POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22630, 23 July 1935, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By Terror, ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS “ Breeder,” —You can allow a dozen liens to one rooster in the light breeds' breeding pen, and one to about 10 liens in the breeding pens for dual purpose and heavy breeds. Remember, that the male bird used should be from a higher laying strain than your own if you hope to improve the ege yield of your own birds. Not forgetting inheritance, the male bird suitable for the breeding pen should be healthy and vigorous, and typical of the breed ho represents. If there arc any faults in the hens selected for the breeding pen, be careful that the male bird selected has not that particular fault, or it will certainly be transmitted to the offspring. “Amateur.” —You need not get a new male bird for your, breeding pen. It is not advisable as a rule to breed from pullets, even from well-matured ones, such as yours, but under the circumstances you mention I would do so this year irrespective of the fact that they will be mated to their own father.

Interest in Minorcas

Mr James Wallace (Clyde) has purchased a Minorca cockerel from Mr Sproule (Dunedin). The interest in this breed appears to be increasing for not only cockerels, but sittings of eggs, are being bought. freely. I have just heard of a sitting going to a breeder in the North Island. As a layer of large eggs and as a purely fancier's bird the Minorca has no rival.

The Japanese Method of Detecting Sex

From all directions we learn that students are learning the art of detecting the sex at birth, and the latest news from Australia is that New Zealanders are there qualifying themselves to undertake teaching in New Zealand. The lowest charge for sexing so far i»—-when plenty of business offers —3d per chick. As will be seen in the two following paragraphs there are other methods, one of them not quite so accurate perhaps as that taught by the Japanese, and the other practically 100 per cent, perfect, and both are free of added expense to the poultry keeper. Which of the three methods is adopted remains at the discretion of the poultrykeeper, but the question has been asked, What is to happen to the cockerels. Are they to be destroyed at once, or kept and fattened for market? If they are to. be killed it is pertinent to suggest that when the time for breeding arrives the probability will be that the most promising sires were destroyed unknowingly. Certainly the finest cockerels cannot be discerned in a flock till they are a few weeks old. And the £l2 10s paid for sexing 1000 chicks would have gone a long way in feeding, to that age, the* say 50 per cent, cockerels which would then be worth something in the market.

Picking Leghorn Cockerels, at Birth

As small holders are unlikely to take lessons in chick sexing by the Japanese method they will be interested in learning that, so far as the popular White Leghorn or any of the Mediterranean breeds are concerned there, are two tests which are fairly reliable in distinguishing the sex if the chicks are examined directly they are hatched. The two tests, if applied singularly, will give fairly satisfactory results, but if they are both worked in conjunction with each other it will be found that in the majority of cases the selection will he correct; but, of course, these tests, like all others, even the Japanese test, are not infallible. It will be found on examining the heads of day-old chicks that some of the combs are standing upright, while others are lying flat on the head. Those with the upright are usually the cockerels, while the others whose combs are flat a-re the pullets. The second test is the number of serrations of the comb. Six serrations and under are often the cockerels those with more than six pullets. No\y, when dividing a batch of chicks, if we bear in mind both of these rules, we can safely say that all chicks with six or less serrations and an upright comb are cockerels and those with flat combs and more than six serrations pullets. It is the chicks with less than six serrations and a flat comb and those with seven or eight and an upright comb that cause difficulty. But when in doubt, bank on the flat combs being pullets. This test should be made as early as possible after hatching, because there will be no absolutely flat combs next day. Sex-linkage Crosses

Still another way of avoiding the rearing of unwauted cockerels is by crossing certain breeds the progeny of which show their sex at birth.. This method is being adopted to a considerable extent in England, and it is acknowledged that poultry culture has' benefited by the discovery due to Professors Puimett and Bateson for their investigations made at. Cambridge University, and which, in the opinion of many, have revolutionised poultry breeding. It should be explained here that sex-linkage is a term given to the crossing of two birds which results in the male birds being distinguished on hatching day by being a different colour from that of the female.

For example, if the Rhode Island Bed male is mated to a Light Sussex female all the female chickens will be like the father for colour —golden brown —and all the male chickens and cockerels will take after the female and be of creamy white in fluff and plumage. In poultry it is found that the gold factor is dominant in the male of such breeds as Buff Rock. Barnevelder, gold-laced Wyandotte, Wclsummer, Brown or Buff Leghorn, Black Red Game, while in the females the silver factor is found m Light Sussex, Silver Wyandotte, Silver Campine, Columbian, Wyandotte, and others which have silvery ground in the hackles.

It is, of course, important in sexlinked crosses that the gold shall bo on the male side to obtain definite results. Such operations benefit the small poultry keeper immensely, as he or she can order from a reliable breeder day-old pullets, thus avoiding the trouble .and expense of rearing a good percentage of unwanted cockerels.

