ARRANGING THE BREEDING PENS

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 32

ARRANGING THE BREEDING PENS

- The business element has been so largely Imported mto the breeding of high-class Fancy fowls* of 'recent years, and so much tooney i& invested in. the undertaking, that" _rery great skill and science are brought to bear on the production of the choicest specimens. The improvement.that has been knade in the numerous breeds of fowl- is largely due to the increased knowledge that J»as been gained by study, and experiment, ■particularly as to the type of birds, that, .when -paired together, .are likely to: produce the best results. The£e experiments . have proved that in the case of many Varieties a higher degree of "excellence- is reached if the system of what is called "double- matIng" is adopted — that is, that one pen of Jowls must be selected for producing the best . cockerels, and a different oen /for breeding the-^best pullets. With fowls that *r© whole' coloured, such as Langshans, black Minoreas, or white Cochins, the same pen of., breeding birds will often produce both cockerels and pullets of high quality." put with those fowls in (which the phimage h variegated, and especially when the colour in the two sexes is arranged- quite differently — notably,, in partridge Cochins, duckwing game, and dark Brahmas — better results are obtained from two separate pene of stock' birds. One or two examples will thow how this is managed. . In breeding partridge Cochins the pen Tor producing the best cockerels should be *rrang-ed by running a male bird that has a' black, breast- and black 1 leg-feathering, as* well as hackles of a rich red striped with black, with "hens of a deep rich brown ground colour, which have rich, reddish, orange "hackles, aDd the body clearly pencilled/ with dark brown. But for breeding pullets the- male should have a reddish orange instead of v -a rich red hackle, the fcens io ruri-wkh him being of a lightbrown ground colour, and the pencilling very dark. In breading duckwing game it is usual to mate a purebred duckwing hen to a bright black-red cock to get the best Toekerels. And in breeding for pullets either to rim a -duckwiri!? cock yith a duckwinjr lien, or a^ cluekwirig cock with a black-red hen. With dark Brahman a dark-breasted exhibition cock, mated with hens good in g-sneral colour, but deficient in »&ncilling. will > throw the best cockerels ; while fclie 'cocks with the densest hackles are paired I with the most perfect and solidly marked hens for breeding pullets. - Barred Plymouth Rock breeders practise the double-mating system largely. For breeding cockerels they select a prize-win-ning male to mate with hens slightly darker than the standard colour and evenly and 'deeply barred. To produce pullets a male bird too light for show, but well barred, is paired with exhibition hens. In all these breeds the fowls selected for stock should be well shaped and correct in type. And as the breeder progresses with the double *nating he will find that he obtains the best results by using, for producing cocksre's. troth, cocks and hens that hav-e he-en br-ed from previous cockerel-mated pens ; and for pullets, males and females should bo mated together that have come from previous pullet 'breeding pens. Questions are so often •asked as to what is meant by dmible-mating with poultry tiiafc, perhaps, some idea can be gained from these examples. '• MATING SILVER WYANDOTTES, The most interesting study in the -poultry world is the mating of birds to produce certain results, and in no breed is this so much of a study as in the case of the silver . (Wyandotte. When they were first brought ''. forth for public favour we were satisfied i With a Hamburg comb and narrow centres, i but later on the call was for a distinct j iW^aiulotts comlj £u4 for more vjjea, 'acing. I ;

is To produce such birds has required the c: d perience and patience of the best b-roedei f- in this country, and it is extremely gratif: ir ing bo know that at future shows we shoul a see better silver Wyandottes than have ev< T - . before been shown in this country, a t In mating for open lacing it is of th i- utmost importance that the male bird t c strong in that respect. The open lacin a should show the white- centre, shaped som< '" thing like an almond, but not quite s 11 pointed. The black lacing should encircl ** the white entirely — the stronger the blac l ' the better, as it will hold colour, not fad ' in the moult. He should not only be opei '" j laced in the breast, but should ako shoi 6 ! this same characteristic in his back and i his thighs clear up to the fluff, and th ? wing bars should be clear and distinct. Th under colour of the bird should be slate o dark slate, as this is the colour tliat wil „ hold. Birds with white or cotton under 8 colour generally go to pieces after the firs moult, no matter how evenly and clearl ' laoed as cockerels or pullets. ' In selecting breeders it is desirable ti j have them with feathers free of mossy o { frosty edging. This is a fault hard to con t trol, and care should be used not to mat-! I such bird©; We can never breed good silvc > Wyandottes where this fault is predominam in both sexes t It is very desirable to Lave birds with £ i clear, silver whit© hackle and saddle, pro I perly laced, bufc such birds, with all othei l sections good, are rare, and ire are disposec - to be lenient" where these sections are simplj • a little cloudy or smoky, but most severely , condemn the bronze or copper colour, or a . streak of red or rust here and there. The i tail must be solid black in the male, and 1 as : much as possible in the- female. I would also advise that close attention be paid to the comb and eyes. The former ■ should be of medium size, well serrated, and shaped closely to the head, coming to a spike point behind. A good Wyandotte comlr is~ peculiar to itself, and adds materially to the beauty of the breed. The eyes should be a bright bay. Pale blue or pearl eyes are quite common in this hceed, but t/bey can be bred, _o-ut_ with -good care, a.n j j • we hope to see less" of them in the future. In_ conclusion, I should like to strongly recommend the use of only such breeders v as are full standard weight. I do not mean birds so- large -that they are unshapely, but a male weighing 71b U> ?£ib, of square and blccky build, with a good broad breast and a broad back, with legs set well apart. Thefemale should be trimly built, weighing s£lb to ' 61b. She should be full breasted, and her back should be broad, with a slight cushion. Avoid, as far as possible, the narrow-breasted. narrow-backed, pinched tail, long-legged birds.- Such stock will breed nothing but disappointment. On the other' hand use birds'suoh- as are called for by the standard. Get the best start, and your anticipations will come pretty nearly, being realised, just a little more so with silver : Wyandottes. than ,. with any other .breed: — "Hotspur." ,