POULTRY NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23687, 20 December 1938, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By Terror

Once more I have the pleasure of wishing my readers a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. This week's notes will, ass for many years back at Christmas wetck, be more on the interesting side thatn the serious, as will be seen, confined to: Reminiscences When I first took over flie writing of poultry notes in the old Otago Witness some 50 odd years ago I had a great deal to learn about poultry culture, and I may add am still a learner. At that time my chief instructors were hobbyists—fanciers—men and women who kept fowls for the love of the game. They were keen competitors for show wins, but without exception all those I met with throughout this Dominion were able to report that their birds were cood lay<crs and paid for their keep. Good prictes were obtained for sitting of and for cockerels and pullets, the sons and daughters of show winners and imported stock. The poultry of the pre.'pent day are the progeny of the old-tfrne fanciers' birds, bred, nowadays, it te true, more for eggs than for show purposes and more intensively kept. Over 40 years ago I.couTid visit poultry farms where up to 10CJD birds were kept strictly on a commercial basis, vet the owners could point to birds bred by breeders of renown in fancy circles in New Zealand, Australia,' Great Britain, and the united States of America. The Know-all Novice It is. amusing, yet staggering, to notice how soon some beginners become authorities in poultry culture. I remember one gentleman who was induced by a couple of fanciers, zealous in introducing new recruits to the fancy, to try his hand at keeping a few birds. He was guided in the erection of suitable houses, instructed how to feed his birds, and Wd the birds to buy. He showed one ,of his bought birds and won a first Tjrize! During the whole period of the sihow, after the judging, he could be found sitting beneath his show pen and listening to congratulations, but from that show and onwards he required no further teaching. He knew all that was to be known about poultry! Such is fame too easily acquired. Mismanagement Many years back 1 was invited to visit a poultry farm sortie miles south of Dunedin to explain to the owner why it was that he was losing money. I found every evidence* that a large sum of money had been spent in homes, that the runs were well grassed and fenced, and the bfirds had been procured from good breeders. The proprietor asked if I could see anything wrong. I did not like the job, in the presence of the manager, of saying that the losses were due to bad management. To explain, I took him to one of the gates opening into a run and pointed to the ground just inside ana said, "All the food-mash and wheat is thrown there, and you will notice that the fowls make no tracks in the run excepting from the roosting house to this gate. They are evidently plentifully fed in the easiest way possible, and make absolutely no use to the run as a whole." Then I said, "Look at their large boilers full of steaming food; all you can see is sorrel seed. There may be some pollard and bran„ but if so, it is not in evidence." Then I turned to the manager and asked if he "ever read any literature cm poultry culture. He said he did not require to; he had learnt by experience. I was able to tell him that. if he read the poultry notes of one decent issue of the Otago Witness be would have saved £25 which he had given a man for three allegedly imported pullets, but which had actually been purchased in his own township for 7s 6d. I had in my notes exposed the man who had imposed upon him as a fraud only a few weeks before. The said fr?ud had just been released from the Lyttelton gaol, where hetiad served seven years for a previous fraud on the public. Eggs and Bacon Once when on a visit to the late Fred Roger at Evansdale to see his i wonderful flock of leghorns, I was accompanied by several other fanciers, and one of them, after seeing a flock ;of about 100 whose average ■ weight must have been about 10 to i 121 b (I once got one of them dressed for the table weighing 91b), went to look at the pigs. After leaning over the sty for some time hie sighed deeply and remarked: "What a cross" I asked: " What's on your mind? " He said: " Bacon and egjgs! " White Pebbles in I^ens Some years back, or—should I say?— • Once upon a time," the late Mr Charles Bills had the contract for erection of the pens and the feeding, etc., of the birds at the 'Dunedin Fanciers Club show. Feeding the birds just before judging time,' he noticed that a white pebble show'Bd prominently on the clean sand he ha<fl spread the night before on the floor of the pen. Being curious, he investigated other pens and found several of theim similarly decollated, i.e., each had a white pebble on the floor. To satisfy himself as to the purpose of these white pebbles, he lifted them all oust and placed them in other pens. According to report, " all the exhibits having white pebbles on the floor of their pens got prizes! Not a Boxer Judges at times meet with exhibitors awkward to deal with. A judge adjudicating at a Naseby show offended a local exhibitor by not awarding his bird a prize. The aggrieved one insisted on the judge putting up his fists and fighting ft out. As it happened the judge was not a fighting man but one of tlae by-standers was, and explained to the disappointed showman that he would be delighted to represent the judge. As it happened, the " by-stander" was a Dunedin instructor in boxing, and looked so eager for a bout that the aggrieved one lost heart for combat and retired from the field. True to the Skin At one of the oountry shows held some 10 or 12 years ago the judge, after judging the poultry sections, was asked by a committee of ladies to judge the dressed dolls. The ladies would not listen to refj.teal. so he at last consented. When the prize for bestdressed doll was awarded the ladies were not satisfied, pointing out several dolls far more than the judge's choice. To' back up his selection the judge explained that as a judge of poultry he always looked to see that the undttrcolour was right, and he turned back the outer garments of all the dolls to show the far superior underwear of the cjoll he had awarded the prize to. The ladies could not then deny that his se?fection was a wise one. Picking the Layersi

