THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9807, 2 November 1917, Page 2

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

NEW ZEALAND UTILITY CLUB THIRTEENTH EGG-EATING COMPETITION FOR FOWLS. RESULT OF TWENTY-NINTH ■WEEK. Special to the "Time*." CHRISTCHURCH, November 1. The twenty-ninth week of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club’s thirteenth egg-laying competition mosed on October 30th. Details are: —

THE INDIAN BENNER. It is surprising that mors attention Is not paid to the Indian Planner duck. Prequentlv they will lay up to 75 per cent, right through the dear season, and their winter laying will easily cormterbalanoo any extra cost of feeding over fowls, as more cogs will be obtained at higher prices. The writer knows of a rnari who got an average of over twelve esKs a day from thirteen Runners during Jnlv. August and September of this year, and their only house was the lee side of a hedge. Runners will lay well for ten months in the rear, and can bo rnh in flocks of from 30 up to 500 successfully. MU CESSBN’S ADVICE.

Mr C. Cnssen, Assistant Poultry Instructor, recently gave some good advice to a gathering of South Maud poultrymen. He strongly advised them to get rid of their mongrels. "To eggs from mongrels," he said, ’’is like expecting good fruit from a neglected, overgrown orchard. If you can breed egg producers from mongrels, well, you’re luckv.” Mr Cnssen advised that all hatohing should be completed before the end of October. Hie poultry runs must be kept sweet, Ground was apt to get noultry-sick. It would pay handsomely _ , dig up and cron an old- run. for this would sweeten the. soil and give the fowls a chance. As for the chicks, "Don’t overheat, don'lt chill, and don’t overcrowd." Most losses were traceable to one or other of these causes. Keep the brooder ventilated. If the glass In the brooder is covered with moisture, ventilation is needed. Teach the chickens to go ‘back under the brooder after every feed. Cull out the weaklings. Keep tho sturdy dhicks well ‘’woolltd." VARIATION IN TYPE. In discussing tho typo of birds in the Queensland egg laying test, the principal of Gatton College, Mr C. Potts, remarks that therp is not only considerable variar tion between different pens, but between tho different birds in a pen. Ho argue*

from this that there is no approximate general conception of what the utility typo of the various breeds is. He considers the poultry clubs should take the matter up or there will be. a danger of the breeds losing their identity. The same thing applies to this country. Especially is it the case in the general purpose breeds, such as .the Orpingtons, the Wyandottes, and the Eocks. Some breeders who look only to egg records in choosing their breeders are developing strains which are merely black or white birds as the case may be. The egg-lay-ing competitions should do something to correct this undesirable tendency. No birds should be admitted to the tests unless they are pure types of the breeds they are supposed to represent. the poultry shows can do something, but unfortunately the breeders _ who most commonly ignore breed points do not patronise the shows. CONSTITUTION THE FOUNDATION. The foundation of successful poultry keeping is great constitutional vigour in the stock, and it can only bo obtained by continuous weeding out of the unfit. A bird that has once been sick shouia never be used as a breeder, and no biro under 12 months old should be asked to produce chickens. It is_ a mystery to me that the average novice tries to rear every chick that he hatches, and hold on to every bird, of all sorts and sizes, type, and strength. The animals that live in the open, under natural conditions, produce many weak offspring, that die because they are pushed aside by their stronger brothers and sisters. Take sparrows —they axe tough, hardy birds, and they have three or four young ones to a nest, but I am ready to bet that one out of the four will be sickly* ana weaker than the other three—this in lots of cases. What happens to tnc weaklings? Just this—when the parent birds bring food to the nest the strongei youngsters thrust out their beaks ana obtain the biggest share of it. Thus, they grow and thrive, and the weakling just hangs on. After a while . his lusty brothers crowd him out, and he falls to the ground and is killed. Now, if the birds living under natural conditions can't produce a strong youngster from every egg how in the name of commonsense can the novice fowl owner expect to do it with birds kept in small yards, and in generally unnatural surroundlngS? POINTERS.

Kill off tlie drones in the flock. Green food is essential to successful rearing of chicks. , ~ , E»gs used for incubation should be as frest as possible. . ... Only breed from vigorous, healthy St Avoid wry-tailed or crooked-backed stud birds. ' , .... Don’t pamper your chicks at this season; they will thrive if well fed, and given a grass run. Sitting hens are lice breeders, and nothing but lice will cause the ken to leave her nest of eggs. Exterminate the lice.

LIGHT BREEDS. Weekly Total. Total, to date. Brown Leghorns— White Leghorns— H. P. Ross George Geo Calder Bros., No. 1 ... W. Stephenson. A. B. Phillips 36 33 36 26 34 30 37 38 32 23 35 691 738 79S 640 693 L. T. Wright H. W. Bower Green Bros To Anau Utility Stud Atkinson Bros Hokowhitu Poultry Com 724 C71 688 GS9 613 S. l)ick Dalrauir Poultry Yards .. J. M. Alley j. Eobinson , Rangiuru Bgg Ranch Omco Poultry Barm Heretaunga Poultry Co., No. 1 Master Jack Green Smart Bros W. Davey ....... ...... T. E. Conway Mrs J. Mills 38 38 36 37 23 36 32 27 33 36 28 25 673 • 708 621 643 533 653 633 579 725 686 677 67V T. W. Wilson R. Mills A. W. Adams • Reliable Poultry Farm A. G. Brailey John Stevens Fazaokerley and Son R. W. Hawke J. Naucarrow, senr. Calder Bros., No. 2 ... T. Kennedy Heretaunga Poultry No. 9 Co., 25 29 36 28 30 36 30 33 32 31 84 30 662 538 685 692 577 671 617 560 639 753 416 647 M. A. Currin H. Ball W. H. West A. E. Wilson H. Williams 26 626 35 740 32 818 38 669 32 708 Totals I860 27,396 HEAVY BREEDS. Silver Wyandottes— Green Bros 30 565 A. W. Adams 34 567 W. W. Hewinson 19 631 Mrs F. HowcU 35 62$ T. Kennedy 28 587 T. Dowthwaite 30 543 White Wyandottes— G. E. Benjes 36 600 Black Orpingtons— Mrs Clnridgo 15 378 T. B. Conway, No. 1 ......... 32 552 A. S. Cooper 17 539 J. Nancarrow, eenr 22 730 T. E. Conway, No. 2 22 627 Victor Geo 27 647 E. E. Marsdcn 12 5SS P. Staines . 30 790 Hokowihitu Poultry ComTiiiriTr 27 563 , Miss J.* James . White Rocks — H. J. Gopperth Rhode Island Reds— A. S. Cooper E. F. Oakes 19 29 28 31 540 515 468 500 Totals DUCK CONTEST. Indian Runners— W. Knight Heretaunga Poultry Com523 11,508 42 821 36 936 34 883 W. T. Green H. W. Bower 29 30 1084 1019 171 4743 SINGLE BIRD COMPETITION. LIGHT BREEDS. White Leghorns— Green Bros 7 180 W. Davey 5 106 5 153 6 161 6 85 6 157 R. H. Taylor To Anau Utility Stud 6 6 7 160 119 164 6 102 5 76 6 110 . 5 130 Minorcas— 6 84 3 63 91 1984 HEAVY BREEDS. Black Orpingtons— 1 143 Silver WyandottesThos. Wilson 7 0 162 55 4 101 Rhode Island Beds — 2 60 Totals 14 523