and the size and quality of the eggs can bo found out fairly, easily in another way, although not the number laid during the season. All who take sufficient interest in their birds to watch them closely will notice ono or two coming off the nest at. feeding time in tho morning. It is easy enough to catch ono, note its number, and register it against the •warm egg in the nest. With this information in hand it can be seen at the end of ,the season which birds lay eggs of good size and uniform shape, and which lay small eggs of irregular shape and colour. It is hardly likely that every bird will happen to have been detected, bub probably enough will be found laying satisfactory eggs to make up the required number for the breeding pen.