POULTRY YARD

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12643, 31 December 1926, Page 19

POULTRY YARD

UTILITY JOTTINGS RING IN THE NEW

(By

GEO. H. AMBLER)

Let me preface my notes, this week by first wishing all my reajUrg a pros- ' perous New "Year. With the advent of the New Year, we want to see a new interest, taken in poultry-keeping by all classes—those who possess good stocks to keep them up, . those .with but moderate stock bo improve upon it; and those having none at all, but who have opportunities for keeping fowls, to take up poultry seriously, with a view to helping the Dominion to produce sufficient eggs sto build up an export trade, so important to the poultry industry. Many will be framing their resolutions for 1927. To those of my readers who have not done so, I would, ask them to remember that poultry keeping nowadays ranks as a leading branch of. agriculture, is of considerable importance toward the welfare of our fair Dominion, and not to be looked upon merely as a hobby or a : pastime. Base your New Year resolutions on a sound I business principle, whether your stock amounts to a thousand or you keep but a dozen. The latter, properly worked, are just as essential j*» the future welfare of the industry. Every little helps, and these small* stocks, well managed, help . a great deal. more than the average pouitryman imagines. With'the advent of 1927, we want to see the installing of. sound principles in place of existing old-fashioned methods, as at present employed .by so many, poul-try-keepers throughout the .Dominion. That mongrel stock you have strug- . gled • along with in the past lor so long—let the New Year’s arrival see by something that may be a credit, not only to yourself, but to your district and the industry generally; something more worthy of all the time, labour and expense which you have so Jong spent upon that which, in these days, can only be termed the chaff, of pouitrydom... Because they can only : seep but a few poultry, some people imagine it not worth while taking, any particular interest in them. With the outgoing of 1926, let that idea go too. What poultry you have, you probably keep for egg-production; but possibly you have never given a thought to the " fact that, with a careful annual se- i lection of stock; that production might | be considerably increased, without any - i extra outlay. Make this another i point when the 1927 breeding season | comes round again. | FEEDING. . '

The chief factor tpj success is feed; ing, and yet. with so many it has received no particular 'attention. Not a thought has been given tolthe fact that, had 1 your birds been fed . with a properly balanced! ration, ; the food bill might/ have been lesß ahd the egg yield greater. Make .a note of this when you leave 1926 behind; .

That poultry house, * too, may be good,- but you might make it better. Birds will not do as well> as they should if kept in damp; draughty, or badly ventilated, houses. With the . tool-, bag and an hour-or two’s work, improvements may soon be-made in thi» quarter.' Possibly there is avpouttry or egg society in your district. Join it. Such a mktter may seem insignificant, but it may prove helpful and instructive. ' Ahyhdw,; it would dO no harm. How many, also, are there who-keep a good stqqk of poultry iwho never read a poultry journal ■or ■ the articles on poultry in the papers concerning this important, subjecsf

RECONSTRUCTION. We have heard a lot about reconstruction, lately. It has Been sorely needed for years; it is needed more than ever to-day. And, no matter how well you may be equipped with regard to your poultry, just take a look round —think things over. You will find something upon which you can improve for 1527. Here is a thought culled from others,’ which ap pears to me suitable for a ; ■ New Year’s message:

“The men who succeed in entering the business world are those who offer their'services as an. advantage to the, business man; those who fail are only looking to their own advantage.” fail are looking only to their own advantage.” That the success of any community .upbuilt up’’by that of its respective units is evident. To that end a part at least-of qUr effort must bo to help all' around to accomplish the greater ..things.". Moreover, “wo, never really possess’ anything’ until we haVe given 'lit'away.’: 'What mdst of ail is re‘qqifedvin.connection with the poultry in'duptfy i%, unity—unity so as first of all to prepare, ourselves to - help all concerned to -greater success. The call, therefore, for 1927, should, be, unity of effort and action. PEDIGREE Y, FEEDING. While emphasising the importance' of pedigree in respect of productiveness, I have previously in these colulmns referred to its ineffectiveness unless management and feeding are brought into line in the same, com-mon-sense degree. The other May, however, a friend brought to my office an article from the pen of* a very eminent teacher of scientific principles in connection with the breeding of poultry. His labour has been of uni-, irersal value to the industry, and, tq the strain-builders, in particular, but * his digression in connection with feeding proved to be a source of sbmp surprise. In developing his theme; the writer

set up the statement that the pedigree high-fecund hen' could be maintained at much less cost'in food, and tft the -same time prove Vastly more prod active. - It 'was then claimed'that highifecand females' will,.lay W average of five _ eggfs a-'tfreek' on boiled potatoes dried off' 'with middlings (sharps) in the morning, with a. feed of wheat and 'clipped, oatß at night, t'.do wot moan .to contradict the' writht’X A *■ that; method of. feeding succeeded for" a Verv - Jiij»ited ; period, but his claim was made" that any high-fecund bird could accomplish a reasonably high record of.'say, 250 eggs for the- season ,-oh such an . illbalanced diet,* and I would require ocular demonstration to bring me to believe it. f V PROPER DIET NECESSARY.

I am well aware that the average bred-to-lay specimen of most breeds is a tiny bird, weighing from three to four pounds, and the bodily expenditure of heat, and the corresponding physical waste, is much below the bud. of 61b.t0 71b, hut the fact remains that fiv«s 2oz eggs a week—lOoz of concentrated nutriment—must be provided 'for in the shape of a pro-perly-adjusted diet, since the whole of this concentrated lOoz. must go in at the mouth in some form. -The highfecund hen is an active and industrious little individual, and the ground she will cover in .a day would •be astonishing if it- could be calculated. All this entails waste of tisisue, which must he provided for by diet, and that is why I sav I have incalculable respect for “pedigree.” It must, in connection with the productive qualities.of poultry, as with cattle, be supplemented with commonsense methods of: feeding and attention. ' > DON’TS. Do not' boast to your friends and neighbours that . you get six eggs a day from six pullets, because they may’aslctyou one day to come to their place for a week and give a practical demonstration of your powers in. making hens lay. i . ‘ Do ; not keep changing your■ food merchant, 'and complain that the manufacturers of poultry- foods are not dependable,.'. Buy from the best firm, one with a reputation; stick to them, apd they will stiok to you. Do not, forget greenstuff such at cabbages, and so on. for this acts sb a fine toniis during the hot and sunny weather. ' ' *