Specialist breeders sell almost any sexlinked cross at moderate prices, about 15s to 20s a dozen, or £6 per 100. The chicks may be reared by an oil-heated brooder costing £2 or a broody bed. Further experiments prove that by mating a Black Leghorn hen all the chicks hatched will have black down or fluff, but examinatiop proves that those with a light patch on the back of their heads will be cockerels, whilst the pullet chicks are entirely pure black. This cross is not only reliable, but the egg-laying propensity of such pullets is. very pronounced. One advantage in crossing breeds which lay white-shelled eggs with brown-shelled breeds is that pullets all lay a light-tinted egg of first grade, and the tendency to broodiness is decreased. It is most important, of course, that prolificacy on both sides of sex-linked mating be considered.' It is fatal to success to use a sex-linked cross male bird in the breeding pen. Not only the plumage but the shanks, growth of flight feathers, and many other signs denote the sox of young chickens. In almost all crosses the results are hardy, quick-growing chicks whch are little trouble to rear. The resulting male chicks are excellent. for ■ rearing plump table poultry, and may often be purchased at 5s a dozen.

Heavy Mortality at Laying Trials

Dr J. E. Helm, in the course of an article in the Feathered World, says: “ Heavy mortality is not clue to heavy production of large eggs. During the past eight years the death rate among

pullets entered in laying trials has steadily increased from S per cent, to 15.5 per cent, and the question lias been asked. r ls this increase due to the production ot the larger egg which has been called for lately? ’ The increased mortality is not, however, confined to those breeds (White Leghorns, While Wyandottes, and Rhode Jsland Reds), which have been the mainstay (in England) of laying tests since their institution; it is also occurring among breeds not generally used for commercial egg production, and which have not been bred for egg production for | many years. I The most reasonable explanation is that the increased death rate is due to the use of inferior breeding stock, or, in other words, heavy mortality is like heavy laying; a question of strain rather than breed, and the remedy will be found in ' the elimination of strains wanting in vigour and resistance to disease. Green Bone We rarely hear of green bone being fed to •fowls, but at one time it was highly valued as poultry food by men who were fanciers, in the true sense of the term, and yet wanted a fair supply of eggs. Green bone is simply uncooked bone put through a cutter,_ which reduces it to small pieces. It is a trouble to get unless one has one ot the machines sold for the purpose of cutting up raw bones. There is the meat adhering to the bones, and of course, the marrow as well as the small particles of bone, which are more valuable than limestone grit, as bones con- | tain proteins which are not considered • as valuable as the muscle proteins but are still of definite value. What the Table Trade Wants Salesmen at a National Poultry Council (England) meeting said, recently, that there was a demand for the smaller turkey. It was suggested that the demand of agricultural shows for large turkeys was unfortunate, and that prizes should be given to smaller birds. [

Scare Talk Some breeders state that their losses have been heavy. On this point thei’e was some “ scare talk ” a year or so ago about the decadence of the White Leghorn. “If the scaremongers (says a writer in the Adelaide Chronicle) had put the blame on the breeders and. not on the breed, they would have been justified. Only birds of strong constitution will stand up to modern conditions of high egg production; yet little attention is paid to this point, most work being concerned with production. Weakly stock cannot produce well without great mortality. Constitution and freedom from weakness should be main points in selecting breeding stock. That was one of the reasons that prompted the writer (Mr Lawn, late chief Government poultry instructor, Adelaide) fyears ago to advocate a close watch on all pullets undergoing single test, with a view of eliminating any that gave warning of weak constitution. This advice will only be welcome to those breeders who wish to own a worth-while stud.

Australorps Now Americanised Tl?e commercial Black Orpington is now also known as the Australorp, a mongrel name. The late William Cook named this breed of black fowls Orpingtons, after the village in which he lived. In an article, in an American poultry journal, this breed is greatly extolled—the writer ends by claiming it as “America’s greatest foreign breed.” ’Ware Feather Lice

Keep a close watch on -the growing stock for feather lice, particularly in the neck feathers. These pests will attack the tender and more succulent new feathers, compelling the affected birds to make further growths. In that way their strength is impaired, and development interfered with. Lifting up the neck-hackle feathers, the lice can be seen, and one might also look under the wings. This examination is best done periodically so that prompt treatment can he applied where necessary. , . ~ , If a little disinfectant powder is rubbed into the under parts of the neck feathers of several of the birds, when they are a few months old, the lice will run out. This is a good method by which the novice may ascertain that the pests, are present. Then lard and sulphur ointment or some disinfectant powder can be applied. Adult birds are similarly affected m the summer, as is often indicated by their rough-looking necks, and by new feather growths. The liens can be treated as advised for the growing stock.

Reilly’s report: —There was a .fair penning for our weekly sale, and prices weie practically the same as last week. Good pullets have an inquiry. Hens: 14 at (is, 24 5s 6d, 9 5s 4d, 18 5s 2d, 27 ss, 29 4s lOd. 28 4s Sd, 40 4s 6d. 39 4s 4d, 27 4s 2d, 37 4s, 9 3s lOd, 8 3s Bd, 4 3s 6d, 2 Is. Cockerels: 10 at 9s 4d, 96s Bd, 4 5s Bd, 23 5s 4d, 12 5s 2d, 4 ss, 2 4s 10d, 27 4s 6d. 12 4s 4d, 12 4s, 2 3s 6d, 2 3s 4d. Bantams: Bat 2e 6d, 2ls bd, 2ls 4d, 2 Is. Ducks; IS at 5s Od, b 5s 2d, 9 ss, 17 4s 2d. Pallets: 3at 10s 6d, 4 8s Od, 17 7s fld, 15 7s. 27 6s, 18 5s 6d. All at per pair. Turkeys: Hens, Bat 8d; gobblers, Bat Bd. All at per lb.