SELECTION FOR LAYING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1665, 27 January 1904, Page 68 (Supplement)

SELECTION FOR LAYING.

It is a matter of importance to those who keep fowl 9 to know how to select those which it will not be profitable to keep, and at this time of the year poultry keepers must decide which, they will dispose of. We have frequently referred to this subject in our columns, but new readers require the information. It does not necessarily follow that because a bird leaves off laying that she will not lay any more . eggs. Hens may leave off laying for a few days or even a week, but that may not mean they have left off laying to go through the moult. In many instances it simply means tlialfc one batch of eggs which were matured have been laid and others are growing at the same time. The difficulty arises here in some people’s minds, ‘‘How are we to tell whether they will come on to lay again ?” The best possible way to tell this that we know of is to go in the fowl h'ouse at night when the hens are on the perch and examine- the crops. This should be done every night, or every other night, if the owner liais time, for about a month. It is a little trouble-per-haps, bttt.it will pay well for the extra trouble bestowed upon' the bird in the end. ' v , Ti .. If the hems have left off laying for the

moult the ox-ops will be found only partly full but if they are still laying or eggs are forming for another batch the crops will ba full of food. When the birds have really left off laying they often go to. roos-c about the middle of the afternoon before they are fed, as they . become sleepy and out of order, requiring a; great deal ’of rest. When the hens begin .to moult, as a rule the flesh is, not very palatable, as .it becomes stringy and tough. Even if thev are cooked properly, they have not much flavour, because the fowl undergoes a thorough change. It is a great strain for fowls to shed tneii: feathers; some breeds feel it more tnan. others. : • ■ . .

THE MOULTING PROCESS

is even worse! in cold weather, as all the pores of the. skin ere open. Poultry powder is used very largely now to assist the birds thrmigh their moult. If a little is put in the soft food l about four times a week it soon pays for itself in eggs alone during the autumn and early winter.beside® helping the birds to shed their feathers so much easier. Some of our readers may say it is not natural to p v ’ e poultry anything to assist them m tJieir moulting season. . , , Perhaps'not, neither is it natural to expect fowls to lay eggs at all during th> i autumn and winter in their wild state; but if they are fed and managed properly

thev-will do this. , „ „ ~ When fowls shed their feathers they feel the cold very much, as, when the quils begin to shoot out of the skin they are charged with glutinous matter stuhcteut to nourish a .whole feather, t his can be noticed more particular,y when the hens shed their feathers quickly. This being so, our readers will see at once why the birds should have a little extra care when moulting. If they do not good attention it will often be two or three months before they get into good condition again. A hen whfeh, weighs 61 Irs before' her moult will often lose l.b or 2]bs if not properly attended to while undergoing the change. The poultry attendant all through the autumn should see the fowls corn© outcf the house ©very morning, the san.ne in the afternoon or evening. We have known them stay in the house two dlavs, as they are so sicklv at times when shedding tlieir feathers. During this month the first feed should consist of biscuit mbal aud other nourishing meals, as the birds Gan eac them with a little) of the poultry powder m them. It is better for the hens to moult before the cold weather come® ini, when they are most likely to lay through the winter. A good laving lien which ha® ’get through her moult bv the end of May (if before so much the better) will lay more eggs as ai rule than a pullet; at any rate, the weight of eggs will } • greater, because a two-year-old hen will lav much heavier eggs than pullets. Those pullets which have laid early say through July, August, or the early part of September—'Usually shed their feathers like old hens, but in some cases if they com© on broody and are allowed to sit on eggs it wil] prevent them shedding their feathers. Farmers should be very careful in clearing out their old stock not to sell or kill anything that is, likely to lay, because they usually find plenty of food round the corn stacks. Of course, anything that is not likely to lay should be cleared out. Although the biers do not cost anything by eating ut> the odid corn, yet it is a waste to keep them if they are no use, as they are eating what would come in for the younger birds and those which are laying. , W© are often asked the question: “How long should hen® be kept?” Sometimes this is rather difficult to answer, because many hens will lay better in their fourth year than others will in their second. We do not recommend -keeping hens when they are over two years old, unless they are’ extraordinary layers; in that case, keep them AS LONG AS THEY WfLL LAY.

v Many hens ought: not to be kept more than dine year 1 , but, of course', selection is one great thing a poultry-keeper should aim aft. , , . . , When he has learned how**to select the good layers from the bad, he has then got a, good wary on the round towards making poultry-keeping pa.y. Suppose, for instance,, a person ha® fifty pullets, perhaps out of that number there may be twenty-five or thirty good layers considerably better I ' than the others. The best should be kept, and' the other's killed or sold off, and the number mad© up with either good laying pullecs or last year’s hens, so that there are hens and pullets every year. This is how eggs are produoed all the year round. The good-laying ing the month the first feed should consist hens should be 1 bred from again. A person who keep® well-bred birds cannot afford to kill them off .at two years old if they are anything like laying at .ail; but there are seventeen people who keep fowls just for laying, where there are three, who go in for pure breads. Many people will keep hems from April to the following September which do not lay an ©gg for ait least two months after they have shed their feathers. This is not the way to make poultry pay, all teudb hens should- be -tilled unless they arie good bred birds. d Pullets - also which do not lay at eight months ought not to be kept for laying'. • They should commence tio lay between the age of five and a half to eight months old, yet thousands of people will lteelp them until; they are nine or ten months old before the birds will lay an egg, and are even foolish enough to breed from them the following year. Again we impress upon our readers to breed only from the best layers. People should go on the same lines with their poultry as farmers do with their cattle. They always look out und keep heifer calves which have been bred from mod -m -Hiring cows, aind others are) sold, or fatteuedl and killed. —-“faim."