THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10086, 27 September 1918, Page 2

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

NEW ZEALAND UTILITY CLUB FOURTEENTH EGG-LAYING COMPETITION FOE FOWLS. RESULTS OF TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK. Special to the ''Times.” CHRISTCHURCH, September 26. The twenty-fourth week of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club’s fourteenth egg-laying competition ended on September 24th. Results are as follows: LIGHT BREEDS.

GBEEN FOOD. Now is the time to prepare for green food. It should bo hardlr necessary to emphasise that while preen,food is essential to the maintenance of Rood hearth m poultry and to their best profit-earning capacitr it trill do something more in these days of hiph cost of producticmmaterially lessen the cost of food. i-s----peciallv should an effort be made t? pronlucerne. Many have fallwl at thi» «m----py bccan»» th«y hat* treated it a» any ordinary crop hicern*. which ii on» of th» hardiMk of planti wJum it I* w»ll Mt*bnan*d. »•*!■ probably Vetter soil preparation ftafc **•« "* •»«• plant or «t*». Fn-ww* tfc» Mil we J new and Haw it A**"** Y -1 ! 1 iwldowL ttirivo tot th« abstnc* *{ th* latfor. JLnd If *h« »oil i» d«ft«*»nt in hnmat Mour* nmt inn«eriWt»d w*! or •oil from an old «itanH*h*d lucerne patch and work this in on n dull.any nud if possible in moist wenther. It is better- to sow the seed in drills so that the land may bo kept free of weeds and well stirred while the lucerne i« in ttie derveloptesf stapes. It as repeatedlir *»-

dared that lucerne will ony thrive und.'r* certain ideal conditions, such as on a rich river flat, where the soil is free and deep.' Certainly this is the ideal posi- ; tion for lucerne, but except where there is stagnant water in the lower strata of . soil the lucerne will thrive under many varied conditions if given intelligent . treatment. At the old Burnham Poultry Station in Canterbury, where the soil was of a poor shingly nature and apparently one of the last places where lucerne oould be expected to grow, a , splendid lucerne patch was established. Tie seed was sown in drills, the young plants carefully nurtured, and when the plants developed were systematically sprayed at the ground level with liquid poultry manure; The result was astonishing. Here is a tip for poultrykeepers in general which they might veil apply. Lucerne is not only’ a tonic, but is a food as well and is assuredly the best of all green stuff for poultry. At Hawkesbury College, where they have bad very long experience in feeding competition birds, being the situation of the first egg-laying competition in Australasia, lucerne is valued highly for feeding to every description of animal on the farm. The morning mash is made of chaffed lucerne, which by the way is not steeped in water over night, but is chaffed direct from the lucerne brought in from the field, one part, pollard one part, bran one part and water one part. This makes a mash of a crumbly consistency which is relished and is considered the most effective mash that has been tried at Hawkesbury. At the present time there is hardly a prominent poultrykeeper in Australia who does not have jhis lucerne patch. Considering that [there are probably not five per cent, 'of New Zealand poultry-keepers who could not grow lucerne it is surprising .that this valuable material is not used .more than it is. For chickens lucerne is .of special importance, seeing that it is a 'highly nutritious plant and should therefore he of great value as a flesh former. OVERCROWDING MEANS DISEASE. A warning is more especially needed at this time against overcrowding. The enthusiastic novice elated with good [hatches, goes on setting eggs, and if ne 'gives a thought to the number of .chicks likely to be produced, with an idea to accommodation when they do batch out, he forgets those already hatched will require more space. Eventually he has more chicks than the ground at his disposal will hold, or

than he can attend to properly, thb birds do not thrive, and results are poor, even if it does not mean diseasE and disaster. Unfortunately appliance.' makers, even the best of them, encourage overcrowding by advertising brood, ers, etc., to hold twice as many bird* as they can in health to grow quickly., and so bring the profit they should Not only is the mistake frequently made with chickens, it begins with the breeding stock. The idea of so many cubic feet in the house allowed for eact bird is laughed at try some people,, Birds are crowded, are not so healthy, the egg yield is less, the germs weak, the hatches not so good, and the pro. geny not so vigorous, whereas the expenditure of a few more shillings on a larger house would probably mean so many pounds more profit. BACKYARD DUCK KEEPING. Many persons imagine that, wheiv there is but limited space, ducklings will not prosper as they should do. Thin is erroneous, for with proper management they will not only do without a pond, but thrive as well, Indian Hun ners, at the same time, giving as largtl a quantity of eggs as some of the mors celebrated kinds of fowl. A small portion of ground, say 12 yards by 6 wifi! be enough for four ducks and a drake, and the eggs produced usually fetch prices somewhat about the average hen product; besides, if from a good straw and well selected, they are much larger, which is an important factor as re gards returns for time, labour, and money expended. The September ducks should begin laying by the middle of April, and then continue for manj months, but they should not be kepf, with fowls, etc., for various reasons, i small houso (say sft high, sft long and 4ft wide) will hold about eight ducks comfortably, or in a well-protect, ed run a mere shelter will. Of course., a bath will do them good, and this can soon be furnished fin some ..form or other; but always use fresh water. At. regards feeding, use scraps with pollard or bran, mixed with hot water to S crumbly consistency. In conclusion, it is hardly necessary to point out that young ducklings of good frame and fleslr. are always a source of profit to those who produce them.

Weekly Total total. to date Brown Leghorns— 32 5S4 30 352 26 489 White Leghorns— 28 489 28 418 35 590 34 610 30 583 31 584 30 738 32 664 33 580 80 483 34 669 33 412 W. A. Gee and Sons. No. 2 34 528 36 528 80 527 34 693 32 656 29 504 SS 588 33 654 35 645 34 555 37 424 Dalmuir Poultry Yards ... 37 415 35 670 34 624 30 465 35 750 34 597 Heretaunga Poultry Co., 28 489 34 709 85 592 29 491 27 504 34 419 26 548 31 708 31 703 37 574 31 633 32 506 27 ' 488 23 520 SI 619 82 453 3S 493 34 433 25 420 32 609 33 513 37 590 Reliable Stud Poultry 21 395 W. A. Gee and Sons, Mo. 1 35 535 Sellable Stud Poultry 27 659 Waimea Poultry Yards ... 35 468 Heretaunga Poultry Co., 85 606 36 635 Uinorcas— 30 474 37 607 1971 34,260 •Denotes Pive Birds. HEAVY BREEDS. Black Orpingtons— 27 494 24 492 32 463 23 454 37 468 34 563 White Plymouth Rocks84 425 Rhode Island Reds— . SO 347 27 382 Silver Wyandottes— 23 377 27 511 89 402 27 145 30 337 29 290 28 893 471 6543 •Denotes Five Birds. DUCK CONTEST. Indian Runners— 27 643 S6 736 42 631 41 706 80 743 Heretaunga Poultry Co.... 40 725 37 743 253 4927 HEAVY BROSEiDS SINX3LE BIRD'S CONTEST. Silver Wyandottes— 5 74 5 103 Rhode Island Reds5 4 116 52 Barred Plymouth Rocks— 6 94 25> 439 LIGHT BREEDS SINGLE BIRD'S CONTEST. White Leghorns— 6 134 S 118 6 62 5 119 6 127 7 146 E. B. Marsdon - 5 28 7 133 5 71 6 102 6 92 6 64 7 104 Master Era Gee -.*.. 7 154 Reliable Stud Poultry 6 129 5 57 W. A. Gee and Sons ... 6 125 6 111 5 86 Totals l..,..—. —..«■ 112 1962