During the period that there was a Government poultry farm at Milton with Mr Brown ,'js caretaker I made several visits to the farm, and on one occasion did so in the company of Mr H. L. Sprosen. Mr Brown was particularly proud of one pen of White Leghorns. He explained that they were his best layers anw offered to take us into his little office and show what they were producing fijom day to day He had a record of each day's performance by each in-dividual occupant of the pen. He had picked these pullets by " handling." Mr Sprosen undertook to pick out the best layers in the pen on sight, and' without entering the pen to handle, aipd did so. On reference to the office records he was right in every case! The fact is that the shanks and head, give a good idea of quality of bone throughout the body, and the shape of the bird tells a good story to an experienced fancier Type Important I was once shpwn over a very fine poultry plant at Tapanui, the property of a fancier whot was well to the fore with Golden Wyandottes and two or three other brcjeds. The proprietor and the gentleman who had introduced me directed my' attention to one par-

ticular bird in the Wyandotte pen, and asked me what I thought of it? 1 did not, to tell the truth, feel competent at the time to discuss Golden Wyandottes with these two experienced fanciers of the breed, but luckily for me I had some idea of Wyandotte type (shape), and although the bird was a real beauty (a well-laced specimen), and I had to admit as much, I was bold enough to ask," but is it a Wyandotte? It was a score for "Terror," for the owner had to admit that it was a crossbred and that they were merely testing my ability to recognise the fact. A Dual-purpost Plant Once when on a visit to New Plymouth a local fancier was showing me his birds, and doing so with pride, for they were high class in every respect. I noticed a lot of the hens very busy among a thick growth of tall lupins. Innocently, I asked what was the attraction. Listen, said the owner, do you hear anything? I said I could hear the pods bursting. "Yes. he said, "but vou cannot hear the seeds dropping, but, seemingly, the fowls do and you will now notice that they are busy picking them up. The birds will be moulting presently and my idea }s that the lupin seeds being very rich in

nitrogen helps them when they are growing their new feathers and in the meantime, during this very hot and dry spell (it was February) the lupins provide needful shelter." Too Much Luxury Once when on a tour through Otago and Southland visiting poultrykeepers (in many cases by invitation) I noticed a number of iowls near a gate which was the entrance to an establishment of some pretentions. It was rather early in the morning, but fortunately a man who was feeding the fowls gave me permission to look around and told me the name of the proprietor, who, he explained, was then at breakfast but would be glad to see me. Looking into one of the fowlhouses I saw two dead birds lying under the perches, and soon after found another lying dead on some grass near a pathway, and this I opened up! In due time the proprietor came to me, and. when I explained that I represented the Otago Witness he said perhaps I could account for the loss of some of his birds. He added that he had been told by an expert that his losses were due to the perches being too high, but he thought th?re must be some other reason. I had

already ascertained that his birds had' been hatched from several settings of eggs purchased from a Dunedm fancier whom I knew, and also knew how his birds were kept, and had been kept, for several generations, viz., in a small back yard, so I told the, present proprietor that, with due respect to the opinion of the alleged expert, his birds were dying because they were being too well treated! In contrast to the conditions under which theii parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had been reared, housed, and fed, they had suddenly been transferred into the lap of luxury, and this fact had to be realised and conditions mdoified for one generation at least. I told him that his fowls were dying because of abnormally enlarged livers. He could not believe this until I showed him the bird I had opened, and asked if he thought he could put back the liver if he once took it out. I advised him to instruct the attendant to reduce the supplied food by one-half, and thus cause the birds to fossick for the rest. of their food—the exercise would soon put them into condition. This gentleman did not keep fowls either as e fancier or

utility man. He . did so simply to complete his establishment. He' had horses, cattle, deer, pheasants, and a wonderful garden, and men to attend to each and every department. 1 was pleased to learn that, following my advice, he had little more trouble with his birds. Reilly's report a heavy" penning of birds for their weekly sale, with lower values for light breeds, and an excellent demand for turkeys. Hens —3 at 8s 2d, 17 7s 6d, 15 6s 6d, 5 6s 2d, 4 5s 6d, 4 ss, 69 3s, 26 2s lOd, 208 2s 6d, 42 2s 4d, 203 2s 2d; cockerels—s at Bs, 4 7s, 40 6s 6d, 66s 4d, 8 6s, 46 v ss 6d, 13 5s 2d, 6 4s 6d, 4 2s 4d, 5 2 S 2d, 29 2s; geese—s 10s, 5 9s 6d, 12 9s, 8 8s 6d, 5 7s 6d; ducks—2 at Bs. 12 7s, 9 '6s 64 bantams—l2 at Is lOd, 4 ls6d, 4.1 s 4d. 4 Is: chickens—3 at.lOd, 20 Bd, 62 6d : 15 2d. (All at per 1 pair). Turkey hens at Is 6d per pound.